YouSaid · the spoken record

Vieira De Mello

lines on the record: 513
first: 1999-01-21
most recent: 2003-07-22
sittings or episodes: 16
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I would urge the Council, finally, to call for the effective implementation of the sections of the Pretoria Agreement calling for a national observatory on human rights and a truth and reconciliation commission, not least in order to ensure that the voices of the victims are fully and loudly heard. To conclude, my Office stands ready, as is the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, to continue to assist - needless to say, in close partnership with MONUC - in strengthening our monitoring and reporting capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in expanding its support and activities during the transitional process in those areas with a human rights dimension.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“Efforts must be made to prevent their integration into the Pretoria Agreement transitional mechanisms until their names have been cleared through a credible judicial process or enquiry. The Council might also wish to ensure that the Pretoria peace process is based on solid human rights grounds and that, concurrently, effective judicial and national human rights protection systems are created or strengthened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo so as to assure the success and sustainability of that process. In this regard, consideration should perhaps be given to the establishment of an international commission of enquiry to look into all serious human rights violations committed by all sides. It is critical for the future peace of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that those responsible for these acts be held accountable.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“In my written report, I have named three senior officers of the RCD-Goma who are alleged to have been involved in the 14 May 2002 massacres and who have not been brought to trial. Indeed, two of them have since been promoted, and I have raised this with senior RCD-Goma leaders who met with me in Kisangani last January. As regards the MLC military officers involved in the crimes referred to earlier, their names should be obtainable as their leader has reportedly placed them under arrest. I also named the commander of the Government forces allegedly involved in human rights violations during the incident which took place in Ankoro in the province of Katanga on 10 and 11 November 2002, as well as leaders of rebel groups who should be held responsible for gross violations which have been committed by officers and men under their control.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The Council may wish to demand again that the belligerents and their foreign supporters put an immediate end to human rights violations and to the culture of impunity, and that those responsible for such crimes, including those who continue to exercise military command functions, be immediately arrested and eventually brought to justice. Likewise, I expect that the Commission on Human Rights, through its Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will continue to monitor the situation closely. The Special Rapporteur will shortly be visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo before reporting to the Commission at its upcoming fifty-ninth session.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The past months in the district of Ituri have also been marked by massive human rights violations. In the Bunia area, manhunts and reprisals on ethnic grounds continue to be reported. It is alleged that the UPC-RP is fuelling this crisis. It should be noted that, as pointed out by Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UCP-RP did not participate in the inter-Congolese dialogue, which took place in Sun City. In conclusion, my overarching and pressing recommendation to the Security Council is that there is an imperative need to continue to monitor closely and report on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of the implications the situation is having and, if unchecked, will continue to have on efforts to restore peace and security in the country.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“Information gathered reveals that persecution on ethnic and tribal grounds, extortion of property, rape and other forms of sexual violence against women, extrajudicial executions and the forced recruitment of children are being committed by military personnel of the Union des patriotes congolais-reconciliation et paix (UPC-RP). This situation has caused thousands of civilians again to flee south from Bunia to Irumu, Mambasa and Beni, thereby increasing the number of internally displaced persons in that region. Following the December 2002 events in Mambasa, these internally displaced persons had to flee southwards for a second time towards the towns of Eringeti and Oicha in the Beni region. Mass graves have also been identified in several places in Bunia.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The assessment of humanitarian teams was that if the security situation did not improve, displaced persons would be unable to tend their crops, and longer-term food availability could be even more difficult and could have tragic consequences for those people. A recent mission to Bunia confirmed gross violations of human rights, including group rapes of women, extrajudicial executions and the looting and burning of homes. In Nyakunde, well over 2,000 killings were reported, and the population has again fled into the forest. Similar atrocities have been reported in Kindu, and group rapes appear to have been frequently carried out in the Kivus. In the areas controlled by the UPC since August 2002, the human rights situation has also deteriorated significantly.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The crisis around Beni/Mambasa, apart from these horrendous and systematic atrocities, has led to the displacement of well over 100,000 people. In early January 2003, in close partnership with non- governmental organizations (NGOs), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme and MONUC participated in humanitarian assessment missions to the area. By mid-January, many of the displaced had begun to return towards Mambasa and Eringeti, but large numbers had dispersed into the forest where access is difficult, if not impossible. Food insecurity was a predominant concern.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The MLC leader has admitted to the veracity of the charges and promised to prosecute those suspected of having committed these crimes. According to reports, 27 officers have been arrested, and their trial is scheduled to take place starting on 18 February 2003. While welcoming the fact that there is at least acknowledgement of responsibility, which is fairly unusual in this kind of situation, I have not agreed to a request that my office in Kinshasa observe these trials, as the rebel military judicial system lacks legitimacy and does not conform to international legal and human rights standards, as far as we can tell. In my opinion, such crimes should fall within the jurisdiction of the transitional justice mechanism that will be put in place in accordance with the Pretoria Agreement of 16-17 December 2002.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The most shocking violations of human rights described in that testimony include 220 arbitrary executions, 95 cases of rape, 122 cases of forced disappearance, 102 unaccounted-for family members including children, 32 cases of torture and abuse and more than 100 cases of kidnapping for forced labour. (spoke in English) The systematic looting of all buildings, including hospitals, churches and individual homes, was also confirmed during the visit of the team to Mambasa and Mandima and to me, during my visit to Kisangani, where I met with representatives from different parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The planned military operation carried out by forces of the MLC was called in code "Effacer le tableau". My written report provides more details on this.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The team confirmed the use of plundering, murder and rape as premeditated instruments of war by the forces of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-national (RCD-N) in October 2002 and during recent clashes in December 2002 with the support of soldiers of the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC). The Nande ethnic group were targeted for summary execution as well as certain pygmies who were forced to flee into the forest for the first time, accused of collaboration with the RCD- Kisangani/Mouvement de Liberation (RCD-K/ML). Victims and witnesses have described many cases of mutilation followed by acts of cannibalism. The special MONUC investigation team interviewed more than 500 persons who had fled to Beni, Butembo, Mangina, Oicha and Eringeti.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The sharp reduction in household income has lead to widespread corruption within the judicial system, the armed forces and the police, and among teachers, heads of schools and members of medical services, making the public administration as a whole ineffective, as I have been told by the President of the Republic, Mr. Joseph Kabila, himself. As members are aware, at the end of last year MONUC dispatched a team to the Beni region to conduct an inquiry into allegations of serious violations of human rights - summary executions, rape, torture, forced disappearances - reported to have been committed in Mambasa and in villages between Mambasa and Mangina and between Mambasa and Erengeti.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“It is therefore vital to facilitate access and to provide the assistance that humanitarian workers provide to the populations displaced by the conflict. The economic interests which are at the root of the continued plundering of natural resources and of State revenues remain a factor of destabilization and are contributing to conditions of anarchy and grave violations of human rights in the eastern part of the country. The rapid deterioration of the economy, exacerbated by the continuation of the conflict, is another real concern.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“Nonetheless, the impunity with which these grave violations are committed, in particular by high officials of the Government army and commanders of the various rebel forces, represent a major obstacle to promoting human rights and lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The humanitarian situation, which is already very difficult, is deteriorating further because of the many obstacles to access by humanitarian workers to impoverished populations, many of whose members have been forced to flee their villages and seek refuge in inhospitable forests in the eastern part of the country. As members know, those regions are under the control of rebel groups. The warring parties are not allowing humanitarian organizations to enter the areas under their control.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“Beyond the brief comments that I will be making on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my Office has also prepared a more detailed report on the matter, and I will be pleased to share it with members if they so wish. In general, the Government and other parties to the conflict continue to commit grave violations of human rights. This is alarming, and as my colleague just said, could be a threat to the peace process, which remains fragile. The Government and the leaders of rebel groups, have admitted that there are massive violations of human rights.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“The briefing that I am presenting today complements that just provided by Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno and responds to a press statement by the President of the Security Council dated 15 January 2003 (press release SC/7634), in which Council members condemned in the strongest terms the massacres and systematic violations of human rights perpetrated in the Ituri area. That very same day I was completing my own mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I asked my office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and colleagues in the human rights section of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to ensure immediate follow-up of the Council's request, through continued observation of the situation in that region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
2003-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4705 (2003) · source
“To conclude, I would like to thank the Council and Ministers very sincerely, on behalf of Jose Ramos- Horta and the second Transitional Government he represents here today, for the support and solidarity extended to us by this Council in the course of today's debate, which will serve as strong encouragement to all of us, particularly the people of East Timor, in the final phase of the transition to independence of a territory the Council tasked us to administer and steer. I thank you, Minister Gayan, for presiding over this meeting today, and, through you, we extend our gratitude to Ambassador Koonjul and his team for the keen interest and sympathy they have demonstrated in the preparations for this debate of the Security Council on East Timor.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462Resumption1 (2002) · source
“We will continue to do so in the future because we definitely share those observations, in particular those made about the extension of the mandate of the Constituent Assembly and the good use this extension should be put to in refining the text of the first constitution of East Timor with regard to the presidential election, the justice system, the truth and reconciliation commission, economic development, as well as the situation of the remaining refugees in West Timor.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462Resumption1 (2002) · source
“I would like to confirm to the representative of Guinea that, indeed, we shall be convening a last donors conference in Dili about 10 days before the country becomes independent, a donors meeting to which we will be presenting the outcome of the work being carried out by the Planning Commission. That outcome should be a mid-term development strategy for East Timor, which is what, I believe, the representatives had in mind. Finally, on the comments that were made on a variety of topics, I would like to say that we have not only taken them into account in the past.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462Resumption1 (2002) · source
“With regard to the successor mission, we welcome the approval in principle of the concept outlined in the report of the Secretary-General, as well as the support expressed by many speakers for the civilian positions in core areas that the Secretary-General proposed be funded from the assessed budget of the United Nations. With regard to the request made by some speakers that the Secretary-General present specific proposals in his next report - his end-of-mission report - for the successor presence of the United Nations in East Timor, we have taken note with great attention of the suggestions formulated here by many delegations, in particular by the Russian Federation and France.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462Resumption1 (2002) · source
“Mr. Vieira de Mello: For the sake of brevity, I will also speak on behalf of Jose Ramos-Horta. I would like first to thank all the speakers for their generous words addressed to my colleagues, to the second Transitional Government and other Timorese institutions, not least the Constituent Assembly. Whatever our joint achievements, they would not have been possible without the unfailing and unanimous support of this Council over the last 27 months. We thank the Council for the unanimous support it has expressed for UNTAET's mandate extension until independence.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462Resumption1 (2002) · source
“As we approach the conclusion of this remarkable exercise, I, on behalf of the East Timorese Transitional Government and on behalf of Jose Ramos-Horta, invite members of the Council to attend the Independence Day celebrations. You visited once before, providing welcome support in a most sombre time. We now very much hope that you can visit in altogether more uplifting circumstances. You will have good reason to be proud.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Another element that is key to a smooth transition is the incorporation within the Government of essential common services and the transfer of United Nations assets to the East Timorese Government in support of those services. A preliminary list of assets for potential disposal has undergone a financial-sustainability review, and the final list of desired assets will be presented to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions next month for its consideration. Finally, in the home stretch to independence, the Government and I have asked for East Timor to be deleted from the list of non-self-governing territories. I expect the Government immediately to seek membership in the United Nations. This territory, which was an orphan of the United Nations, will then become a full-grown member of our family.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“To ensure the division of responsibility among principal players who will assist East Timor in these areas, I have been consulting with the United Nations agencies and other entities, seeking their support in principle to help fill the 200 civilian technical assistance posts. These will also be circulated to Member States. We have also been reducing the number of international posts outside the Public Administration. Starting with my own extended office - which includes public information, legal affairs, political affairs, human rights and others - the reduction will be in monthly tranches, resulting in an overall reduction of 40 per cent by the end of April. Similarly, our division of the UNTAET administration is cutting back by 40 per cent.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The East Timorese Government will also require international assistance in support of social and economic development and poverty-reduction programmes. The ongoing UNDP study has identified some 200 such functions as crucial for that purpose, and voluntary arrangements are being sought to meet these requirements. Members of the Constituent Assembly are rightly anxious to ensure that the development of East Timor's health and education sectors, in particular, continues beyond independence, and it is through these positions that we will be able to help assuage these concerns.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNTAET, together with the Government, have also agreed on job descriptions and specifications for the posts, and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has prepared the United Nations vacancy announcements, which can now be viewed on the United Nations web site. In addition, a recruitment process for the 100 functions is being designed. It is our goal to have experts arrive in theatre early enough to overlap with their international predecessors, unless current incumbents are selected. In this context, I appeal for continued support by the Council to ensure timely action and an early mandate of the successor mission, since this would allow our collective early planning and preparations to bear fruit.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“This downsizing process has been particularly difficult, as the government bodies and ministries are in dire need of international staff everywhere. Indeed, I believe it was the Council's support, in principle, for a continued post-independence provision of critical assistance to the East Timorese Government that encouraged the ministries to make these difficult cuts, these extremely difficult choices. As you know, the resultant list of 100 posts falls within the areas of finance and central services, justice, internal systems and essential services.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Nonetheless, we are continuing - and determinedly so - with a simultaneous wind-down of the mission to ensure we minimize trauma caused by the end of UNTAET and the commencement of a smaller, more limited mission. I am confident that we will meet the Secretary-General's commitment to a 75 per cent cut of international personnel in the Public Administration by the end of our mandate. Following a reduction of 35 per cent by November last year, we will be reducing our staff by an additional 10 per cent each month over four months starting tomorrow, 31 January - when 140 international staff members will be leaving the mission - and continuing through the end of April. This will ensure that our 75 per cent reduction is achieved, leaving around 200 international staff and 50 United Nations Volunteers in government at the end of the mandate.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“As with the police, UNTAET is working together with the Public Administration of East Timor to ensure that immediately upon independence a formal understanding is in place to address clearly and unambiguously the role of the United Nations military and its relationship with the East Timor Defence Force. The Secretary-General has recommended that, before wrapping up UNTAET, our mandate be extended until the date of independence, on 20 May. This would allow UNTAET to make the necessary preparations for the presidential elections and events leading up to independence day, as well as going some way to completing the priority tasks that I have just outlined. I very much hope that you concur and make such a decision in the coming 48 hours.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“This will be absolutely critical to the success of this component of the successor mission. On the military side, the mission will continue providing support for external security and territorial integrity, initially with a force of 5,000. Once the border areas are delimited and national border-control structures are in place, the size of the military component will be reduced, subject, needless to say, to the overriding caveat of prevailing security conditions. Furthermore, it will be vital for the mission to ensure timely handover of responsibilities from the military component to the East Timor Defence Force and relevant Public Administration departments.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“A gradual handover of individual police activities to the national units and districts, under unified command, will begin in May this year and likely end in January 2004. The handover will be contingent upon a positive assessment of personnel and institutional realities, and we are currently identifying the specific criteria for appropriate United Nations certification and accreditation. Subject to the timely achievement of certification, CIVPOL will start with a force of 1,250 at independence and be reduced by an average of 5 per cent every month, leaving about 100 officers by January 2004 working in a purely advisory role. As CIVPOL reduces its size, it will be increasingly important for police-contributing nations to provide senior police officers with capacity-building and advisory skills.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“We - the Government and UNTAET both - believe this is absolutely essential to ensure coordination of police response in the field. During this period, shadowing the international police Commissioner will be the East Timorese Commissioner-in-training, whom I appointed in October last year. We are working together with the Government to ensure that on independence the Government concludes with the United Nations an agreement which will addresses the role of the police component and its relationship with the new East Timorese police force. CIVPOL activities in the future mission will focus on finishing the job of developing the East Timorese police, which will be at a little more than half its target strength on the day of independence. The East Timor Police Service is expected to reach full capacity by January 2004.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Other civilian activities will include providing assistance in serious crimes investigations, as well as human rights mainstreaming. On the police side, as I understand it, there is no precedent for nationwide United Nations executive policing responsibility in an independent State. In short, overall command of the East Timorese police, together with the United Nations civilian police (CIVPOL), will rest with the international police Commissioner. It has been clearly agreed, at a meeting that I attended with Chief Minister Alkatiri just before coming to New York, that once a unit is handed over to an East Timorese officer, he or she will continue to report up a single chain of command that, as I said, will be led by the United Nations civilian police.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“In this regard, I would like to reiterate here an important observation in the Secretary-General's report: that funding of the East Timor Police Service and the East Timor Defence Force will be essential to the achievement of the core mandate. As members know, both are highly under-resourced and will require bilateral and other voluntary assistance to be able to function effectively. The civilian activities of the mission will focus on providing international civilian assistance for core functions in public administration. As members know, the civilian experts would provide crucial support to the emergent East Timorese Administration. The concept for this was extensively discussed at the last Council meeting.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The hope is that such an exercise allows for a better synergy and sense of a common goal in the successor mission. I am confident that this is being achieved, and I commend it to the Council for its consideration and approval. Briefly, let me summarize the main contents of the framework. First and foremost, the mission will be guided by the principle identified in the Council's presidential statement of 31 October last, namely, to ensure that all operational responsibilities are fully devolved to the East Timorese authorities as soon as this is feasible without jeopardizing stability and progress made. The mission is expected to achieve its core mandate in around two years from independence, provided the fundamental conditions for implementation continue to prevail.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“However, revenues from this field in the first few years may not be as high as initially predicted because of the revised fiscal terms and also because production is now more conservatively estimated. I should now like to turn to the successor mission, a subject that continues to occupy much time within UNTAET and the Second Transitional Government. Our unprecedented advance planning has resulted in a framework for the successor mission, which is attached to the report of the Secretary- General. In this simple proposal, the Secretary-General delimits the scope of action for the future peace operation, and, maybe more importantly, bases its scope on the needs articulated by the future host Government and current UNTAET managers. In other words, it is a consensus document on which all parties at the operational level are in agreement.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“In December, a major breakthrough was reached between East Timor and UNTAET officials, led by Chief Minister Alkatiri, with industry currently developing a major petroleum field in the Timor Sea. A tax and fiscal package was agreed and will maximize petroleum revenues to East Timor by allowing gas development in the Timor Sea to go forward. This development will proceed under the terms of the treaty negotiated last year with Australia, which will enter into force upon East Timor's independence. Overall revenues to East Timor from the combined gas and liquids phases of Bayu-Undan - the field under development - will be much larger than previously forecast.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“That is why a special fund is being established to offset those lost pensions. The special fund was launched in Jakarta on 27 November 2001 as part of the Joint Appeal of the United Nations and the Government of Indonesia. I would like to thank the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal, as well as the European Community, which have pledged about $4.5 million for the fund thus far. The fund will, however, require substantially more capital if we hope to generate meaningful benefits for its 30,000 intended beneficiaries. It will prove difficult to encourage the 9,000 remaining former government employees and pensioners to return to East Timor, together with their families, without this alternative. Support for the special fund is thus another key priority over the next 60 days.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“I have been looking into ways to improve the shelter for returnees, and I would like to highlight here that more resources are needed to improve this aspect of life for the East Timorese and for returning refugees, particularly during the current rainy season. It is also important that the arrangements entered into between East Timor and Indonesia on pensions and termination payments to former East Timorese employees of the Government of Indonesia begin to bear fruit. Just before I left Dili, we handed a further 20,000 registration forms to the Indonesian authorities, and I am hopeful that the first pension and termination payments in East Timor will be made in March 2002. Those former Indonesian government employees and pensioners who opt for East Timorese citizenship will, however, stop receiving their benefits at independence.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Cross-border visits, such as the highly successful visit of Xanana Gusmao to West Timor last November, appear to be one of the most effective ways of countering misinformation and fostering reconciliation and repatriation. At the same time, we have increased our efforts to provide clear, objective information to refugees on the newly established reconciliation commission. As for those responsible for past criminal acts, we will ensure that they will be treated fairly within the developing justice system of East Timor. While security and militia intimidation continue to be factors inhibiting refugee returns, economic factors, including lack of shelter and access to pensions, are also significant deterrents.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Finally, I should say that we welcomed the visit to East Timor and Indonesia of Ambassador Leandro Despouy, the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, who was effectively able to refocus the spotlight onto the outstanding need for justice in the area of serious crimes, whether that justice is to be served in Dili or Jakarta. I hope that his efforts help us attain concrete results. Moving to the question of refugees, returns increased during this reporting period, reaching a total of some 192,000. This still leaves perhaps up to 60,000 refugees in West Timor. We will redouble our efforts, in partnership with the second transitional government and UNHCR, together with the civil and military authorities in Indonesia, to encourage as many of the remaining refugees to return to East Timor before independence.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Real momentum on cooperation with Indonesia in the area of serious crimes remains elusive, however. It is of the utmost concern that we have been unable to ensure that the Memorandum of Understanding on legal, judicial and human rights related matters, which I signed with the Attorney-General of Indonesia in April 2000, becomes fully operational. In the remaining four months before independence, UNTAET, together with the Prosecutor- General's Office, will continue to meet with the Indonesian authorities to push for further progress on serious crimes; these working-level meetings must become a reality and take place on a regular basis. For the people of East Timor, peace and reconciliation efforts will mean little if the principal perpetrators of atrocities committed in 1999 are not brought to justice.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“This is all the more important given that it is now well over two years since the destruction of 1999. The recent Supreme Court decision in Jakarta to increase, to between five and seven years, the sentences of three of the men convicted of murdering our colleagues from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Atambua in September 2000 is a welcome move, going some way towards demonstrating, in Indonesia, as in the rest of the world, the opprobrium felt over those foul acts. Finally, progress has been reached in cooperation on investigations into the killing of Private Manning of New Zealand, with several accused now standing trial in Jakarta for his murder. A similar model of cooperation has been agreed on for the investigation into the killing of Private Devi Ram Jaisi of Nepal.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“In October 2001 my deputy met with the newly appointed Attorney-General of Indonesia. At that meeting it was agreed that regular monthly meetings on justice should be held with a view to maintaining a dialogue on issues of mutual concern. Following that visit the new East Timorese General Prosecutor paid a courtesy call on the Attorney-General of Indonesia, in November. The first of the monthly meetings was finally held in Denpasar in mid-January. I very much welcome President Megawati's selection of 18 judges for the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court. We are now keen to see the judges and prosecutors sworn in, court staff recruited and a date set for the commencement of the trials of the first group of suspects, who were publicly identified in early September 2000 by the then Attorney-General of Indonesia, Marzuki Darusman.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The selection and management of staffing and resources provided to the Serious Crimes Unit has been enhanced in order to meet key goals for 2002 and, as of this month, teams of investigators are being based in several districts to promote greater efficiency and to create a closer relationship with the communities in which the investigations are undertaken. It is anticipated that, over the course of 2002, these changes should permit an increase in the number of indictments over and above the 10 priority cases of crimes against humanity. These tasks can be accomplished only with the full funding of approved positions from the assessed budget, as well as continued support from donors for additional specialized expertise and resources in such areas as forensic and investigation experts, translators and transport.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“The establishment of the service will allow for the creation of an independent statutory body, which, although funded through appropriations from the East Timor Public Administration, will also be able to receive independent funding, human resource support and other types of support. Considerable improvements have been made in the area of serious crimes prosecution in terms of management of human and other resources. The Office of the General Prosecutor, now headed by an East Timorese prosecutor, is supported by an East Timorese Deputy Prosecutor for Ordinary Crimes and a new international Deputy Prosecutor for Serious Crimes.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“We are proposing a plan for the mobilization of external resources, which will support the courts, particularly in the areas of transcription services and equipment, witness expenses, Internet access and library and research materials. An action plan is to be developed to ensure a coordinated approach to court listing, prison liaison, the publication of court documents and resource mobilization. I have also endorsed a plan to ensure the establishment of a legal aid service. This has been outstanding for too long and is particularly important in the view of the current resource disparity between the prosecution service and the office of the public defenders.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“To establish a balanced approach ensuring equality between prosecution and defence, as well as appropriate capacity for the courts to adjudicate, we are looking particularly at the establishment of a legal aid service, as well as at support for court administration. I have proposed a set of immediate action points that support both the Special Panels for Serious Crimes and court administration more generally. They include immediate recruitment of international judges, recruitment of a Special Panels administrative coordinator and a judges' associate for the national judges, as well as enhancement of the capacity of the courts for simultaneous translation.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“Members of the Council themselves identified shortcomings in the administration of justice in East Timor, particularly in the area of the prosecution of serious crimes, in their report of November 2000 following the Council's mission to East Timor (S/2000/1105). In line with our overall strategy, day-to- day management of justice has been devolved onto the Government. Nonetheless, I still bear ultimate responsibility for the administration of justice under the UNTAET mandate. I have made and am making a concerted effort to ensure that UNTAET cooperates closely with the public administration to address the problems faced within this sector and to ensure that by independence we will be able to leave behind strong institutions within the justice sector; these will be critical for the stability of the new country.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source
“I know only too well that this is an area in which we have faced particularly significant problems, to an understandable extent since there was nothing - nothing - left of a justice system or its infrastructure in September 1999. Today, there are only 25 East Timorese judges and 13 prosecutors, the majority of whom have had only secondary education and less than two years of training and experience. On occasion, inappropriate sentences have been handed down, leading to retrials. Cases of intimidation during trials have occurred, in one instance resulting in the closure of the Baucau courthouse. The lack of resources, including interpreters and court staff, has led to delayed hearings and unduly prolonged detention of suspects.”
2002-01-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4462 (2002) · source