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.
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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.
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