UN chief selects Malala Yousafzai as messenger of peace

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has selected Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to be a UN messenger of peace, the highest honor bestowed by the UN chief on a global citizen.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced Friday that Malala will focus on promoting girls' education worldwide and will be officially designated at a ceremony Monday.

The 19-year-old was campaigning for the right of all children to education in northwest Pakistan when she was severely wounded in a Taliban assassination attempt in 2012.

Guterres said even in the face of grave danger, she "has shown an unwavering commitment to the rights of women, girls and all people."

The youngest-ever Nobel laureate, Malala, moved to England where she received medical treatment after the shooting.

She both admired and hated in her native Pakistan, where some conservatives view her as a Western agent on a mission to shame her country.

Other messengers of peace include actors Michael Douglas and Leonardo DiCaprio, primatologist Jane Goodall and musicians Daniel Barenboim and Yo-Yo Ma.