May 29, 2018: Captain Anaseini Navua Vuniwaqa of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, has taken part in two very different kinds of UN Peacekeeper trainings. At the UN Staff Officer’s Course in Beijing in 2017, she was the only international woman participant.

In April 2018, she travelled to India to participate in the ninth edition of the Female Military Officers’ Course (FMOC), which aims to bridge the gender gap in UN peacekeeping. The two-week course organized by UN Women and partners, provides specialized training for female military officers around the world to create a global network of trained women peacekeepers.

“The experience was just different,” said Captain Vuniwaqa, about the FMOC training. It was centred around women officers and specific skills and information they would need as peacekeepers.

Women currently represent only 4 per cent of the more than 80,000 UN Peacekeepers, despite their key role in preventing sexual violence during and after conflict, and their unique abilities to engage with the communities they serve, especially women and girls. Increasing women’s participation in peacekeeping is recognized as a critical factor for the overall success of missions.

Read more: Ready for peacekeeping deployment, with a gender lens (unwomen.org/en)