UNITED NATIONS: As secret agent James Bond, Daniel Craig has a licence to kill, but on Tuesday the United Nations gave the British actor a “licence to save” by appointing him as the first global advocate for the elimination of mines and explosive hazards.

Craig — who has been filming his fourth movie as the dapper, martini-drinking agent 007 — will spend the next three years raising awareness for the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and political and financial support for the cause.

“You have been given a license to kill (as James Bond), I’m now giving you a license to save,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Craig at United Nations headquarters in New York.

The United Nations said 162 States are parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Last year, the United Nations said it destroyed more than 400,000 land mines and explosive remnants of war and more than 2,000 tons of obsolete ammunition.

“I am honored to accept this role, I’m humbled that I will get the chance to work next to people who are risking their lives every day to help ordinary people live ordinary lives,” said Craig. “I will do my very best.”

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2015

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