Several Security Council resolutions on women, peace, and security, as well as commanders on the ground, recognize that women’s leadership and participation in peacekeeping is key to mission success. However, the number of female military personnel deployed in current peacekeeping missions are low.
To address this gap, UN Women Multi-Country Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives & Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) conduct a special training course dedicated exclusively to female military officers. The course prepares the officers to serve as peacekeepers by learning how to implement UN policies and to support mission activities related to the protection of civilians, notably women and children, not least from sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings.
72 women officers from 39 troop-contributing countries participated in the Female Military Officers pilot courses conducted in New Delhi, India in March 2015 and 2016.
The pilot training was supported by the Netherlands and the third training by the Royal Norwegian Embassy.