Head of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Maj. Gen. Hoang Kim Phung at the event (Photo: VNA)
 

Vietnam assumed the role of the Chair of the Association of Asia-Pacific Peace Operations Training Centres (AAPTC) in 2020 from Thailand during its annual general meeting and workshop in Bangkok on April 26. 

It is the first time Vietnam has undertaken the role since joining the UN peacekeeping activities in 2014 and being an APPTC member. 

The Vietnamese delegation to the event was led by the head of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Maj. Gen. Hoang Kim Phung.

The April 23-26 event took the theme “Stepping Up to the Challenge: The Asia-Pacific Actions and Response to Increasing Effective Performance in United Nations Peace Operations”, attracting 21 delegations from member states such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh and ASEAN member countries, except Laos. 

It aimed to strengthen ties among Asia-Pacific peacekeeping centres with discussions on improving operation capacity, peace and security, and citizen protection, thus suggesting common plans to deal with new challenges. 

Participants looked into restructuring the UN agencies in charge of peace and security, citizen protection via enhancing women’s role in peacekeeping activities, as well as training results. 

Speaking at the event, Phung highlighted Vietnam’s efforts and achievements over the past five years, affirming that Vietnam always supports the UN’s criteria for improving women’s role in peacekeeping activities, evidenced by its sending of the first female officer to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) while the rate of women at Vietnam’s level-2 field hospital on duty at UNMISS reached 16 percent, higher than the UN’s suggested level of 10-15 percent. 

The Vietnamese side also reaffirmed that if Vietnam could replace the UK engineer corps at the UNMISS, it will send at least 10 percent of female staff in its corps to the mission. 

The Vietnamese head delegate also offered ideas to improve the efficiency of training for peacekeeping staff before their departure for the mission.-VNA