Officers are deployed to the mission at the ceremony in Hà Nội on April 25 to hand over the State President’s decisions to deploy three officers to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI – Lawmakers held group discussions in the afternoon of Thursday to deliberate the draft Law on Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, as part of the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly (NA).

Most deputies agreed on the necessity of enacting the law to improve the legal framework for Việt Nam’s involvement in UN peacekeeping missions.

The discussions focused on several key aspects, including the scope of regulations, applicable subjects; the role and function of Việt Nam's peacekeeping forces; state management of peacekeeping participation; the authority, procedures for dispatching, adjusting, and extending service terms; as well as policies and entitlements for personnel engaged in UN peacekeeping activities.

Regarding provisions on preferential treatment in training and human resource deployment, Lê Quang Đạo, a deputy of Phú Yên province, proposed that ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees will be assigned to offer favourable policies in training, job placement, recruitment, and selection of those who have completed peacekeeping missions. He also called for clearer regulations on commendations and insurance coverage for those injured, taken ill, or deceased in the line of duty.

Gen. Nguyễn Tân Cương, Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, who is a deputy of Bình Dương province, highlighted that the draft law has incorporated provisions allowing for the participation of civilian personnel to diversify Việt Nam’s peacekeeping contributions. It also clearly defines the specific fields in which Việt Nam will engage within UN peacekeeping operations.

He further clarified that in emergency situations directly threatening the lives or assets of Việt Nam’s peacekeeping forces, following standard reporting procedures could result in missed opportunities for response. Therefore, the drafting body has proposed that, in urgent and emergency cases, the ministry in charge will be granted the authority to order the immediate withdrawal of forces without delay. — VNS