VIENNA: Angelina Jolie, the actress and special envoy for the UN's refugee agency, says the international community must address the root causes of the global refugee crisis.

Speaking in the rain in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Jolie says "we cannot manage the world through aid relief in the place of diplomacy and political solutions."

Half of Syria's prewar population of 23 million has been displaced, with around 5 million having fled their homeland, mainly to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. Lebanon alone hosts well over a million Syrian refugees, who now account for nearly a fifth of its population.

Jolie says "for all the focus on the refugee situation in Europe at this time, the greatest pressure is still being felt in the Middle East and North Africa."