Twelve Vietnamese officers will join the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operation at the UN headquarters in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
Among the 12 officers, there are two females. Vietnam has so far sent 41 female soldiers to work at the UN peacekeeping missions, accounting for nearly 16% of the total Vietnamese peacekeeping personnel, much higher than the average percentage.
A ceremony was held in Hanoi on November 22 to hand over the President’s decisions to assign 12 more officers to join the UN peacekeeping operation at the UN headquarters. Photo: VNA |
Speaking at the decision-dispatching ceremony in Hanoi on November 22, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense, head of the defense ministry steering committee for Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations, requested deployed officers to firmly grasp the external policy of the Party, State and army and perform the assigned tasks to the highest standards possible.
Chien praised the preparation work of the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations, asking the officers to strictly follow the policies of the Party, State and army, and prove their capacity in all aspects while undertaking their missions.
The deputy minister also reminded the officers to update the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations on the security and pandemic situation in their host countries and share Vietnam’s experience in Covid-19 prevention and control with their colleagues.
On behalf of the officers, Lieutenant Colonel Pham Tan Phong, commander of the Vietnamese force at the Central African Republic mission, pledged to do their best to overcome all difficulties to carry out the mission assigned to them by the defense ministry and the UN.
Since the 2021-2022 term, the UN has assigned two more positions to Vietnam at the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), of which the post of communications officer is reserved for women, meeting gender equality policy and increasing the number of female soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping operations.
Vietnam has deployed personnel for service in the UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan since 2014. It has dispatched hundreds of officials to missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic, working in the Movement Control section at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).