It is “virtually impossible” to fully serve and protect civilians who rely on UN peacekeeping missions around the world without the participation of women within the ranks.

That’s the firm view of Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir of Bangladesh, Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, which goes by the acronym UNFICYP.

In an interview with UN News, highlighting the decades-long commitment of troops and police contingents from his country to UN Peacekeeping (DPKO), Maj. Gen. Humayun said there were currently 157 active service women peacekeepers from Bangladesh - and his country was aiming to deploy more by 2020.

He also praised the “tremendous” support that Bangladesh “blue helmets” receive at home for their work across ten peacekeeping missions.

Despite suffering the loss of 135 peacekeepers on active duty, he told Matt Wells that Bangladesh remained “fully committed” to realizing global peace and security.