Female officers of the Military Engineering Unit Rotation 2 depart for UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei. (Photo: VNA) Vietnam sent the first female militaryofficer to UN peacekeeping operations in January 2018, and she served as anoperational staff officer at the mission in South Sudan.
At present, the rate of Vietnam’sfemale officers taking part in UN peacekeeping operations is at 15.5%, which is higher than theaverage target set by the UN at 15% by 2028.
As of May 2023, 81 of the 529 Vietnamese officers sent to UN missions werewomen, including 12 deployed individually, 21 as members of Engineering Unit Rotation1, and 48 as members of Level-2 field hospitals. In particular, the country hasalso sent the first female police officer to a peacekeeping mission.
At the UN missions, Vietnamese servicewomen have shown remarkable performance in many positions such asmilitary observer, operational staff officer, training staff officer, doctor,and nurse.
Addressingan international conference on women with the UN peacekeeping operations heldin Hanoi on November 26, 2022, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-PierreLacroix said Vietnam has become one of the leading countries in the efforts toincrease women’s participation in these operations.
Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Presidentof the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and former Permanent Representativeof Vietnam to the UN, noted that the country’s deployment of a high rate of servicewomento UN peacekeeping operations reflects its strong efforts and commitments tohelp maintain global peace and security, promote the Women, Peace and Security Agenda,and especially bolster women’s role in UN peacekeeping operations.
Thisis an important achievement in promoting gender equality and women’sempowerment, she said.
The servicewomen, who stand ready to stayaway from family, take on difficult challengers and the dangers of missions and harsh training and living conditions and excellently fulfill their peacekeepingduties. They are a source of inspiration and trust for women and girls in notonly Vietnam but also in the host countries. Lacroix said that UN femalepeacekeepers bring about greater trust, and they are important role models for womenand girls in the host countries.
Vietnamese servicewomen have assisted local people in growing vegetables andcaring for and teaching children. They have also offered charitable healthcheck-ups and treatment, built roads and schools, and made and presented facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic to locals. They work ceaselessly to popularise the image ofVietnamese soldiers and women among their colleagues from other countries andlocal residents.
Duringhis official visit to Vietnam from October 21 to 23 last year, UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres said that living thousands of miles awayfrom their homeland, Vietnamese peacekeepers, both men and women, are riskingtheir lives to bring about peace, hope, and opportunities for a better life forpeople in the most disadvantaged places in the world.
Headded the ultimate goal of UN peacekeeping operations is to build trust, and theVietnamese officers have been able to do so. Female peacekeepers of Vietnam have helpedspread the image of the country’s land, people, and culture to internationalfriends, and also beautify the image of UN peacekeepers./.
VNA
