Delegates at the workshop discuss opportunities and challenges for female officers joining UN peacekeeping operation activities on Tuesday. VNS Photo Minh Phương

HÀ NỘI — An international workshop was held in Hà Nội on Tuesday, discussing challenges and opportunities for female police officers joining the United Nations peace operation.

The event was organised by the People's Security Academy and UN Women with the support of the Canadian Embassy in Việt Nam.

The workshop is part of the regional project, ‘Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Cohesion in ASEAN (2021-2025)’.

Caroline Nyamayemombe from UN Women said she was impressed by the Vietnamese government’s deployment of personnel, especially female officers in UN peacekeeping operations.

She said: “This is a demonstration of the government's commitment to actively promote the participation of female employees.”

The workshop offered a unique platform for delegates to address the challenges and opportunities related to the engagement of women police officers in UN peacekeeping operations. It highlighted the unwavering commitment of the Ministry of Public Security and Vietnamese women in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in their meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security.

She stressed that the gathering provided a valuable opportunity to underscore the indispensable role of women police officers in peace operations and learn from the experiences of countries like Canada, and others that have successfully integrated into their peacekeeping efforts.

Canada’s ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, Jacqueline O’Neill, said: “Women's full participation in the integration of gender perspective is key to achieving goals in all of these areas, and especially in peace and security.”

Jacqueline noted that Việt Nam was the leader in deploying women to peacekeeping missions, with a rate of participation that was above the UN target, and important for staff officers.

Overall, the numbers were still low, with most countries struggling to meet the UN's target, or minimum of 25 per cent women in peacekeeping by 2028, she said.  

The Canadian diplomat noted the importance of continuing to strengthen the participation of women in all aspects of peace and security.

Colonel Trịnh Ngọc Quyên, director of the People's Security Academy said, the number of Vietnamese female officers joining UN peacekeeping accounted for more than 13 per cent, higher than the average level of countries, which stood at around 9 per cent.

The rate was even increasing as Việt Nam had expanded its participation in peacekeeping operations, Quyên said.

He also expressed his wish to receive support to expand cooperation with Canada’s training institutions or law enforcement agencies in areas of mutual interest, including training activities for UN peacekeeping forces of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

At the workshop, local and international delegates discussed solutions to increase the participation of female security and police officers, as well as promote gender equality in UN peacekeeping operations.

They also emphasised the important role that female security and police officers play in UN peacekeeping operations, and the importance of promoting diversity in conflict resolution and peace building activities.

In addition to discussing the above barriers and challenges, the delegates also pointed out the positive changes due to the participation of female officers in UN peacekeeping activities such as strengthening community cohesion, access to justice and gender-sensitive conflict resolution, thereby building trust and promoting peace in conflict-affected countries and territories.

As of late 2022, among 512 Vietnamese officers and soldiers sent to the UN peacekeeping missions, more than 70 are women. — VNS