Human Rights Watch
June 28, 2004

East Timor: Joint NGO Letter to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

NGOs Urge International Commission of Experts Initiative, Make Recommendations

His Excellency Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017-3515

24 June 2004

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

As human rights and international justice organizations that have closely followed and supported the UN's efforts to establish justice in East Timor, we applaud your initiative to create an International Commission of Experts to review the status of efforts undertaken in the region and to hold individuals accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in East Timor. To be as effective as possible, we urge that the Commission be formed immediately and that it cover the work of the ad hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta and the UN-established Serious Crimes process in East Timor. The Commission's mandate should include everything from indictments to prosecutions and appeals. We are concerned that if the Commission does not convene and report promptly,
options to address core accountability issues in the region will be lost, especially given the Security Council's recent resolution, S/RES/1543 (2004), encouraging the Serious Crimes Unit to complete investigations by November 2004 and
the Special Panels to complete trials by May 2005.

Four years ago, you and members of the international community gave the Indonesian government an opportunity, as they requested, to prove they could
conduct full and fair investigations and prosecutions of crimes arising from the
violence in East Timor in 1999 without direct international participation or
supervision. This was done with the proviso that you would "closely monitor
progress" and ensure a "credible response in accordance with international
human rights principles."

By all accounts, Indonesia's ad hoc Tribunals' efforts have been deeply
disappointing in that they do not appear to demonstrate a genuine effort to
punish the perpetrators or maintain minimum recognized standards of independence and impartiality. They also risk perpetuating an incorrect historical record. Indeed, following the release of its first two verdicts, on 14 August 2002,
your Spokesman issued a statement in which he aimed to set the record straight:

"In the course of the proceedings, it has been suggested by judges, prosecutors and defendants that there were irregularities in the conduct of the United
Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) during the 30 August 1999 Popular
Consultation.These irregularities are alleged to have contributed too the widespread violence that engulfed the territory in September 1999. These allegations are false."

Disturbingly, just last month, a brief presented by counsel to General Wiranto repeated this version of history identifying UNAMET and its "deceit" as "the
trigger of the riots". We are deeply concerned that such revisionism may go
unchallenged.

As transparency and fairness are essential to the Commission's success, it is
vital that this group of experts evaluate the work undertaken in both East Timor and in Indonesia. From the perspective of those whose processes are being
scrutinized there will never be a perfect time to conduct an objective assessment. It is worth noting, however, that Jakarta's trials were largely completed last year and that the Serious Crimes process has experienced many recent difficulties, making the Commission's work especially important at this time.

We urge you, with the support of the Security Council, to establish a Commission of experts in the areas of international humanitarian law, criminal law and transitional justice to review the aforementioned justice processes and decisions. The Commission should aim to make recommendations that ensure fulfillment of the Security Council's demands in Resolution 1272 issued under a Chapter
VII mandate, namely that "those responsible for such violence be brought to
justice".

Mr. Secretary-General, we appreciate your urgent attention to this matter. The steps requested above will serve the interests of peace and security in East
Timor and Indonesia, bolster UN authority and honor your promise of justice
to the victims.

Respectfully,

Juan E. Mendez
President
International Center for Transitional Justice

Irene Khan
Secretary General
Amnesty International

Nina Bang-Jensen
Executive Director
Coalition for International Justice

Ken Roth
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch

Jim Goldston
Executive Director

Open Society Justice Initiative

John M. Miller
UN Representative for the International Federation for East Timor