Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has had more than 1,000 soldiers participating in the United Nations peacekeeping force - Photo: NAM TRAN
Seminar on Completing the legal corridor for participating in United Nations peacekeeping activities, aiming to continue enhancing the prestige and position of Vietnam, co-organized by the People's Representative Newspaper and the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department.
A glorious but challenging decade
“From a country receiving international support, we are now a part of the world peacekeeping force,” said Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong, Vice Chairwoman of the Law Committee. “That is something to be extremely proud of.”
According to Ms. Mai Phuong, the participation and contribution of the blue beret soldiers sends a message of Vietnam, the heroic, responsible, peace-loving and sharing Vietnamese people.
Major General Pham Manh Thang, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, informed that over the past 10 years (2014 - 2024), Vietnam has sent more than 1,046 soldiers and officers to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping force.
He said the participation of the blue berets has contributed to affirming Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena, especially contributing to Vietnam's voting results for the position of non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term with a record 192/193 votes.
“This not only concretizes the Party and State’s policy of deep international integration, but also demonstrates Vietnam’s prestige and responsibility for international security,” Mr. Thang said, adding that “it was a glorious decade but also had many difficulties and challenges.”
Need laws to operate professionally
Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Tho - Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Public Security's Permanent Office for Peacekeeping - shared that the implementation of UN peacekeeping activities still faces many difficulties. From resources, expertise, foreign languages, policies for officers, professionals... The biggest difficulty is that there is no law, creating a legal corridor for more effective and professional operations.
Mr. Tho cited some documents such as Decree 162, Resolution 130, Decree 61... and said "although there are some legal bases, the consistency and unity of these documents are still not high". The reason is that when building these legal document systems, we do not have practical experiences and activities.
From left to right, top to bottom: Major General Pham Manh Thang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong, Mr. Pham Phu Binh and Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Tho - Photo: HUY THONG
According to Mr. Pham Phu Binh, in addition to Vietnamese law, the blue beret soldiers must both maintain peace and comply with international law as well as the law of the host country. The complexity of the legal framework is very large.
Mr. Binh said that when examining domestic legal frameworks, "we have certain gaps and certain weaknesses."
To date, the highest legal document is Resolution No. 130 of 2020 on participating in United Nations peacekeeping forces.
Mr. Binh said that the Government has submitted and received approval from the National Assembly to include the draft Law on Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in the 2025 Law and Ordinance Development Program, which is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for comments at the 9th session and will be considered for approval at the 10th session.
Blue beret soldiers contribute to spreading the image of Vietnam far and wide – Photo: NAM TRAN
“If passed, it will not take effect until mid-2026,” he said, adding that he “hopes the Government will soon complete this draft law and create favorable conditions for the National Assembly to pass it soon.”
Sharing the same view, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong said that the necessity of this bill has been proven through the proposal to develop the law that has been approved and included in the 2025 Law and Ordinance Development Program.
“The National Assembly’s Committee for National Defense and Security will preside over the review of the bill, and the Law Committee will coordinate in reviewing, revising, and finalizing it. We will closely coordinate with the National Defense and Security Committee to ensure that the bill is of good quality and effective in practice,” she added.
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