Stevie Wonder named United Nations Messenger of Peace

Dec 3, 2009, 17:40 GMT

New York - Soul legend Stevie Wonder has a new title to add to his many accomplishments. The blind superstar was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace Thursday and described it as an 'honour beyond any that I ever imagined.'

Only the 11th person to be named to the coveted position, Wonder told a New York news conference that he will focus on aiding people with disabilities.

'It makes no sense to me, approaching 2010 in this new millennium, that we have people in the world that just because they can't see, we have not made this world accessible to them,' Wonder said. 'It's unacceptable.'

The new appointment follows years of philanthropic work by Wonder who has worked with the US President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children's Diabetes Foundation and Junior Blind of America.

He has also garnered some of the top awards in US culture, including 20 Grammy Awards, and in February was presented with the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the nation's highest award for pop music.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wonder is 'admired by millions of people and has given back to millions of people.'

'He has consistently used his voice and special relationship with the public to create a better and more inclusive world, to defend civil and human rights and to improve the lives of those less fortunate,' Ban said.

The other Messengers of Peace and their areas of focus are: conductor Daniel Barenboim (peace and tolerance); actor George Clooney (peacekeeping); author Paulo Coelho (poverty and intercultural dialogue); actor Michael Douglas (disarmament); primatologist Jane Goodall (conservation and environmental issues); violinist Midori Goto (Millennium Development Goals and Youth); Princess Haya Bint al Hussein (Millennium Development Goals and hunger); cellist Yo-Yo Ma (youth); actor Charlize Theron (ending violence against women); and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel (human rights).