Gender equality – a focus in peacekeeping evaluation programme: officer

Vietnamese military officers depart for UN peacekeeping mission (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Japan gave a focus to gender equalitywhile mapping out plan for the Competency Evaluation Programme for ProspectiveUnited Nations Peacekeepers (CEPPP), according to Matsuzawa Tomoko, Director forDefence Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region at the DefenceMinistry of Japan.

Women have an increasingly important role to play in peacekeeping activities,she said, highlighting Vietnam and Japan, co-chairs of the CEPPP, arranged anarray of scenarios within the framework of the programme to promote women’sparticipation.

She added that the female blue-berets have engaged in the theoretical classes aswell as field exercises in which they cast in the role of conflict victims ormilitary observers.

TheCEPPP, an activity under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus)Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations (PKO-EWG) Cycle 4, is takingplace in Vietnam on September 13-21.

The event, drawing nearly 300 experts, trainees and observers from ADMM-Plusmember countries, is the last activity of PKO-EWG Cycle 4 within the frameworkof the ADMM-Plus.

The co-hosting of the CEPPP has shown Vietnam’s role and responsibility inmultilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms in the field of UNpeacekeeping operations within the ADMM-Plus framework. Through the activity,Vietnam hopes to make contributions to enhancing the efficiency of UNpeacekeeping operations by ADMM-Plus member states./.

VNA