The Uruguayan Armed Forces will implement a project to increase the participation of women in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions to 11% by 2024, the presidency said in a statement.
According to the government, Uruguay is the fourteenth largest contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping operations and currently deploys 1,057 military personnel, 6.1% of whom are women.
The project is financed by the Elsie Initiative Fund, which was established in 2019 by the United Nations, Canada, and member states.
For this purpose, Uruguay will receive US$1.1 million from the fund.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, met with Uruguayan Defense Minister Javier García on Sept. 9 in Montevideo.
The undersecretary said that Uruguay has proposed to the United Nations that the period of deployment of women in peacekeeping missions be reduced, which is currently one year.
Participation in peacekeeping missions is voluntary and often takes place in single-parent households where women care for their children alone, which is why they are not willing to participate in a mission for a year, García explained.