Gender equality serves as a foundational pillar for building UN Peacekeeping Police Forces

The Standing Office of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of Vietnam for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, in coordination with the United Nations (UN) Department of Peace Operations, organized an international workshop themed “Strengthening Gender-Responsive Policing and Advancing United Nations Police Gender Parity Efforts,” from December 17 to 19, in Quang Ninh province.

The workshop was attended by UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar; Assistant to the Minister of Public Security of Vietnam Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Toan; representatives of member states responsible for UN peacekeeping activities; and numerous international delegates and speakers.

Within the framework of the workshop, participants engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges of perspectives, experiences and ideas regarding the role of women in UN peacekeeping police forces, as well as women’s leadership capacity and adaptability to emerging challenges in the new security environment.

The workshop also highlighted the application of General Recommendation No. 40 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which affirms gender equality as a foundational factor in building professional and effective UN peacekeeping police forces closely linked to the protection of human rights.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Toan highly appreciated the significance of the workshop, saying that it represented a practical step toward concretizing the objectives of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, as well as General Recommendation No. 40 of CEDAW.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Toan emphasized that the workshop was not merely a professional forum, but also a vivid demonstration of close coordination between UN agencies and the MPS Standing Office for UN Peacekeeping Operations, serving as a typical example of responsible, effective and forward-looking cooperation.

He affirmed that, for Vietnam, the workshop went beyond sharing global standards, clearly demonstrating the role, responsibility and increasingly proactive contributions of Vietnam’s MPS to implementing international commitments.

The participation of the Vietnamese Public Security Forces in UN Peacekeeping Operations, he added, not only reflects the responsibility of a UN member state, but also constitutes a strategic choice, highlighting the image of Vietnam as a proactive, active and responsible contributor to international peace.