President
Security Council
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017

October 20, 2009

Your Excellency

We have long been concerned with the justice and accountability for
human rights and war crimes committed in Timor-Leste.

As you meet this week to discuss the situation in Timor-Leste, we
remind you that United Nations -- and more specifically Security
Council -- pledges and obligations concerning human rights and
accountability for serious human rights crimes remain unfulfilled.

Once again we urge the Security Council to implement the
recommendations of the 2005 Commission of Experts (CoE) report and
Chega! (Enough!), the final report of the Timor-Leste's Reception,
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR). Both reports urge
establishing an ad hoc international tribunal should other efforts at
justice fail. If anything, recent events confirm that the governments
of Timor-Leste and Indonesia are unwilling or able to pursue
justice. It is time for the Council to act.

Recent events have highlighted the necessity for international
involvement in prosecuting serious crimes committed in Timor-Leste
between 1975 and 1999, including the August arrest and extra-judicial
release (under Indonesian pressure) of the former militia leader
Martenus Bere. He had been arrested under an outstanding indictment
for serious crimes committed in 1999 after crossing the border into
Timor-Leste. His release not only undermined the rule of law in
Timor-Leste, it clearly demonstrated that the government of Indonesia
continues to undermine efforts by the judiciary in Timor-Leste to
prosecute Indonesian citizens accused of serious crimes committed in
1999 and before.

There was an outcry from broad segments of Timor-Leste society against
Bere's release, as shown by letters recently delivered to you from
East Timorese.

Both the spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights properly took issue with the
release. The Secretary-General in his recent report to the Security
Council on UNMIT, expressed his "hope that the Governments of both
Timor-Leste and Indonesia will ensure that Martenus Bere is brought to
justice taking into account the report of the Commission of Experts
appointed in 2005 (see S/2005/458)."

The recent report of UNMIT and the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights "Rejecting Impunity: Accountability for Human Rights
Violations Past and Present" makes clear that "Victims of past
violations have continued to call for the perpetrators of crimes
against them or their family members to face justice." The report
states "grave human rights violations were committed by members of the
Indonesian security forces" during the Indonesian invasion and
occupation. These were contrary to international law, the UN Charter
and the Security Council's own resolutions.

Some of Timor-Leste's leaders have expressed the certainty that the
United Nations and the Security Council will never act in a
substantive way to hold accountable those responsible for the crimes
committed during the illegal occupation of Timor-Leste. While we are
not naïve about the obstacles, we hold you to a higher standard. We
believe that the United Nations and the Council must live up to its
promises to deny impunity to worst perpetrators, if only to reinforce
your own credibility. We urge you to act now to implement the UN’s
repeated promises by allocating the necessary political, financial and
legal resources to end impunity for these crimes against humanity.

We strongly believe that real accountability will reinforce democracy
and the rule of law in both Indonesia and Timor-Leste, as well as
support genuine reconciliation between the two peoples.

The Security Council ended the serious crimes process in May 2005,
although UNMIT has resumed investigating murders committed in 1999,
but without a mandate or mechanism for issuing indictments or bringing
perpetrators to trial. In addition to this far too-restrictive
mandate, the Serious Crimes Investigative Team’s (SCIT) investigative
process is appallingly slow. As reported to you by the
Secretary-General, "As at 31 August, the team had completed
investigations into 89 of 396 outstanding cases; an additional 21
cases are currently under investigation." More than 300 suspects
indicted by the UN-backed Serious Crimes Unit, nearly all in
Indonesia. We urge the Council to reject the recent statement of
Timor-Leste's president to close the SCIT. Instead its resources
should be increased, and its scope broadened.

A full reconstitution of the serious crimes processes is required, in
line with recommendations the CAVR's Chega! This requires at a
minimum: A Serious Crimes Unit working within the Office of the
Prosecutor-General, a commitment of sufficient resources, and a
mandate to investigate and prosecute major crimes committed during the
Indonesian occupation. Timor-Leste’s judicial system remains weak,
with no ability to reach perpetrators outside the
country. Timor-Leste's leaders made clear, in the debate about the
Bere case, that they fear retaliation from their large neighbor.

Justice must be a direct UN responsibility to ensure that there is no
impunity for serious crimes such as war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide.

A full decade has passed since Indonesia’s violent exit from
Timor-Leste. Indonesia has repeatedly demonstrated that it will act to
prevent credible prosecution of Indonesian citizens for crimes
connected with Indonesia’s occupation of Timor-Leste. We urge Interpol
to issue arrest warrants for all those indicted by the Serious Crimes
Unit who remain at large, at a minimum to discourage these suspects
from traveling internationally. Other sanctions should be considered
as well.

The Secretary-General in his most recent report on UNMIT to the
Council writes, "On 2 September, participants in a three-day 'National
Victims’ Congress' organized by non-governmental organizations in
Dili, with support from OHCHR, called for an international tribunal to
prosecute the perpetrators of human rights abuses committed during the
1974-1999 period." As an alternative to a revived and strengthened
serious crimes process, the Security Council should implement this
recommendation, echoed by the CoE report and the CAVR by creating an
ad hoc international criminal tribunal for Timor-Leste.

More than ten years ago, the Council, in Resolutions 1264 and 1272
expressed its commitment to justice for the people of
Timor-Leste. Failure to do so reinforces the impression that the UN
supports a double standard of justice, undermining the rule of law and
respect for human rights in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and
internationally.

Yours sincerely,

 
Cc: members UN Security Council
UN Secretary-General