Osvaldo Laport
Osvaldo Laport
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Osvaldo Laport participates in a community activity with refugee and host community children in Chile.
Text and media 9
About Osvaldo
Uruguayan actor and director Osvaldo Laport arrived in Argentina in 1976 to study acting and went on to become the leading star of numerous acclaimed television dramas and films. Osvaldo has been committed to supporting UNHCR's work since 2004, when he began collaborating with and promoting its initiatives. In 2006, he was appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, becoming UNHCR's first Goodwill Ambassador in Latin America.
Over the years, Osvaldo has supported UNHCR in a variety of ways. He has been actively involved in initiatives led by UNHCR's Regional Office for Southern Latin America and the Regional Bureau for the Americas, advocating for the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers through media interviews and his social media platforms.
He has also met with refugees and asylum-seekers in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon.
“I believe we have to work to increase the spirit of collaboration in people, so that it crosses borders and helps relieve the weight of the pain that refugees have to carry.”
Field missions
Osvaldo Laport plays football with displaced children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2009.
Osvaldo Laport visits refugees and asylum-seekers in Tapachula, southern Mexico, in 2015.
Osvaldo meets with refugee youth in Chile, 2024.
Osvaldo Laport spends time with asylum-seeker children during a visit to a shelter in Tapachula, southern Mexico, 2015.
Field missions
Osvaldo Laport undertook his first field mission in 2009 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, becoming the first UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador to visit camps for internally displaced people in eastern DRC.
In 2010, he carried out a second field mission to Ecuador to help raise awareness about the situation of Colombian refugees living along the Ecuador-Colombia border. His experiences during these missions were documented in television programmes produced by an Argentine broadcaster.
In 2014, Osvaldo travelled to Lebanon, where he witnessed firsthand the impact of the Syria crisis and its consequences for people forced to flee. That same year, he visited Uruguay in the context of a refugee resettlement programme for Syrian refugees.
In 2015, to raise awareness about new forced displacement movements in Northern Central America, Osvaldo visited Honduras, Guatemala and southern Mexico, showing solidarity with refugees and asylum-seekers while supporting UNHCR's efforts in the region.
In 2024, Osvaldo undertook a field mission to Bolivia and Chile to highlight the situation of refugees and people in need of international protection, promote local integration, and strengthen public awareness of the challenges these populations face.
Supporting UNHCR
Osvaldo Laport addresses participants during a World Refugee Day event at Espacio Modelo in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 15 June 2024.
During the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Osvaldo Laport joined members of the Refugee Olympic Team to highlight inclusion through sport.
Osvaldo Laport addresses the audience during a concert organized by Fundación ACNUR in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 22 August 2022.
Osvaldo Laport participates in Expo Colectividades 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and supported the #WithRefugees campaign.
Supporting UNHCR
Since the establishment of Fundación ACNUR Argentina in 2019, an organization dedicated to raising funds for UNHCR's work, Osvaldo has actively supported a range of initiatives promoted by the Foundation, including the #WithRefugees Concerts and the Blue Ponchos campaign.
He has also collaborated with UNHCR's Regional Office for Southern Latin America on numerous initiatives, including fairs, art exhibitions, photography exhibitions, book fairs, and activities organized in connection with World Refugee Day in Argentina and Uruguay. Through these events, he has engaged directly with refugees and asylum-seekers and helped amplify their stories and experiences.
In 2025, Osvaldo participated in the "Take Care of Those Around You" campaign in Uruguay, lending his voice to UNHCR's efforts to promote solidarity and strengthen protection for displaced and refugee communities across the country.
Throughout his long-standing partnership with UNHCR, Osvaldo has used his public platform to raise awareness of forced displacement, promote inclusion, and support refugees and other people forced to flee in rebuilding their lives with dignity and hope.
