VDPO Deputy Director Sen. Lieut. Col. Pham Tan Phong (standing) speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VDPO), incoordination with the Defence Attaché Office of the Australian Embassy inVietnam, held an experience-sharing session on the topic of women, peace and securityin the United Nations peacekeeping operations, both in in-person and online formats on September 28.
It was the fourth event of its kind,following those held in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
The activity aimed to contribute to raisingawareness about gender issue and the promotion of the United Nations SecurityCouncil's Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
In his opening speech, VDPO Deputy Director Sen. Lieut. Col. Pham Tan Phong said the WPS agenda established a clear path forwomen's participation and leadership role in preventing conflicts and promotinglong-term global peace and stability.
Furthermore, women's right to self-determination,their voices and capabilities as well as their awareness of gender issues, play acrucial role in grassroots dialogues, policy-making process and peaceagreements, he said.
Highlighting the invaluable role of women in joining and conductingthe United Nations peacekeeping activities at missions, Australian Defence Attaché in Vietnam Col. Michael Jansen expressed pride in the fruitfulcooperation between Australia and Vietnam in the field of peacekeeping ingeneral and in WPS in particular.
According to the officer, international experience has shown that womenplay a crucial and meaningful role, contributing to balance and equality inpeace activities and processes.
Delegates at the event looked into the role of men in promoting WPS,encouraging the effective participation of female peacekeepers in the UNpeacekeeping missions; the current situation, difficulties and gender biasesfaced by female peacekeepers; solutions for close collaboration between men andwomen at both policy and operational levels, and lessons learned from the WPSimplementation./.
