Rupert Everett
signs on as UNAIDS representative

British actor Rupert Everett was named December 1 as a special representative for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). His tasks will include working to raise public awareness and encouraging the film industry and other media to participate more in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot noted Everett's existing work to spread AIDS awareness by taking part in several international conferences and working with nongovernmental organizations.

"I have lost loved ones to the epidemic, and I have seen with my own eyes the devastation that AIDS and AIDS-related discrimination brings," Everett said in a press release. (The Advocate)