Vietnam considers sending more female soldiers to join UN peacekeeping missions
Saturday, November 28, 2020, 11:32 GMT+7
Vietnam will study policies to increase the number of female soldiers taking part in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, according to Colonel General Hoang Xuan Chien, Minister of National Defense.
Chien made the statement at an international symposium on the role of women and the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic in peacekeeping operations, which was organized by the Ministry of National Defense and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Thursday.
Vietnam joined global peacekeeping operations in 2014, he said.
In 2018, Vietnam sent the first female officer to join the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
In October 2018, the Southeast Asian country successfully deployed the first level-two field hospital to the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Bentiu, with ten females out of 63 officers, health workers, and doctors.
Vietnam’s second level-two field hospital to UNMISS was put into operation in November 2019 to replace the first one, retaining the same number of female soldiers on duty there.
The rate is higher than the target set by the UN, Chien said, stressing that Vietnamese female soldiers are appreciated by the UN for their professionalism, ability to fulfill missions, and stealing the limelight in many UN activities in field missions.
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| This supplied photo shows Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Lien sewing face masks to give to colleagues in the mission and the people of Bangui City, Central African Republic. |
Women also took the initiative in disease prevention efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Central African Republic, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Lien sewed more than 500 face masks and gave them to colleagues in the mission and the people of Bangui City.
Lien received a letter of merit from the leaders of the Central African Republic and the United Nations mission.
At Thursday’s conference, Lieutenant General Chien said the ministry would consider increasing the participation of female soldiers in peacekeeping activities, especially those applying to work in higher positions at the UN headquarters and the mission headquarters.
The ministry has directed agencies to ensure preferential policies to help women feel secure to participate in peacekeeping and improve their performance.
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