Launch of Vietnam’s first national action plan on WPS praised
VOV.VN - The launch of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP WPS) comes at a critical juncture with global challenges impacting all women and girls around the world amid continued discrimination, making this plan more crucial than ever, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, said in her video message on the occasion of the nation’s August 8 announcement of the plan.
“UN Women stands ready to support the government of Vietnam to extend partnership, leverage resources to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind,” Bahous affirmed.
This first action plan is built based on the four pillars of the WPS agenda, namely participation, protection, prevention, as well as relief and recovery. It also has a section on international co-operation, emphasizing the nation’s dedication to collaborate with the global community to advance the WPS agenda.
Specifying the goals on women's full, equal, and meaningful participation in politics, diplomacy, national defence, security, and addressing gender-based violence, the NAP incorporates gender in its response to issues such as conflict, crisis, disaster, and emerging security challenges such as climate change and cyber security.
In conjunction with the launching, a workshop was conducted to develop the delivery plan of the NAP WPS led by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN Women for effective implementation of the plan. Clear co-ordination, a strong partnership, and investment were all identified as key drivers for the plan which can transform the lives of women and girls and broader efforts to sustain peace in the country.
“The WPS agenda is wide ranging and cross-cutting. It requires effective coordination among multi-stakeholders, including leaders and managers at all levels: provinces, ministries, national women’s mechinary, academia, civil society, community-based and women’s organisations," she continued.
“A clear and measurable plan for implementation provides a strong basis for financing and calling for increased investment in the WPS agenda with results that can be measured. In turn, this will keep the momentum and continued to garner political support from key relevant ministries and agencies in Vietnam,” said Ryce Chanchai, ASEAN Governance and ASEAN WPS Regional Programme Lead of UN Women.
The nation has significantly progressed in terms of gender equality, thereby demonstrating the political will and drive towards reaching gender equality, including global ranking on gender equality improving from 83rd to 72nd out of 146 countries since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the enactment of Gender Equality Law (2006) and the National Strategy on Gender Equality (2021-2030) and the Domestic Violence and Protection Law (2022).
At an international level, it has been a vocal advocate for the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. The nation led the proposal made by the UN Security Council Resolution 1889 in 2009, focusing on women’s role in post-conflict peacebuilding. During its tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2020 to 2021, the country hosted an international conference themed "Enhancing Women’s Role in Peace Building and Consolidation: From Commitments to Results", adopting the Hanoi Commitment to Action with the co-sponsorship of 75 UN member states. Most recently, its commitment to promoting gender equality was further highlighted by its recent acceptance to be part of the Executive Board of UN Women for the 2025 to 2027 term.
UN Women have provided technical support to the Vietnamese Government for the development of the NAP WPS since 2021, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support from the Governments of Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Korea.
