Angola's Miss Universe accepts post of UN ambassador for desertification

Angola's newly crowned Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes has accepted the invitation by the United Nations to become a Goodwill Ambassador for Desertification, the official news agency Angop reported on Thursday. Lopes expressed her availability on Wednesday's meeting between the Permanent Mission of Angola to the United Nations in New York, the Executive Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Miss Universe Organization, Angop said. She said it was a difficult mission but she accepted the challenge to mitigate the phenomenon of desertification and its consequences. With 194 signatory countries, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was set up in 1994 as an unique international legal instrument on environment, development and promotion of soil health. Lopes caused a sensation in her homeland when she was crowned Miss Universe 2011 in September. Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos congratulated Lopes on her crowning and encouraged the new beauty champion to promote the image of the African country in the world community and to ''promote beauty and culture for all Angolan women." Lopes, 25, also Miss Angola, represented Angola at the 60th universal beauty pageant held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September. She was born in Angola's province of Benguela and is studying business management in London.