The United Nations (UN) announced that Police First Sergeant Renita Rismayanti would be receiving the 2023 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year Award on 16 November. The Indonesian officer presently serves as a Crimes Database Officer with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, where she has helped develop and conceptualise a criminal data base that allows UN police to map and analyse crime hotspots, and in so doing help the country's security forces to better plan their operations.

At 27-years-old, Rismayanti is the youngest recipient of the award that was first established in 2011.

“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,” said Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

“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,” said Rismayanti.

Women’s participation in United Nations Police has doubled since 2015. As of November this year, the United Nations Police have exceeded all the 2023 targets set out in the Department’s Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy. Moreover, in two of four categories of personnel, the United Nations Police has already surpassed the 2028 target.

As of September 2023, women police officers make up 43.1% of contracted professional officers in the United Nations Headquarters, 24.6% of contracted professional officers in the field, 31.8% of individual police officers and 15.6% of members of Formed Police Units. Women also occupy six out of 13 positions as heads or deputy heads of police in Mali, Cyprus, Kosovo, and South Sudan (Abyei).

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