Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung. — VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK — Việt Nam and other United Nations members discussed women’s active role in peacekeeping during an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday.

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung, head of the Vietnamese delegation, said "Women play an active role in UN peacekeeping, especially in addressing gender-related issues, protecting and promoting women’s and girls’ rights, creating momentum for women and girls in the areas they are working in to participate in peacekeeping and positively impacting the settlement of sexual abuse and violence in UN peacekeeping operations."

He said to improve women’s participation, the UN should promote the implementation of the UNSC’s Resolution 2242. He asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to look into barriers to women’s engagement in peacekeeping and propose solutions on the basis of the Gender Parity Strategy.

Trung called on developed countries to boost their support for the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations to increase women’s presence in security and defence forces.

The diplomat also emphasised that UN peacekeeping operations need to ensure basic principles of non-intervention, neutrality and relevant parties’ consensus.

Since 2014, Việt Nam has sent army officers to UN peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The first Vietnamese female officer arrived in South Sudan in 2017.

Việt Nam currently has 10 female army officers at its level-two field hospital in South Sudan and will continue promoting women’s participation in UN peacekeeping forces.

On the sidelines of the debate, Deputy Foreign Minister Trung met with several ambassadors and heads of other UN member states’ missions to call for their support for Việt Nam’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for 2020-2021. Việt Nam is currently the only candidate representing Asia-Pacific. — VNS