Vietnam promotes National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

As part of this occasion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-ordinated efforts with the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to organise a workshop on methods for implementing the National Action Plan from August 8 to August 9. This has been done in an effort to disseminate, thoroughly comprehend, and raise greater awareness about women, peace, and security.

This event brought together many representatives from centrally-run ministries, sectors, delegates from almost all 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam, along with experts from the UN and other international partners.

The issuance of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security is an important policy orientation which serves to affirm Vietnamese determination and commitment to ensuring and further enhancing the role and voice of women, especially in the field of peace and security.

In order to specify and develop both action lines and roadmaps for carrying out the Action Plan in the near future, the seminar will contribute to promoting discussions and referring to international experience regarding strategies and methods for devising detailed implementation plans which are suitable to the requirements and conditions of each agency and locality.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet recalled countless stories about the sacrifices and great contributions made by Vietnamese women to the cause of national construction and peace protection.

He affirmed the strong imprints made by Vietnamese women in history from the period of the resistance war to protect the country to the great contributions made to the process of national construction and development.

Continuing that historical tradition, the Vietnamese diplomat emphasized that the nation always values ​​the protection and promotion of the role of women in building and consolidating peace and national security.

At an international level, the country has always expressed an active voice in promoting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, including chairing the adoption of Resolution 1889 of the UN Security Council and accelerating the adoption of the “Hanoi Commitment to Action” with 75 co-sponsors.

As part of efforts to further promote the achieved results, the Deputy FM underlined the need to continue to develop an implementation plan with specific lines of action, whilst effectively monitoring and evaluating measures, sustainable resources, as well as the involvement of the entire political system and the whole society with a vision towards 2030 to realise the goals set out in the Action Plan.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, vice chairwoman of the People's Committee of Da Nang, stated that the workshop is of great significance for exchanging and sharing experience to devise a plan to implement the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Indeed, it contributes to connecting, orienting, and co-ordinating efforts at a national level to promote the role of women and girls in peace processes.

Speaking in a video message at the workshop, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, expressed great appreciation for the National Action Plan of Vietnam as a concrete step to promote the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, defence, and security.

UN Women is ready to support the Vietnamese Government as it seeks to expand partnerships, leverage international resources, and ensure that no woman or girl is left behind.

The action programme has four objectives, including increasing women's participation, better responding to gender-based violence, integrating gender perspectives into relief and recovery efforts, and stepping up international cooperation.