Vietnamese soldiers onboard a flight to participate in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan. International experts say they highly appreciate Việt Nam's pioneering role in the global peacekeeping efforts. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Linh

HÀ NỘI — An international workshop started in Hà Nội on Monday to encourage women’s and girls’ participation in global peace processes.

More than 100 international and national representatives took part in the meeting to discuss their experiences on the topic.

The workshop aims to raise awareness and help Vietnamese sectors and organisations to develop national action plans on women, and global peace and security.

These plans play an important role in realising the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, initiated by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2000.

The workshop also aimed to provide policy recommendations to help Việt Nam actualise the proposals made during its term as a non-permanent member of the council during 2020-21.

Speaking at the meeting, Assistant Foreign Minister Đỗ Việt Hùng said the workshop was essential to help Việt Nam review and improve its mechanisms and policies towards the WPS agenda.

He stressed the country’s consistent directions and policies towards actualising the agenda, especially through its UNSC term and efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Assistant Foreign Minister Đỗ Việt Hùng speaks at the workshop on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

“The women, peace and security national action plans have been developed and carried out in 98 member countries of the United Nations,” Hùng said. “Although not legally binding documents, they help to unite, direct and coordinate national-level efforts to promote the role of women’s and girls’ role in peace processes. With that meaning, research on these action plans will open a new door to amplifying Việt Nam’s initiatives at the United Nations Security Council and confirm our strong commitment to striving towards gender equality.”

Rana Flowers, representative of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Việt Nam, said that Việt Nam’s action plan on women, peace and security will be a powerful supplement to the Government’s existing efforts in protecting and empowering women in all sectors.

It will also help to increase interest and actions on Vietnamese women’s needs for security, including how to respond to emerging challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change, she said.

Flowers said she highly valued Việt Nam’s pioneering role in the global peacekeeping efforts and humanitarian protection of women and girls in conflicts and crises, referring to the 15 Vietnamese women soldiers sent to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

In all prevention activities, Việt Nam has also maintained an encouraging level of participation of women between 16 and 20 per cent, she added.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, representative of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Việt Nam, said the plan will help Việt Nam identify future priorities and opportunities.

It will also help to connect and link other national strategies of the country such as the National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2021-30 period, National Action Plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, she added.

UN Women and other UN agencies will always stand ready to support the Vietnamese Government and sectors during this process, she said. — VNS