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I would like to thank the Secretary General for the preparation of the latest report on the situation in Timor-Leste and his recommendations for the UN’s future involvement. In particular, I would like to commend the work of Special Envoy Ian Martin and his assessment team who have produced a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the challenges facing Timor-Leste today.
New Zealand warmly welcomes the Secretary General’s report. While there are elements of the report that do concern us, on the whole we believe it provides a very sound blueprint for UN engagement with Timor-Leste in the coming years.
The United Nations has been involved in Timor-Leste since its birth as a nation. We have before us a remarkable opportunity to learn lessons from that experience and make sure that mistakes made in the past are not repeated. As the Secretary General’s report notes “A process of reflection is needed to draw lessons on what has and has not worked, review the new priorities emerging from the crisis and factor these into a common platform for recovery.”
Mr President, the security situation in Timor-Leste has begun to stabilise. It remains clear, however, that outbreaks of violence are still possible and international assistance will be required for some time to guarantee the safety of the Timorese people. The stability that has been achieved has allowed initial steps to be taken toward political and social reconciliation – a process which must be protected and encouraged.
The Secretary General’s report highlights the multitude of difficulties that the new UN mission in Timor-Leste will face. These include weak, and in some cases inoperative, government institutions; a damaged security sector in need of review and rebuilding; a weakened democracy with a lack of connection between the people and their institutions of governance and nationhood; and enormous challenges of economic management and development – including high rates of poverty and youth unemployment.
Against this background, New Zealand wholeheartedly endorses the report’s emphasis on a “sustained commitment and a coordinated approach”. As we have said before in this room, it is vitally important at this time that the UN system sends the message that it is committed to supporting and assisting Timor-Leste for the long haul. New Zealand believes we should articulate this commitment by giving the new UN Mission an extended initial mandate together with a strong affirmation that that mandate must be renewed. Our long-term commitment to Timor is likely to be counted in years, not months.
We support the call for a “compact” between Timor-Leste and the international community to ensure coordination between the Mission and Timorese government priorities, plans and budgeting processes. Coordination, in fact, cannot be overemphasised. The building of the new Mission in Timor-Leste must be done in a carefully coordinated way with the UN Funds and Programmes, multilateral donors and bilateral partners to ensure that the Mission makes best use of all available resources to lay the foundations for Timor’s future economic growth and development. It is clear that the new Mission must have strong and dynamic leadership. The new Special Representative must have flexibility in his use of resources and must convey a sense of vision and authority to the government and people of Timor-Leste.
Mr President, the Report’s coverage of the security sector recognises that the failures of the Timorese defence (F-FDTL) and police (PNTL) forces are interconnected. We warmly welcome the call for a holistic review of the security sector encompassing reform of both defence and police. This should involve 'first principles' discussions with the Timorese government and civil society on the nation's real security needs and the structures that are best suited to meet those needs. Resolving these issues will be one of the keys to ensuring the future stability of Timor-Leste.
In terms of military support for the new UN mission, New Zealand is comfortable with the recommendations contained in the report. We realise, however, that consensus has not yet emerged around these arrangements and we look forward to working closely with all interested stakeholders to find a solution that meets all of our concerns. From New Zealand’s perspective as one of the contributors to the current stabilisation force, it is important that the military presence in Timor-Leste, however it evolves, must enjoy broad based support and clearly recognised international legitimacy.
The report proposes a substantial UN policing component and we remain concerned that the number of police being sought is too great. The UN Police will have a short-term role in frontline policing, but we hope they will be able to move quickly to working with the PNTL, aiding in its reform and recovery. This is in line with the approach we hope will be taken right across the UN Mission of working with Timorese institutions rather than attempting to do their job for them. We should note, however that the placing of UN police in frontline policing positions, and then gradually increasing the numbers of PNTL patrolling alongside them will not of itself lead to the creation of a new and robust PNTL. This process has been relied on in the past and has failed. The rebuilding of the PNTL must be a deliberate process based on one training model and led by Police trainers from a single bilateral partner.
The recommendations in the report around justice and human rights are of crucial importance. We have consistently supported the work of the Serious Crimes Unit as an essential component of an internationally supported process to see justice served for crimes committed in East Timor in 1999 and we are pleased that its investigations will resume. The recent unrest in Timor has only served to underline the importance of robust justice and human rights mechanisms.
We also think it is vital address the problems confronting the day to day functioning of the criminal justice system. To be effective, efficient and durable all the institutions of government must connect, at a very basic and practical level, with all Timorese. As part of its work on institutional capacity building and governance the Mission must encourage the full functioning of government, including the justice sector, in both official languages – Portuguese and Tetun. It should ensure that effective government service delivery and systems of participatory democracy function in languages that the people of Timor-Leste speak and understand.
Finally Mr President, we continue to urge the Timorese leadership to work together to regain the confidence of their people. Now is the time for strong and united leadership. We rely on Timor’s political leaders to take responsibility for the future of their nation. The rebuilding of respect for political process need not wait until next year’s elections. We are encouraged by recent first steps – they must continue, and we must do all we can to help them down that road.
