Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: INDIA’S women peacekeepers inspire women in conflict zones and improve civilian protection, the UN Peacebuilding Commission was told.
Indian women peacekeepers, who were pioneers in the UN mission deployments “can be leaders and peacebuilders,” P. Wilson said on October 26 at the Commission’s meeting on Women, Peace and Security.
Wilson, a Rajya Sabha member from the DMK, is one of the MPs joining the delegation to the General Assembly.
“They build trust in communities and give hope to vulnerable populations, particularly women and children,” he said, and “most critically, they help address gender-based violence and ensure that peace processes reflect the needs and perspectives of all segments of society”.
Women peacekeepers play their part
The meeting was in observance of the 25th anniversary of the Security Council’s adoption of a landmark resolution that called for enhancing the role of women in UN missions, involving them in peace negotiations, and protecting them against violence. Indian women medical officers served in the peacekeeping operation in Congo in the 1960s. The UN’s first all-women police unit came from India when it was deployed in Liberia in 2007.