| Subject: Text: Ramos-Horta address to UN
Human Rights Commission
[scanned from printed text, not as delivered]
REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE MINISTÉRIO DOS NEGÓCIOS
ESTRANGEIROS E COOPERAÇÃO
61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights 14 March 22 April 2005
Geneva Switzerland
Address by H.E. José Ramos-Horta Senior Minister Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Cooperation Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1996)
Mr. President, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono,
I wish to extend to you my warmest congratulations on your election to
preside over the work of the 61st session of the Commission on Human
Rights at a time when the world is confronted with some urgent and complex
challenges such as the situation in Darfur, Sudan.
This tragedy that has been unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan puts
to test our humanity and credibility as governments and peoples that are
duty-bound to collectively summon moral courage and political will to end
gross and systematic abuses of human rights, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
The task before you and all of us is great indeed, complex and urgent.
Hence, Mr. President, you have my delegation's full support and we shall
seek to cooperate with you in any way we can.
Mr. President,
At the outset I wish to brief the members of the Commission on the
joint efforts of the governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia to address
some of the issues of our common past, in particular the issue of reported
human rights violations that occurred in 1999 in the context of the May
5th Agreement between the United Nations, Indonesia and Portugal.
More than anyone else, the two governments are conscious of the need to
deal with this burden of the past in a manner that both our two peoples
may accept. Hence, a Commission of Truth and Friendship was established by
decision of Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Xanana Gusmao and Prime
Minister Alkatiri during a meeting of the three leaders held in Denpassar,
Bali, on 14th December 2004.
I recall that following the events of 1999 both nations have taken
actions within their respective jurisdictions to respond to the
well-documented reports of human rights violations.
In Indonesia an Ad-Hoc Tribunal on Human Rights Violations in East
Timor was established in 1999-2000. Its work has not ended. In the
meantime, the Indonesian Parliament has passed the law establishing a
truth and reconciliation commission to deal with their history of human
rights violations that occurred under military dictatorship, including in
Timor-Leste.
In Timor-Leste we have responded to the need for truth and the desire
for reconciliation with the creation of the Commission on Reception, Truth
and Reconciliation (CAVR).
At the same time, with the full legislative and executive powers vested
on the UN Transitional Administrator of East Timor by the Security
Council, the SRSG created the Serious Crimes Panel As a result of the
latter's investigation, 58 persons were tried, 55 guilty verdicts were
delivered, 3 acquittals, and 279 persons were identified as alleged
perpetrators, most living in Indonesia. I must emphasize the fact that the
Serious Crimes Units and Panels were a UN creation.
Justice comes in a number of forms, criminal prosecutions being the
most common. Retributive justice demands legal prosecution and punishment,
whereby the victim is a witness for the state. It is adversarial and
focused on the past.
Restorative justice, the main focus of Truth Commissions, is about
people, where the victims are the primary concern not simply witnesses,
and the perpetrator is compelled to tell the truth.
Our nascent nation requires the focus to be on restorative justice so
that primary attention is given to people, participation, dialogue, needs
and the future.
Our past is both tragic and rich, and if we are to reach back into the
past in the search for the truth and justice, how far must we go? And
shall we also dwell on the role of the numerous international actors who
by their silence or active complicity with the Suharto regime enabled it
to stay in power far too long and repress its own people and the people of
Timor-Leste?
What we find to be quite ironic is that there are today much greater
demands and pressure on the new democratic Indonesia as it attempts to
redress the wrongs of the past by embarking on the complex democratic
process than on the ancien regime.
Today we are free! This is justice, for there cannot be greater justice
than our freedom!
Indonesia, too, is as free as it has never been before and is beginning
to take steps to confront its own past in order to extricate itself from a
very pervasive culture of violence, abuse and impunity. Tens of thousands
of Indonesians were jailed, killed, tortured, branded as
"communists" and stigmatized for most of their lives.
Timor-Leste and Indonesia have a long way to go towards consolidating
democracy and rule of law. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the
world, home to 230 million people, and now the third largest democracy,
however imperfect.
In 2004, the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation went through two
democratic elections regarded by all impartial observers as truly free and
open. Radical Islamic parties failed to make any gains.
Yet, overall, the democratic experiment in Indonesia is still incipient
and fragile, and there is no guarantee that these radical elements will
not gain influence and ultimately power.
The East Timorese and the international community must understand the
complex challenges faced by the elected civilian leaders in Indonesia in
trying to consolidate their democratic experiment with prudent reforms.
Perceived excessive outside pressure on the elected civilian leaders to
meet the expectations of the international community to have a credible
prosecutorial/trial process, i. e., the jailing of senior military
leaders, as desirable as that may be, would inevitably result in unrest
within the armed forces: nationalist elements, Suharto loyalists, and
radical Muslims would not hesitate to whip up nationalist sentiments
against perceived Western or UN-led "campaign against Muslim
Indonesia", undermining stability and the entire democratic
experiment in the largest Muslim country in the world.
Comfortably sheltered in offices in Geneva and New York, one can afford
the luxury to lecture others about justice and the need to combat impunity
as if those on the ground and in position of political leadership are not
animated by the same concerns.
There are some vocal groups and individuals of the Church in my country
that do not share our views on this and on many other issues. We are
telling them that if they hold such strong views and feel that they, more
than us, truly represent the wishes of the people (they invoke the name of
the people at every corner), then they should run for public office when
nation-wide elections are held in 2007. Once in office they should feel
free and heroic in demanding an International Tribunal for East Timor.
Mr. President.
It is impossible to satisfy the needs of all victims and it is
impossible to afford perfect justice. The cross jurisdictional nature of
the conflict in question lends support to the argument that, in this case,
a Commission for Truth and Friendship is best placed in a bi-national
institutional context. It is equally self-evident that a domestic truth
commission, even with a different mandate would not achieve the objective
of obtaining a shared version of history with Indonesia.
It is time for Timor-Leste and Indonesia to deal with our shared and
turbulent past, whilst securing our democratic futures. If we were to deal
with at least part of it in collaboration with each other it would further
demonstrate our political maturity as nations, and be testament to our
democratic gains.
Allow me to share with you some excerpts from the Terms of Reference (TOR)
of the Commission of Truth and Friendship.
The Commission shall work under the following principles.
The relevant principles contained in the Indonesian Law no.27/2004 on
the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation and the Timor-Leste Law
no.10/2001 on the Commission of Reception. Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR).
… …does not prejudice against the ongoing judicial process with regard
to reported cases of human rights violations in Timor-Leste in 1999, nor
does it recommend the establishment of any other judicial body.
Mandate
The Commission shall have the mandate to:
Reveal the factual truth of the nature. causes, and the extent of
reported violations of human rights that occurred in the period leading up
to and immediately following the popular consultation in Timor-Leste in
August 1999:
Review all the existing materials documented by the Indonesian National
Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in East Timor in 1999 (KPP
HAM) and the Ad-hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor, as well as the
Special Panels for Serious Crimes, and the Commission of Reception, Truth
and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste;
Examine and establish the truth concerning reported human rights
violations including patterns of behavior …
Composition
The Commission shall comprise of 10 members (five from Indonesia and
five from Timor-Leste) chosen among persons of high standing and
competence drawn mainly from legal and human rights fields, academia,
religious and community leaders.
Members of the Commission, in the exercise of their mandate, shall
enjoy immunity from prosecution and civil liability for actions arising
from their mandate.
The Commission shall be co-chaired by two members, one from Indonesia
and one from Timor-Leste, chosen by all members.
Right to Free Access
In the conduct of its work, the Commission shall be guaranteed freedom
of movement throughout Indonesia and Timor-Leste: free access, in
accordance with the law, to all documents of the Indonesian National
Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in East Timor in 1999 (KPP-HAM),
the Ad-hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta and the Special Panels for
Serious Crime in Dili, and the CAVR final report; the right to interview
all persons in possession of information considered relevant by the
Commission, guaranteeing privacy and confidentiality if necessary.
Moreover, appropriate security arrangements shall be provided to both
members and persons interviewed by the Commission and persons who provide
information and documents to the Commission, and for documents obtained
and retained by the Commission, without restricting their freedom of
movement.
Mr. Chairman,
It is now time to consider the developments that have taken place in my
own country in recent months. Again, as always, I have cause to reflect on
the benevolence of our development partners. My country is slowly but
steadily emerging from the ashes of 1999.
Timor-Leste remains a peaceful, politically dynamic and stable nation.
We continue to make progress in economic and social development,
strengthening law and order, and consolidating democracy. We believe that
these elements, taken together with civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights promotion, provide the essential determinants of
individual capability.
Timor-Leste has taken tangible steps forward in the important education
and health sectors and has made progress in the formation of a national
education curriculum and the recent launch of safe motherhood, HIV and
extensive immunization programmes. Recognizing that women and children are
particularly affected by the lack of economic and social services, the
Prime Minister has recently announced the Government's intention to
establish a National Council for Children, a forum in which attention can
be focused to those specific issues affecting children.
Recognizing also the seriousness of the threat to women's lives posed
by domestic violence, the Government has been considering the enactment of
specialized domestic violence legislation and hopes in the near future to
establish a regime which provides for women's protection and secured
livelihood.
In terms of public administration and participation, work is being done
to devolve decision-making authority to district administrations. But it
gives me even greater pleasure to inform you that the first-ever local
elections organized by our authorities were carried out in Bobonaro and
Oe-cussi late last year, with the remaining local elections to be carried
out until June of this year.
Voter turnout in these first elections was very high, exceeding 90
percent in some areas. People voted in an orderly manner in an atmosphere
free of intimidation or interference. Significantly also, women's
participation in local level political life was recently augmented by a
new electoral law, which provides for a minimum of three women to be
elected to each village council.
Despite progress towards physical reconstruction and social development
since Timor-Leste attained full sovereignty in May 2002, significant
challenges remain. The country still has the lowest levels of human
development in Asia, and continued efforts will be needed in the areas of
health and education, as well as other aspects of human development.
Much has to be done to provide the conditions necessary to enable
people to enjoy their rights to work, to quality education and to the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. We must do
this, alongside fostering participation and individual empowerment, to
strengthen the fabric of social harmony, consolidate political stability
and enable inclusive sustainable economic development.
A critical issue of concern for our country is the persistent fragility
of the justice sector. Overall, access to justice including access to
legal services and counsel remains weak. International civilian advisers
have continued to perform line functions as judges, public defenders,
prosecutors and court administrators in both the Court of Appeal and
district courts.
Regrettably, Timorese judges have recently been found lacking
sufficient expertise to continue exercising judicial functions; thus they
have ceased performing these functions and have been pursuing intensive
legal training, resulting in a reduction of the Courts ability to
function. Although the provision of international judges may provide
temporary relief to this critical situation, the future operation of these
district courts remains sporadic and uneven, with little possibility of
improvement given recent outcomes in judicial training.
The Office of the High Commissioner in its report to the 61st session
of the Commission (E/CN.4/2005/115) has presented a misleading report on
this issue alleging that it is the use of Portuguese language that hinders
the capacity of the aspiring judges (p, 4). This is simply NOT the case.
The aspiring judges were able to choose any of the four languages, Tetum,
Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and English for their examination, and all
chose Tetum.
As is known to all, within the first year of Timor-Leste's accession to
full sovereignty, our National Parliament ratified the seven core HR
Conventions. In its 60th session, having considered the needs of my
country in terms of our Treaty reporting obligations, a Chairman statement
on technical cooperation and advisory services was adopted Para. 7 asks
the "High Commissioner to report to the Commission on its sixty-first
session on technical cooperation in the field of human rights in Timor-Leste,
under the same agenda item".
However, it seems that the Office of the High Commissioner or the UN
Human Rights Unit in Timor-Leste believes that the mandate given by the
60th session of the Commission did not satisfy its desire and has decided
on its own to create a unique new agenda item which reads: "Report of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of
human rights in Timor-Leste". We are perplexed to say the least. We
are a new country and most of us are naive in the games played by the
United Nations bureaucracy, mais quand meme, nous ne sommes pas fou.
As far as I know, no Chairman statement, let alone a resolution was
adopted by the 60th session of the CHR inscribing an item entitled
"Situation of Human Rights in Timor-Leste".
Rather than focusing on the progress or lack of the so-called technical
cooperation, the report of the High Commissioner dwells on issues for
which it did not have a specific mandate, making a confusing hodge-podge
of technical cooperation issues with alleged human rights violations
committed by my country's authorities.
My country has one of the most liberal immigration policies in the
world. Any passport holder from anywhere in the world is granted a
one-month visa on arrival. Even nosy Investigative reporters do not
require a special visa. We would welcome any UN-mandated human rights
investigator to my country. Only God knows how many field studies,
evaluation missions, high-paid consultants, have visited our humble
country. We don't mind. We are actually a very hospitable people. But we
resent attempts at arbitrarily altering the nature of an agreement with
the host government and turning it into something else.
The mandate of the UN HRU in Timor-Leste is to advise and assist our
authorities in developing our capacity in the areas of human rights
legislation and Institutions, etc. Instead, the individuals on the ground
seem to be more interested in doing police work than in advising and
helping our incipient agencies improve their performance in upholding our
human rights obligations.
On page 7 of the report of our esteemed High Commissioner, there is an
extraordinary allegation made against my Head of State. In it the authors
without wasting their precious time in double-checking their facts, and
without bothering to insert some useful notes identifying the source,
allege that President Xanana Gusmao had said that "if needed"
the police can "beat" suspects.
The office of President Xanana Gusmao was not contacted by the authors
of the report to seek clarification or confirmation on the alleged
statement.
My President, a nationally revered personality, was a resistance
fighter, a prisoner, recipient of numerous international awards, including
the Sakarov Human Rights Prize of the European Parliament and the UNESCO
Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize. My President is a passionate advocate of
human rights and rule of law and a strong critic of police abuse. Yet the
authors of the report, mostly a bunch of obscure academics, behave like
school-teachers in dispensing a patronizing sermon about how the political
leadership of Timor-Leste should behave.
Having said this, I shall now continue. Reported incidents of abuse of
power by our incipient security forces continue to cause significant
concern, calling into question the professionalism of these forces.
A major development this year and in a step towards addressing this the
Government has strengthened the legislative framework for the police
through the adoption of the Organic Law and disciplinary regulation for
police. We have also created an inspectorate within the Ministry of
Interior to handle complaints of misconduct by police and with UNMISET
assistance, are attempting to strengthen the internal police
accountability mechanism.
We are grateful to Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and the
United States for their generous support in developing the operational
competence of our security forces.
Before concluding my comments on our domestic experience in human
rights implementation, I wish briefly to turn your attention to our
significant steps in human rights reporting.
Timor-Leste has agreed to pilot a new and streamlined structure for
reports conceived as a Common Core Document to be submitted alongside
Treaty Specific Documents.
Significant progress has been made in Timor-Leste's difficult task of
developing each of its core initial human rights reports in accordance
with this reformed structure. We are well advanced in a participatory
process of data collation of the treaties. We expect to begin submission
of the Common Core and Treaty Specific Documents around July of this year.
[Note 1]
Our preliminary view is that, once complete, the reformed structure
should provide renewed impetus to the fundamental principles of
universality, interrelatedness and interdependence that we have long
agreed underscore human rights.
Before I close today, I feel compelled to touch upon some issues of
concern to my government.
My Prime Minister, addressing the UN General Assembly in 2003, and
myself in 2004, have elaborated in detail on our views on United Nations
reform.
I start by confessing my failure in understanding the rational for
universal membership of the Commission on Human Rights. We would rather
see the General Assembly taking on a greater role in the field of human
rights than seeing the CHR expanded to 191 members, becoming maybe more
representative but not necessarily democratic and operational.
In relation to suggestions for an expanded authority of the Office of
the High Commissioner, we would offer some caution. If the High
Commissioner is to have an expanded mandate it might be necessary to
review the appointment process. It might require that the position be
subjected to a 2/3 majority vote in the General Assembly.
In any event, Timor-Leste is of the view that annual sessions of ECOSOC,
CHR and other human rights bodies should be held in developing countries
in order to maximize contact and access by the peoples in need.
Furthermore, my government holds the view that UN agencies like UNHCR,
UNICEF, UNDP and WHO should be relocated to developing countries where
services rival with those in the West and in many cases are even far
better and more economical.
The other issue my Government is most concerned about is the status of
the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In Res.
1995/32, the Commission established an open-ended intercessional working
group for the purpose of finalizing the draft declaration adopted in 1994
by the Sub-Commission entitled "Draft United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
I am particularly dismayed that even after an extension was provided by
the Commission in Res. 2004/59, the Working Group did not complete its
assigned task. Timor-Leste is convinced that the original Draft
Declaration elaborated over a decade of work by the Sub-Commission and
which has the unanimous support of the world's indigenous peoples,
requires adoption now as it stands.
The single most dismal failure of the Decade for the World's Indigenous
Peoples is the failure to adopt the Draft Declaration.
The indigenous peoples of the world who bore the brunt of the worst of
Western Invasions, colonization and evangelization, in many instances
leading to their virtual decimation, expect more from those who walked
into their ancestral lands uninvited.
And finally, let us not abandon those most desperately in need in
Darfur. Yes we have acted, but what we have done is not enough. Thousands
of victims, ravaged women and bloodied children, are today suffering an
unimaginable grief borne of senseless and brutal acts of aggression. Let
us never again ignore acts of barbarity akin to those we witnessed in
Rwanda. We must heed the cries from Sudan and act to save their people. As
a global community, we have the might and we know that this is right.
The rich in Asia, Europe and North America and the poorest of the poor
in my own country came together and displayed their heartfelt solidarity
with the countries and peoples affected by the 26th December 2004
earthquake and the tsunami. The outpouring of generosity from millions
around the world was humanity at its best. The women, children and elderly
of Darfur deserve no less.
May God the Almighty and the Merciful Bless You All.
Thank you. -------- Note 1: It is expected that the initial report on
the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be submitted first,
followed by CEDAW and the others in the many months thereafter.
**************************
Charles Scheiner P.O. Box 1182, White Plains, NY 10602 USA Tel.
+1-914-831-1098 or +1-914-473-3185 (mobile) email: cscheiner@igc.org
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