Notícias - em inglês

ABC Radio Australia - Asia Pacific - 2/10/2006 2:40:51 PM

TIMOR: UN in disarray as new envoy appointment revoked

The U-N mission in East Timor has been thrown into disarray with the appointment of the new mission chief revoked. Antonio Macarenhas Monteiro was appointed as Timor's new UN envoy earlier this month to replace the outgoing Sukehiro Hasegawa. That leaves Timor without a U-N head of mission and the timing couldn't be worse, with more violence on the streets of Dili this week.

Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti
Speakers: Finne Reske-Nielson, UN's acting envoy in East Timor

RESKE-NIELSON: I'm actually not in the position to tell you anything about that, because these are decisions that have been made in New York and I only have the same information that you have in terms of what the situation is regarding the appointment of the new special representative secretary-general. As you know, Mr Hasegawa , ended his assignment here last Friday and the secretary-general then asked me to assume the functions as acting special representative pending the appointment of the substantive UN representative, that's all I can share with you at this point in time.

LOPRESTI: Well if asked, would you consider being Timor's UN permanent envoy?

RESKE-NIELSON: I have no comment to make on that, because it is the perogative of the secretary-general to make the appointment and he's asked me to be the acting special representative and I've taken on those functions as of last Friday.

LOPRESTI: All right, well let's talk about the situation in Timor. Mr Hasegawa's in his final press conference warned that Timor could be sucked into a black hole of conflict, given the violence early this year and the continuing tensions in Dili. And just this week, there was more tension on the streets of Dili with riot police being called in to use tear gas to disperse groups of youths. How do you see the security situation in Dili at this time?

RESKE-NIELSON: Over the past few days, we have seen an increase in the level of violence and the security situation remains fragile and volatile, especially in Dili. We've seen a situation where there's been violent confrontations between rival factions and this is I suspect in part gang related and in part linking with the political situation in the country.

LOPRESTI: There's still a situation where there are tens-of-thousands of East Timorese in refugee camps still too afraid to return home. What is the UN doing to ease that situation?

RESKE-NIELSON: Well, first the immediate concern is to ensure that sufficient humanitarian supports provided to these people in the camps that we still have dotted around Dili in the Dili area. And that humanitarian support has now been provided for several months and that is proceeding smoothly and all the basic needs are taken care of.

As regards the finding a solution to this problem, we are engaged in consultations with the government and all the other players in order to help facilitate a dialogue hopefully leading to reconciliation both at the leadership level and at the community level.

LOPRESTI: Isn't your view that the UN has lifted its game in Timor, given that it did come under some criticism for its handling of the violence early this year, even by Kofi Annan. Do you believe now that the UN is actually taking a greater role, a greater responsibility?

RESKE-NIELSON: If we go back to the beginning of the year, the decisions that were made by the Security Council were that the UN mission should be more or less phased out at the end of its regular mandate in May. But following the events of April and May, the Security Council has of course since decided to upgrade the mission significantly and to give it a much broader mandate than the previous mission had. So I don't think there's any doubt that we have lifted our game in Timor.

LOPRESTI: Now next year, Timor will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. How involved will the UN be in that election process to ensure that there is a new culture of democratic governance in East Timor?

RESKE-NIELSON: The mandate that we have been given by the UN Security Council is to provide technical and logistical support, including policy advice to the electoral process and we have also been authorised to verify or certify the elections and the way this is being operationalised, is that we will have a rather large electoral component under the new mission which will compromise well over 400 electoral advisers and United Nations volunteers that would provide the logistical and technical support.

At the same time, it is expected that there would be an independent certification team compromised of internationally renowned electoral experts who will be charged to monitor the electoral process and at the end of each phase certify that it has been conducted in accordance with internationally accepted standards.

LOPRESTI: And given that Mr Hasegawa has departed from his role as the UN envoy in Timor, and given that Mr Monteiro's appointment has been evoked. Do you expect to be in Timor next year for those elections?

RESKE-NIELSON: Well I expect to be here, because I have been in this country since the beginning of September when I was appointed by the secretary-general as deputy special representative for a one year period, with particular responsibility for the electoral process.

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United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) - 29 Sep 2006

Commission of inquiry for Timor-Leste to conclude work

The Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste will conclude its work within the three-month period established in its mandate.

The Commissioners have requested that a Tetum version of the report be made available to the National Parliament to make it more widely accessible. Tetum is one of the official languages of Timor-Leste and the most widely spoken language in the country.

The report will be transmitted to the Parliament shortly after 7 October, the date originally set for transmission, due to the time required for translation.

The Commission would like to place on record its appreciation for the full cooperation from all individuals and institutions that cooperated with its members.

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UN News Centre
2 October 2006

UN envoy in Timor-Leste stresses the need to resolve differences at the ballot box

2 October 2006 – Stressing the need to restore stability and peace in Timor-Leste following the deadly violence that erupted earlier this year, the United Nations envoy in the tiny nation said today that all Timorese should resolve their differences at the ballot box and not through conflict.

In his first major speech as Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Finn Reske-Nielsen also reaffirmed the commitment of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) to promoting justice in the tiny South East Asian nation as well as to next year’s planned parliamentary and presidential elections.

“The key focus of the Mission is to assist this country in returning to stability and promoting justice and peace. It is therefore part of the core mandate of the Mission to help facilitate the dialogue amongst the leaders that will lead to national reconciliation,” he told a press conference in the capital Dili.

“This is not going to be an easy task, but we have a number of tools available to us to help us with this. The Good Office’s role of the United Nations will be critical to our success in the coming months… Fundamentally we have to convey to the people of this country that conflict and other differences need to be fought at the ballot box and nowhere else.”

Mr. Reske-Nielsen said that once up to full strength the Mission will be made up of over 3,000 staff including civilian and uniform personnel. He also emphasized the important role of UN police in rehabilitating the local force, which disintegrated following the violence in April and May that involved factional fighting with the military and led to the deaths of at least 37 people and forced around 155,000 to flee their homes.

UNMIT is also committed, in cooperation with other partners, to strengthening the integrity of the legal system, he said, adding that the report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into this year’s violence –– expected to be presented sometime this month –– will be “a very important step in the direction of ensuring that there is justice for all.”

Mr. Reske-Nielsen took up his post as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the beginning of last month but is currently the Acting Special Representative following the departure of Sukehiro Hasegawa at the end of September.