Strengthening the mark of Vietnamese female officers in UN peacekeeping missions

On May 30, at the People's Security Academy, an international conference took place with the theme "Female officers participating in United Nations peacekeeping forces - Opportunities and challenges".

Thúc đẩy sự tham gia của nữ sĩ quan công an nhân dân Việt Nam trong các hoạt động giữ hòa bình của Liên hợp quốc

Overview of the International Conference 'Women officers participating in UN peacekeeping forces - Opportunities and challenges' on May 30. (Photo: Viet Nguyen)

The event was organized by the Vietnam People's Security Academy in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Vietnam with the support of the Government of Canada.

The conference highlighted the important role of female security officers and police officers contributing to UN peacekeeping operations and the importance of promoting diversity in conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding.

At the same time, this is a forum for exchanging experiences and researching useful practices on solutions to increase the participation of female officers and police, promoting gender equality in UN peacekeeping operations.

The event was attended by Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O'Neill, Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Shawn Steil, representatives from the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Security Academy and the People's Police Academy, the Ministry of Public Security's Permanent Office for UN Peacekeeping, the Ministry of National Defense and police officers who will participate in UN peacekeeping missions.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Colonel Trinh Ngoc Quyen, Director of the People's Security Academy, affirmed that Vietnam always upholds and attaches importance to the task of international peacekeeping. To date, more than 500 Vietnamese officers and soldiers have been actively participating in UN missions in countries and territories.

Vietnamese officers always excellently complete assigned tasks, make positive contributions to peacekeeping in their workplaces, are recognized and supported by the people, and are highly appreciated by the UN and the international community.

Colonel Trinh Ngoc Quyen, Director of the People's Security Academy, spoke at the Conference. (Photo: Viet Nguyen)

Speaking at the event, Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O'Neill said she was delighted to be here at a time when Vietnam is developing its first National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security, clearly demonstrating its commitment to greater participation of women in the security and defense forces in peacekeeping operations.

The conference focused on discussing three key issues, including: Clarifying the concept, purpose and significance of the UN peacekeeping mission; exchanging and sharing international and Vietnamese experiences in sending UN peacekeeping forces; and pointing out the opportunities, difficulties and challenges for female officers when participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

The UN highly appreciates Vietnam's participation in peacekeeping operations, meeting the ratio of female soldiers according to Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Vietnam is proud to be a country with 13% of female soldiers out of the total number of soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping operations.

Over the past 6 years, Vietnam has sent 20 female soldiers in the 2nd Field Hospital Team and 4 female officers to participate in UN peacekeeping operations as individuals. From June 2014 to December 2020, Vietnam sent 179 officers and staff of the Ministry of National Defense to UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the UN Headquarters.

Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security Jacqueline O'Neill highly appreciated the participation of Vietnamese female officers in UN peacekeeping operations. (Photo: Viet Nguyen)

At the event, representatives of the People's Security Academy pledged to train and prepare the Vietnamese security sector to protect community safety, promote gender equality and women's awareness.

In addition, the Academy expressed its desire to receive support to expand cooperation with appropriate Canadian training institutions or law enforcement agencies in areas of mutual interest such as cybercrime investigation, counter-terrorism, or participation in training activities for UN peacekeeping forces of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

The workshop is an activity within the framework of the regional project "Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Harmony in ASEAN" supported by the Governments of Canada and the Republic of Korea.

Lieutenant Colonel Luong Thi La Vinh - the first female Vietnamese police officer to join the UN peacekeeping force, shared at the Conference. (Photo: Viet Nguyen)