Bangladesh has demonstrated how to boost the proportion of women members, which is what the UN is aiming for, with its zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment and abuse in peacekeeping missions.
The plan was formulated to make sure that the UN's uniformed peacekeeping force reflected the communities it served by being diverse and inclusive of women.
A significant milestone was reached when Dhaka hosted the preparatory meeting of the peacekeeping ministerial, which will take place in Ghana on December 5–6. The two-day Dhaka summit, which concluded on Saturday was attended by participants from several nations, including UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
"There had been very good interactions and constructive briefings, presentations and discussions on enhancing women's participation, creating a conducive environment, and addressing challenges and obstacles," Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Bangladesh's permanent representative to the UN, said. The theme of the meeting related to women in peacekeeping.
"Our position is very clear. Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said, ‘We want to build a future where world peace and women's empowerment remain the cornerstones in creating a society free from poverty, discrimination and conflict'," he told Dhaka Tribune.
"We need to give more focus to the four areas of action as stipulated in the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-28 to meet the targets set in the strategy."
According to the strategy, only around 5% of all uniformed military, police, justice and corrections service personnel are female. This has not significantly changed in recent years. There are many causes for this imbalance, including external challenges stemming from the policies and practices of member states, as well as internal challenges within the UN Secretariat's control.
This strategy seeks to increase the representation of women in UN peacekeeping operations in a sustainable manner, taking into account the turnover of uniformed personnel and the UN's dependency on member states to increase the number of women in their national military, police, justice and corrections services.
For example, in the military component, the Office of Military Affairs has set a goal of having 15% women by 2028.
"We emphasize data-driven and comprehensive gender analysis, which are needed throughout all stages of mission planning, mandate implementation and review, and throughout the transition process. We need to utilize the strategy for the digital transformation of UN peacekeeping for a better analysis of the situation and the way forward," Ambassador Muhith said at the closing ceremony.
He said the issue of enabling an environment for women's participation had come up in almost everyone's remarks.
"It is necessary to ensure gender-sensitive leadership, gender-sensitive field mission facilities and infrastructure, and working environment. I have seen for myself how our female judges in UNMISS (South Sudan) serve in the field in a challenging situation. In places like those, it is urgent to take into account the needs and requirements of women's deployment," the ambassador said.
"We have been talking for a long time about increasing the participation of women, both in quality and quantity. Focus is needed on both increasing the number of women peacekeepers and their representation in the commanding positions," he said, commending the "Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP)" program of the Department of Operational Support.
He also flagged the linkage between climate change and peace and security, which he said impacts women the most. "Climate change is a risk multiplier, exacerbating pre-existing threats and other drivers of instability to contribute to security risks."
He also suggested putting "adequate measures in place to ensure accountability for crimes committed against peacekeepers – and this is particularly important when we are talking about the safety, security and dignity of women in peacekeeping".
Lt Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, the principal staff officer of the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, said Bangladesh strongly supports the UN agenda on women's peacekeeping.
"Sexual exploitation is very very rare in our peacekeeping force. When it occurs, we immediately repatriate those involved; and there are instances when we put them in jail. We take very strict actions. We are zero-tolerant against any kind of sexual exploitation," he said.
He added that dos and don'ts have been prepared for Bangladesh's peacekeepers, and everyone has to adhere to that code of conduct. "That's why our peacekeepers have been successful over this period of time."
In his remarks, Jean-Pierre Lacroix stated that every effort was being expended to uphold the UN Secretary General's policy against sexual harassment.
"We expect member states to do the same. We must all take a pledge against sexual harassment and abuse very seriously and make every effort to swiftly investigate them and hold the perpetrators accountable," he said, encouraging member states to share best practices and national experiences.
Three further planning sessions will be held prior to the meeting in December. The United Nations, Ghana and the Republic of Korea are hosting the next meeting, which will focus on providing mental health care for uniformed people. It is scheduled for July 18.
The forum on safety and security will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Japan in Islamabad on August 30 and 31. Indonesia, the Netherlands, Rwanda, and the UK will co-host the conference on "Protection of Civilians and Strategic Communications" in Kigali from October 23 to 24.
