Indonesian peacekeeper wins UN Woman Police Officer of the year award

Police First Sergeant Renita Rismayanti of Indonesia, who serves with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), has been named this year’s winner of the prestigious Woman Police Officer of the Year Award.

 She will receive the honour at a special ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

It will be presented during the annual United Nations Police Week, taking place from 13 to 17 November.

First Sergeant Rismayanti serves as a Crime Database Officer for MINUSCA and has helped conceptualize and develop a vital database that enables UN Police to map and analyse crime and disorder hotspots.

This, in turn, helps the country’s security forces to better plan their operations in support of the local civilians.

‘Significant contribution’

“Police First Sergeant Rismayanti’s innovation and efforts to leverage data within UN peacekeeping and the Central African Republic police has made a significant contribution to enhancing security for vulnerable communities, including women and girls,” said the head of UN Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

“She serves as a great example of how the participation and leadership of women in peacekeeping improve the effectiveness of our protection and peacebuilding work to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

First Sergeant Rismayanti says she feels fortunate to be able to use her technological skills for the benefit of those the mission is there to serve.

“I hope the visibility that comes from winning this award will reinforce among women and girls that all fields of expertise in policing are open to us.”

At 27 years of age, she is the youngest-ever United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year.

She began her career with the Indonesian National Police as a public information officer in 2014 and has also worked in training, administration, and logistics.

Paving the way

“Having accomplished so much by embracing technology in a traditionally male-dominated field, Police First Sergeant Rismayanti represents the future of United Nations policing,” said UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar.

“She and her colleagues are helping to build trust and confidence between local authorities and communities, which makes our work more effective and people safer.”

The United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year award was established in 2011 to recognize the exceptional contributions of women police officers to UN peace operations and to promote women’s empowerment.

Near decade long mission

MINUSCA was established under a mandate from the Security Council in April 2014 to help end intercommunal violence that erupted a year earlier when mainly Muslim militants ousted the then president, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militia.

It has just under 18,000 personnel including more than 16,300 uniformed personnel of whom around 2,415 serve as police officers. During it’s deployment, there have been over 160 fatalities.  

Visit UN News for more.