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Mr President,
I thank the Secretary-General for his report on the situation in Timor Leste, Under Secretary-General Guehenno for his briefing and Ambassador Nelson Santos for his statement. I join others in expressing New Zealand’s deep concern at the recent attacks in Timor-Leste on President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. We wish President Ramos-Horta a quick and full recovery.
We commend the people, Government and Parliament of Timor-Leste, as well as UNMIT and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), for their initial responses to the attacks. We emphasise the importance of continued close cooperation between the Government, UNMIT and the ISF over security operations, in accordance with established procedures. Thankfully, Timor-Leste’s two democratically-elected leaders survived the attacks, but the attacks have underscored how fragile Timor-Leste continues to be, and how easily recent progress could have been undone.
Mr President,
New Zealand strongly supports the Secretary-General’s recommendation to renew UNMIT’s mandate for a further 12 months. It is important for the UN to demonstrate its sustained commitment to Timor-Leste, both for practical reasons and for the reassuring message this will send to the people of Timor-Leste. New Zealand contributes personnel to both UNMIT and to the ISF and will continue to do so.
New Zealand welcomes the progress made by the Government of Timor-Leste, in particular the successful conduct of national elections. We commend the efforts of UNMIT in assisting Timor-Leste toward these achievements. New Zealand recognises however that a number of serious issues remain unresolved, including the future of the security forces, the IDP situation, Reinado’s supporters, and the “petitioners“. Timor-Leste will need long term support of the international community to overcome the challenges of poverty, unemployment and fragile institutions.
Mr President,
New Zealand supports maintaining police numbers at current levels because we recognise that while there has been some improvement overall, the situation remains fragile. UNPOL’s presence is an important deterrent to a return to violence. UNMIT needs the capability to fulfill its two primary roles - to provide security, and to support the durable reform and rebuilding of the Police force (PNTL) through capacity building and training. Both roles are equally important to future stability in Timor-Leste. Close attention is needed to the skills sets of UNPOL officers and the way in which officers’ skills are utilised. New Zealand hopes that DPKO’s Police Adviser will be able to identify ways to strengthen UNPOL when he visits Timor-Leste, including reviewing the process for the handover of police posts to PNTL, to ensure that PNTL is ready to assume those responsibilities.
Mr President,
New Zealand continues to believe that security sector reform is essential for ensuring long term stability in Timor-Leste. UNMIT has a critical supporting role to play. New Zealand strongly encourages UNMIT to step up its efforts to engage with Timor-Leste to find a suitable approach to provide assistance in the institutionalisation and strengthening of Timor-Leste’s security forces. A single, coherent plan which all stakeholders are committed to would help to ensure a successful, sound and enduring outcome to this process.
There are many other areas in which UNMIT and the international community need to assist Timor-Leste to help the young country to stand on its own. Strengthening the justice sector is a high priority. Every effort needs to be made to counter perceptions of impunity. In this regard, it is important that all recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the events of April-May 2006 are fully implemented. Addressing the multi-faceted challenges of underdevelopment and poverty must also be pursued and New Zealand will continue to assist through its bilateral and multilateral programmes.
Mr President,
New Zealand stands ready as a regional partner and friend of Timor-Leste. We continue to offer our support and encouragement to the leaders and people of Timor-Leste, and to the SRSG Atul Khare and the UNMIT team. New Zealand remains committed to working with the international community in assisting Timor-Leste. We thank the Security Council for its ongoing support for Timor-Leste and the leadership of South Africa in this respect.
Thank you Mr President
