KIGALI, 4 January 2021 – At least 30 percent of Rwanda peacekeepers around the world are female, according to military command sources in the capital, Kigali.
Rwandan forces contributed to United Nations missions inlcude a female-dominated Formed Police Unit (FPU) serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan.
Rwandan Peacekeepers Photo Buzzfeed News
Another female-dominated unit has distinguished itself in the Central African Republic (CAR) by providing clean water to residents of the impoverished country.
Rwanda’s deliberate promotion of gender equality has boosted my confidence and abilities as a woman, media reports cite Chief SGT Clarisse Uwimana, one of Rwanda’s female peacekeepers serving under MIUSCA.
Female UN Peacekeepers Photo Pinterest
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 stressed the important role women can play in peacekeeping and conflict resolution.
The UN resolution calls for more women in decision-making positions, a gender perspective to be “mainstreamed” across peacekeeping, and for more women to participate in field operations as police and as human rights observers.
Overall, women constitute a mere 4.8 percent of military contingents and 10.9 percent of non-uniformed civilian peacekeeping staff.
The Rwandan National Police Force is the biggest contributor of female police peacekeepers in the world.
Women make up 62 percent of Rwanda’s national parliament, up from only 18 percent in the 1990s.
South Africa contributes the largest women’s contingent deployed in Peace Support Operations worldwide.
