Women, Peace and Security in Peacekeeping Operations

23 March 2023

Report

The United Service Institution of India (USI), along with the Delegation of the European Union to India and Bhutan and Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA), organised a seminar on ‘Women, Peace and Security in Peacekeeping Operations’ on 23 March 2023 at USI. The delegation from European Union Member States, namely, H.E. Mr Juris Bone, Ambassador of Latvia to India; H.E. Ms Diana Mickevičienė, Ambassador of Lithuania to India; Ms Elaine Kennedy, Deputy Head of Mission in Embassy of Ireland to India; Mr Christophe Manet, First Counsellor, Head of Political Affairs of EU to India, and well-recognised individuals from various universities, think tanks and international organisations participated in the seminar.

The Opening remarks were given by Maj Gen BK Sharma, AVSM, SM and Bar (Retd), Director General of USI,  followed by remarks by H.E. Mr Ugo Astuto the Ambassador of the European Union to India & Bhutan, and H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India. The Inaugural address was given by Mr Prakash Gupta, IFS, Joint Secretary-UNP, MEA. The keynote address was given by Ambassador Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (Retd), Former Assistant Secretary General of the UN and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, followed by H.E. Mr Reuben Gauci, the High Commissioner of Malta to India. This was followed by Maj Gen BK Sharma, AVSM, SM** (Retd), the Director General, USI, giving a token of appreciation to the esteemed speakers.

The topic of session 1 was ‘Experiences of Women Peacekeepers in Women, Peace and Security (WPS)’. Ms Susan Ferguson, Country Representative of UN Women India, Chaired the Session and oher speakers were Lt. Cmdr. Eva Maria Ara Montojo, General Secretariat for Defense Policy in Ministry of Defence of Spain and Major Seema Dalal, Indian army. The session was followed by interactive Questions and Answers session, and a token of appreciation was given to the esteemed panellists by the Director General, USI.

The topic of session 2 was ‘Female Leadership and Practical Tools’. Dr Soumita Basu, Associate Professor at South Asian University Chaired the Session and other speakers were Ms Satu Koivu, Senior Police Adviser in UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, Ms Taina Järvinen, Senior Adviser in European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management and Ms Nandita Baruah, the Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in India. The session was followed by interactive Questions and Answers session, and subsequently, the Director General, USI, presented a token of appreciation to the esteemed panellists.

The Closing session included remarks by Lt Gen Michael AJ Fernandez, AVSM, VSM, Director General of Staff Duties, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence of India, followed by remarks by Dr Stephan Grabherr, the Deputy Head of Mission in the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to India, and finally Maj Gen BK Sharma, AVSM, SM and Bar (Retd) the Director General of USI gave his concluding remarks.

 

Key Take Aways

·         The presence of women is essential in UN peacekeeping tasks, especially in crisis management cases where mostly women are targeted. Therefore, there is a need to increase women participation in UN peacekeeping missions from an abysmal 7.8% participation to at least 40%..  

·         Further for sustainable peace and to promote women’s representation in UN peacekeeping operations it is essential that equal  and diverse participation from all domains is encouraged.

·         It is important to provide working space and skills to women both nationally and internationally for a better and sustainable future.

·         Gender equality and sensitivity is a key area which needs to be cultivated and systematically  popularised through various seminars..

·         As more and more women communicates with men  in UN peacekeeping operations it also helps men to understand better the women’s perspectives, which makes UN peacekeeping operations more effective.

·         For an inclusive and gender-responsive society, it is essential to provide a voice to women and create agencies that advocate for women’s inclusiveness. More women participation can ensure women  in  leadership positions which will give a voice to women and help in improving  their condition .

Inaugaral Address