LOS ANGELES: Nicolas Cage has won a UN award for his humanitarian work and has been appointed a goodwill ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented the actor and filmmaker with the UN Correspondents Association’s Global Citizen of the Year award for humanitarian endeavours.

Cage said his role will be “to shine a spotlight on the need for global justice.”

The Amnesty International advocate has donated $2 million to establish a fund to help former child soldiers and led a campaign around his film, Lord of War, to raise awareness about international arms control.