The United Nations will continue creating a favorable environment for women, including those from Vietnam, to effectively participate in peacekeeping operations, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told a conference in Hanoi on November 26.
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| UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix (front, ninth from left), Deputy Defense Minister Hoang Xuan Chien (front, 10th from left), and other participants in the conference in Hanoi on November 26__Photo: VNA |
Speaking at the International Conference on Women with the UN Peacekeeping Operations, the official recognized Vietnam's great contributions to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Given that the diversity of perspectives and skills when having both women and men in activities will help improve the way tasks are performed, he cited the important contributions by Vietnam at the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan as an example, affirming that the inclusion of both women and men on patrols has improved trust-building efforts among host communities.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, who is head of the ministry’s steering committee on Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions, said that Vietnam has joined the UN’s work since 2014. Among 512 Vietnamese officers and soldiers sent to the UN peacekeeping missions, over 70 are women.
Maj. Gen. Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, said that Vietnamese female soldiers hold many different positions such as military observers, doctors and nurses, and have been all assessed by the UN as successfully and excellently completing their tasks.
In addition, Vietnamese female soldiers are also bright spots in many UN activities in field missions, especially in people-to-people diplomacy.
At the event, delegates shared lessons learned in deploying female peacekeepers, and gave recommendations, including the establishment of a network of women peacekeepers in the region.
They also committed to supporting Vietnam in setting up a center to promote the participation of women, including policewomen, in UN peacekeeping operations.- (VNA/VLLF)
