25th Annual Meeting of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC)

Session on “NHRI and Transitional Justice”

Geneva, 22 March 2012

Distinguished Colleagues of National Human Rights Institutions, Ladies and Gentlemen,

There are not many countries around the globe which have made so extensive use of transitional justice tools like Timor-Leste has therefore, it is a pleasure for me today to share our experience with you.

Timor-Leste declared itself independent from Portugal in November 1975 however, 9 days later it was invaded by Indonesia. Indonesia occupied the country for more than two decades causing large scale human rights violations. A popular consultation, sponsored by the United Nations, was finally conducted in August 1999, in which 78,5 per cent of the Timorese voted for independence. When the results were announced, the Indonesian security forces and its Timorese militia allies carried out retaliation, resulting in approximately 1,500 killings and hundreds of thousands displaced.

To come to terms with the legacy of past abuses, Timor-Leste had two truth commissions established. The first, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR), was operational from 2002 to 2005. Its mandate was to facilitate reconciliation between perpetrators of less serious crimes and their victims and communities; to repair the dignity of victims; and to impartially establish the truth about human rights violations committed between 1974 and 1999. The commission concluded its work with a well received 2,800 page report based on more than 7,000 statements and made over 200 valuable recommendations.

The Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) was established by Indonesia and Timor-Leste in 2005 and handed over its final report in 2008. It was the world’s first bilateral truth commission with the mandate to determine the conclusive truth regarding the 1999 gross human rights violations in Timor-Leste. While the CAVR focused on reconciliation of the Timorese society, the CTF was created to strengthen reconciliation and friendship between Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

In October 2008, President Ramos-Horta called upon the National Parliament to set up an institution to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of both truth commissions in an integrated and systematic way. Laws establishing such an institute and the legal framework of a reparation programme have been drafted but the final vote on them is still pending with the Parliament.

With regard to the right to justice, a Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) was established following a Security Council resolution in 1999. The Unit conducted investigations and prepared indictments to bring to justice 391 individuals considered responsible for crimes against humanity and other serious crimes committed in 1999. Although the Unit did not complete all investigations, its mandate ended in May 2005. The cases were tried before the Special Panels for Serious Crimes established within the District Court and Court of Appeals in Dili, which were endowed with exclusive jurisdiction to deal with serious criminal offences. The Special Panels rendered 87 verdicts, with 84 convictions and three acquittals. Some convicted served short sentences while others benefitted from clemency measures. The remaining more than 300 indictees are believed to be at large in Indonesia.

In 2006 the Serious Crimes Investigation Team (SCIT) was established to complete investigations from the former SCU into outstanding cases, which national authorities can choose to prosecute. By January 2012 the SCIT had concluded 255 cases. However, only one of the cases that have been handed over to the Office of the Prosecutor General has been prosecuted. The defendant was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment but escaped after the judgement and remains at large.

The transitional justice mechanisms that I have mentioned were established before the existence of the Provedoria for Human Rights and Justice of Timor-Leste, which started effectively functioning in March 2006. Most mechanisms have also concluded their work before that date. However, the Provedoria believes to have an important role to perform in this regard. Though our mandate does not include looking into the human rights violations committed before its creation, it is part of our work to fight impunity and to advocate for an effective State were the rule of law prevails.

In 2010 the Provedoria, together with the NHRI of Indonesia, KOMNAS HAM, signed an agreement to focus, among other issues, on the finding of possibly as many as 4,000 missing children reportedly abducted to Indonesia during the time it occupied Timor-Leste. This agreement has been renewed in late 2011. The Provedoria was also part of the team drafting the follow up laws on the CAVR and the CTF recommendations and has participated in promotion and awareness raising activities organized by different actors in the country.

Importantly, we have made use of international human rights mechanisms to advocate for this cause. Together with civil society, we presented last year a joint report to the Universal Period Review of Timor-Leste that includes a section on Transitional Justice issues. We have also included in our final statements on this review the need for accountability of past crimes and the follow up to the transitional justice mechanisms created. We have made similar statements during visits of Special Procedures to our country, as well as written statements and oral interventions to reports presented by those procedures. We have also included relevant recommendations in shadow reports to treaty bodies.

These examples show that even though NHRIs might be established at a later stage of the creation of transitional justice tools, our role is very relevant and vast in monitoring and advocating for the effectiveness of those initiatives.

Shortly after it was established, the Provedoria went through a significant challenge. In 2006, just four years after Timor-Leste re-gained independence in 2002, internal violence broke out between the military and police forces, which led to the death of 37 people. The antagonism between soldiers from the western and eastern parts of the country spread over the entire society and resulted in about 150,000 displaced persons. The Provedoria conducted extensive and detailed investigations into this crisis and a public report was submitted to the National Parliament in 2009. The report included interviews with 624 victims and witnesses and 37 respondent authorities, including the President of the Republic, Prime Minister and Senior Ministers. It also gathered hundreds of documentary evidence as well as in loco inspection.

To deal with the crisis, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was established with a far-reaching mandate, including policing responsibility. Vetting of police officers was conducted by a Timorese-led evaluation panel and all units and departments of the national police were evaluated before the policing responsibility was handed over back to national authorities in March 2011. Capacity building programmes for the police and military forces, including training on human rights and international humanitarian law, have been implemented to ensure professionalism. The Provedoria has participated in some of those.

In overcoming the consequences and underlying causes of the 2006 crisis, an OHCHR Independent Commission of Inquiry identified 19 incidents which International Prosecutors have commenced to investigate. As of today, 11 cases have been completed (4 archived), resulting in 9 convictions and 43 acquittals. However, all convicted individuals benefitted from Presidential clemency measures and served little or no time in prison. The Provedoria has called attention in different forums to the level of impunity and the undermining of the justice system by the attribution of pardons and amnesties to serious crimes of international law.

Transitional justice mechanisms have helped to consolidate peace in our conflict torn country and paved the way for the emerging economic and social development. However, transitional justice is a long lasting process and some of the mechanisms are not yet complete. Timor-Leste has still a long way to go to entirely fulfil the rights to truth, justice and reparations, which are fundamental for lasting peace and prevention. And though the Provedoria is a recent institution, we have proved that we are strong and that we have an important role to play in the transitional justice process. We will certainly continue strengthening our capacity to do so.

Thank you.

1