UNITED NATIONS,:Praising women\u2019s fundamental contributions to peacekeeping and peace-building efforts, the UN peacekeeping chief said Thursday that empowering women in the military remains a top priority, but to achieve this goal needs \u201call hands on deck\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, was speaking at a side event focusing on \u201cWomen Leaders in the Military\u201d, part of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIncreasing women\u2019s full, equal and meaningful participation in UN Peacekeeping has become one of the top priorities of my Department\u201d, Lacroix said, adding that \u201cit is anchored in the Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, and in the Secretary-General\u2019s Action for Peacekeeping Initiative (A4P).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guiding framework for peacekeeping over the past three years, A4P aims to increase the number of civilian and uniformed women in peacekeeping at all levels and in key positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will continue to be a priority for the next phase\u201d, Lacroix said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite making great strides towards achieve gender parity within uniformed components of peacekeeping missions, Lacroix said progress overall remains slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January 2021, less than one-fifth of Military Experts on Mission and Staff Officers were women and made up only 5.4 percent of personnel in military units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Lacroix noted that two women are currently serving in the most senior military level within the 12 field missions: one is the newly appointed Force Commander in the peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), and the other is a Deputy Force Commander in the Western Sahara mission, MINURSO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe still have a long way to go, but we are seeing progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDiverse leadership and teams bring diverse perspectives so we can take better decisions and improve our operations,\u201d Lacroix said, stressing the need to \u201censure that this is rectified, that barriers are broken, and that more women can make it to the top positions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to emphasize the importance of recognizing women\u2019s leadership in different roles and positions, as well as creating enabling environments, at Headquarters and in the missions, to allow peace operations to be effective and succeed with their mandates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN peacekeeping chief also highlighted initiatives focusing on gender parity such as professional development, networks and mentorship, talent management, and workplace culture. Initiatives are also in place to combat sexual harassment, discrimination, unconscious biases and stereotyping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Department of Peace Operations depends on the collaboration with all contributing countries,\u201d said Lacroix, stressing that everyone, regardless of gender, needs to be engaged as \u201cadvocates and agents of change for gender equality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He urged Troop Contributing Countries and all peace contributors, to recognize gender equality, women, peace and security and gender parity as a shared political priority and continue to allocate resources and political will to this cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe certainly cannot do this alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS,:Praising women\u2019s fundamental contributions to peacekeeping and peace-building efforts, the UN peacekeeping chief said Thursday that empowering women in the military remains a top priority, but to achieve this goal needs \u201call hands on deck\u201d. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, was speaking at […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5379,6099,1021,6098],"class_list":["post-8347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-world-news","tag-empowering-women","tag-peacekeeping-chief","tag-priority","tag-un-peace-operations"],"yoast_head":"\n