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| Female engineer says goodbye to family and relatives before departure at Noi Bai International Airport. (Source: VNA) |
In recent times, the movement for women's rights and gender equality has made many important strides, including the achievements of the UN Agenda on Women, Peace and Security (UN Agenda for Women, Peace and Security).
Throughout the nation’s history, Vietnam has had many experiences on the topic of PNHBAN with the image of women as “heroic, indomitable, loyal, and capable”. That has urged Vietnam to have important initiatives and priorities for promoting the role of women in maintaining international peace and security.
Step by step institutionalization and implementation
The PNHBAN Agenda was born on the basis of Resolution 1325 (2000) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with two goals: Better ensuring the rights of women and girls and promoting women's participation in all stages of the conflict resolution and peacebuilding process.
To date, the UNSC has adopted nine resolutions emphasizing the importance of women’s participation in crisis management, post-crisis reconstruction, and the prevention and protection of women from sexual violence. The issue of PNHBAN is also promoted in many other UN mechanisms.
After more than 20 years of institutionalizing the issue of PNHBAN in international and regional frameworks, the current general trend in the world is to focus on the implementation aspect, promoting implementation to turn commitments into practical results. In particular, since 2005, the National Action Program on PNHBAN has been an important mechanism, a domestic policy framework, not legally binding but a document reflecting policy commitments and setting out directions for action for the country to implement the pillars of the Agenda on PNHBAN, in accordance with the development context and needs of each country.
In the joint efforts on PNHBAN, Vietnam made an important mark when it chaired the promotion of the UNSC to adopt Resolution 1889 (2009) on the role of women and girls in post-conflict contexts - considered one of the four pillar resolutions of the UNSC's PNHBAN Agenda.
More than a decade later, in 2020, in Hanoi, Vietnam successfully organized the International Conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the only global event in the anniversary year, and adopted the Hanoi Commitment to Action, with 75 co-sponsors, calling on countries to develop a National Action Program on PNHBAN.
| In an interview with TG&VN , UN Women Representative in Vietnam Caroline T. Nyamayemombe said that Vietnam's approval of the National Action Plan on PNHBAN is a milestone demonstrating the recognition of the important role of women in achieving sustainable peace, and is also an affirmation of Vietnam's steadfast commitment to promoting the principle of gender equality globally. |
Milestone
Notably, on January 26, after the process of developing the National Action Program on PNHBAN, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang signed Decision No. 101/QD-TTg approving the National Action Program on PNHBAN for the period 2024-2030.
The general objective of the Program is to ensure and further promote gender equality; enhance the role, position, voice, rights, obligations and responsibilities of women in participating in the fields of peace and security, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and sustainable development of the country and internationally.
The specific objectives of the Program by 2030 are to enhance the full, equal and meaningful participation of Vietnamese women in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, national defense, security and handling and responding to non-traditional security challenges of the country, as well as in maintaining international peace and security; better prevent and respond to gender-based violence in the context of incidents, disasters and responding to non-traditional security challenges; strengthen gender mainstreaming in relief and recovery activities, including overcoming the consequences of war, preventing, handling and responding to incidents, disasters and non-traditional security challenges; and strengthen international cooperation in the field of PNHBAN.
It can be affirmed that the National Action Program on PNHBAN of Vietnam has contributed to further perfecting the Party and State's policies and guidelines on gender equality; reaffirming Vietnam's strong commitment to the PNHBAN Agenda, creating resonance for the joint efforts of the international community to promote this Agenda. Assessing the significance of the Program, UN Women Representative in Vietnam Caroline T. Nyamayemombe once emphasized: "Remember that we are not just shaping a document but are shaping the future of Vietnamese women and girls as well as the peace and security of your country".
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| National consultation workshop on the draft National Action Program on Women, Peace and Security, November 6, 2023, in Hanoi. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
Living proof
Surely the "bomb disposal beauties" in Quang Tri or the Vietnamese "blue roses" of the UN peacekeeping force are the most vivid real-life evidence of Vietnam's peacekeeping efforts, clearly showing the participation of women in solving international peace and security issues.
In January 2018, Vietnam sent its first female military officer to participate in UN peacekeeping operations as an individual staff officer at the South Sudan Mission. As of May 2023, 81 out of 529 military personnel deployed to the UN Peacekeeping Mission were women, including 12 female officers deployed as individuals, 21 female soldiers of the No. 1 Engineering Team, and 48 female soldiers of Vietnam's Level 2 Field Hospitals.
At the International Conference on Women in UN Peacekeeping Operations in Hanoi (November 26, 2022), UN Deputy Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix emphasized: "Vietnam has become one of the leading countries in efforts to increase women's participation in UN peacekeeping operations."
Touching stories about Vietnamese female soldiers helping local people grow vegetables, take care of their children, teach young children, provide free medical examinations and treatment for local people, build roads to schools, prevent floods, build schools, sew and give masks to prevent Covid-19, cook pho and other Vietnamese dishes... spread the image of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", Vietnamese women in the eyes of colleagues at Peacekeeping Missions and local people.
| Vietnam is one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and actively participates in multilateral forums on gender equality with many specific initiatives. Vietnam is also currently a country with a high rate of female soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping operations, reaching 16%, much higher than the UN average of 4%. |
In the country, in recent years, in the sunny and windy Central region of Quang Tri, many people have become familiar with the image of “beautiful bomb disposal women” – members of NPA, an abbreviation of Norwegian People’s Aid and Project RENEW with the mission of resolving the long-term consequences of bombs, mines, and explosives left over from the war. NPA currently has about 300 employees working in Quang Tri. Notably, among these, there are two teams with 100% female members, including the Field Clearance Team (15 members) and the Mobile Bomb and Mine Disposal Team (six members).
“The establishment of the first two female teams of mine clearance and disposal in Vietnam is part of NPA’s efforts to affirm the role of women in Mine Action; thereby inspiring and demonstrating that women are a strong and capable force in mine action,” said Mr. Jan Erik Stoa, Country Director of NPA in Vietnam.
Thus, the role of women in maintaining international peace and security is very important. Not only is Vietnam deeply aware of that role, it has been making every effort to promote the role of women in peace and security, thereby contributing to ensuring global gender equality.
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