AGENDA ITEM NINE: VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
THE SITUATION IN EAST TIMOR
(5 April 2001)
The task of laying the foundation for a culture based on human rights in
East Timor is daunting. It entails looking at the past: ensuring that
those responsible for the abuses that marked recent history are brought to
justice and that parties with unresolved grievances are assisted in the
difficult process of reconciliation. It involves looking at the present:
constructing piece by piece the building-blocks for a society based on the
rule of law. And it includes looking to the future: preparing the East
Timorese for their first democratic elections, working with them on
fundamental issues such as the drafting of their new nation’s constitution,
and creating strong institutions which will protect the rights of those
most vulnerable in the challenging years to come.
Reckoning with the past. In October 1999, there was no judicial system in
East Timor. In the ruins of Dili there was no building that could be used
as a court. There was only a small number of East Timorese with law
degrees, very few of whom had ever practiced law. There was uncertainty
about what model of legal system should be implemented.
Since then, enormous progress has been made to solve these problems. But
I
must also be honest and admit that in some major areas we are still far
short of the goals we are striving to achieve.
UNTAET has established a court system that deals with both current crimes
and the human rights abuses committed in the recent past. East Timorese
judges, mentored by international experts, deal with the whole range of
current crimes in courts in four districts. In addition, one Special Panel
has been established within the Dili District Court to prosecute those
responsible for serious crimes surrounding the 1999 ballot, with the
formation of a second expected imminently. In this panel a majority of
international judges, prosecutors and defence counsel work alongside
Timorese counterparts.
So far, twenty indictments have been issued by the panel. The majority of
these have been for murders committed in the aftermath of the ballot.
Three persons have been convicted for murder during that period and are
currently serving sentences. To date, two indictments for crimes against
humanity have been issued, and the hearing of these cases will commence in
May. [One indictment relates to an allegation of repeated rape involving 5
defendants, the other to the massacre of priests and nuns involving 11
defendants.]
Despite the progress, UNTAET faces a significant hurdle in being able to
bring those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in East
Timor to justice. Most of the individuals who are currently being dealt
with by the Special Panel were the actual murderers, arsonists and rapists
involved in the 1999 violence. Those who planned, organised and directed
the campaign of violence remain outside the jurisdiction of East Timor. It
is very important that Jakarta and Dili act in greater concert to ensure
that these individuals are also brought to justice, whether in Indonesia or
East Timor.
In this regard, I very much welcome the recent proposal by the Indonesian
Parliament to establish an Ad Hoc Tribunal to deal with human rights abuses
committed in East Timor during 1999. This initial step will, I am sure,
be urgently followed by a Presidential Decree endorsing that decision. It
has now been almost one year since the Indonesian government’s
investigation into these crimes commenced, and seven months since the first
list of 22 suspects in five particularly egregious crimes was made public
in Jakarta. We maintain our cooperation with, and support for, this
process, based on the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Cooperation in
Legal, Judicial and Human Rights Related Matters that I signed in April
2000 with Indonesian Attorney-General, Marzuki Darusman.
One of the major human rights issues we have as yet been unable to solve
is
the continuing plight of the 60-100,000 East Timorese refugees who are
still in West Timor (we have not yet been able to establish an accurate
total for this group). UNTAET, together with UNHCR and IOM, has undertaken
a number of initiatives designed to facilitate the return of the refugees
and, since the start of the mission, over 180,000 have returned.
Nonetheless, we continue to receive reports that the East Timorese refugees
are subject to intimidation by members of the militia and that they are
denied many of their fundamental rights and freedoms. It is also worth
mentioning that these refugees represent an unfair burden on the people and
administration of West Timor. However, with security conditions in West
Timor still insufficient to allow a resident international presence an
acceptable solution to the problem has not been found. Despite these
hurdles, we are continuing to work with the Indonesian authorities to seek
ways in which we might better support their efforts to promote the return
of those refugees who would freely choose to do so.
In this regard, on 9 to 12 April, UNTAET, UNHCR and IOM, together with the
TNI, will be conducting a visit to many of the refugee camps in West Timor
to provide information to the inhabitants concerning the current situation
in East Timor. This is an attempt to counter the misinformation that still
to a large extent pervades the camps. This initiative of the Indonesian
authorities is most welcome and is an important precursor to the refugee
registration process they intend to conduct on 1 May. This is an important
exercise that will need to be done properly and be seen to be done so in
order to ensure that the refugees are freely able to decide whether their
own futures lie in East Timor or Indonesia.
Working closely with the East Timorese leadership and civil society, UNTAET
has been involved in formulating a proposal for a Commission for Reception,
Truth and Reconciliation. The proposed Commission will soon be debated by
the National Council, our proto-legislature. If approved, donor funding
will be sought for its rapid establishment. The Commission will have two
main functions. One is truth-seeking, inquiring into the pattern of human
rights violations committed during the last 25 years in East Timor; the
second is to establish a national mechanism that will help to reintegrate
returnees who voluntarily confess to lesser crimes committed during 1999.
There will, however, be no amnesty for those guilty of murder, and sexual
and other serious crimes.
The new justice system does not have the capacity to deal with the large
volume of lesser crimes. At the same time these issues need to be resolved
in order to avoid future problems. The Commission will, therefore,
provide an opportunity for perpetrators of lesser crimes to demonstrate
remorse and a desire to reconcile with their particular communities by
performing community service work and other acts of reconciliation. In
this way it is hoped that real steps can be taken towards healing past
grievances.
In the Present. Piece by piece, we are now in the process of building a
new nation, with all the structures inherent in a democratic society.
These include accountable and transparent government procedures, a fair and
impartial judiciary, professional and disciplined police and defence
forces, as well as the checks and balances of a strong civil society.
While a new economy is taking form, economic and social rights are still
lacking in a number of respects. Unemployment, for example, remains a
problem. This has contributed to some recent incidents of social unrest
and we need to seek urgent ways to generate work opportunities,
particularly for the young to reduce the risk of recurring disturbances.
Whilst access to health care and education is widespread, the need to
rebuild these institutions across the country has taken time. A severe
shortage of trained personnel, for example high school teachers and
doctors, is a problem which is being actively addressed, but programs which
provide long-term solutions to these issues will need several years to mature.
The challenges faced by the young Timorese judges are significant. The
problem of an under-resourced, over-tasked judiciary and court
administration has led to some problems. These include cases where an
acceptable level of legal advice and representation for defendants has been
lacking, and where there has not been consistency in the application of the
law. Due to inadequate resources too many accused have spent too long in
pre-trial detention. I am pleased to say that a concentrated effort has
recently greatly reduced the number of cases in this category.
There have been some cases of isolated violence directed towards returning
refugees, although in the main the Timorese have demonstrated an
extraordinary tolerance and desire to reconcile with each other.
Of some concern is the maintenance of parallel security structures in East
Timor. While international civilian police were deploying at the start of
the mission, unofficial security groups from the resistance period were
maintained and revitalised, motivated by a widespread fear of attack from
returning militia. We are aware of the potential dangers inherent in the
existence of such security structures which hold no legal accountability.
With the steadily increasing numbers of East Timorese police graduating
from the academy in Dili there is less and less psychological, let alone
legal, justification for the continued existence of these parallel structures.
The future. A lively and dynamic process is taking place in East Timor in
preparation for the country’s first democratic election. In consultation
with the Cabinet and the National Council, I have set the date of the
elections to be 30 August. These elections will be for a Constituent
Assembly that will have the task of establishing a constitution for East
Timor. There has been heated debate on the steps that must be taken in
order for this process to be truly democratic, with the widest
participation of all sectors of East Timorese society.
At a meeting of East Timors’ donors, that took place in Dili on
29 March, I announced UNTAET’s policy to provide our full support to
NGO
initiatives to engage the people and hear their views as to how they feel
their nation’s founding charter should be framed. As a complement to
this,
and to assist the work of the Constituent Assembly, we will establish a
basic structure of district commissions to distil this information and help
ensure national ownership of this product.
In addition, an ongoing program of human rights education is being
undertaken by the UNTAET Human Rights Unit. This program will be
strengthened in the coming year through a technical assistance agreement
with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that was signed
just last week. Under this agreement additional human rights education
will be provided to the police and judiciary, Timorese human rights
trainers in each of the thirteen districts will be given training by
international experts, assistance will be given for the program of
reconciliation, and human rights materials in the national Tetum language
will be produced and distributed widely.
We will also need the assistance of the High Commissioner in helping East
Timor prepare to accede to the key international human rights instruments
soon after independence.
The processes of registration for political parties, as well as civil and
electoral registration, have commenced. Although this is moving well we
are being confronted with early signs of future challenges. There have
been isolated instances of politically motivated violence and intimidation.
Through careful preparation, and through maintaining an excellent and close
working relationship with political leaders, we will take a proactive
approach in order to ensure that the first elections are free, fair and
peaceful.
East Timor is a new nation, coming to terms for the first time in its
history with the fact that it is no longer under the control of outside
forces. This liberation brings with it a heady responsibility on the part
of the political leadership not to abuse their new-found freedoms. The
signs, in conclusion, are extremely positive. East Timor is blessed with a
leadership that, in its vision and maturity, is arguably the greatest
single asset it possesses. It is also blessed with a people at large who,
in their resistance to occupation and in their dignity in the face of the
most extreme violence, have demonstrated time and again that what they
want, above all else, is to live in peace and to control their own destinies.