EU Presidency Statement - The situation in Timor-Leste

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

Mr. President,

Since its recognition as an independent state on 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste has faced several challenges which, to put it mildly, have not been easy. But the government of the 191st member State of the United Nations has had the courage and the determination to rise to those challenges and several of them have been dealt with efficiently. The European Union therefore commends the people of Timor-Leste for their tremendous achievements which have given rise to an upward social and economic development, increasingly functioning institutions, a consolidating civil administration, a growing legal framework and several branches of security forces which hopefully will succeed in defining their roles and responsibilities and in adhering to a culture of transparency and accountability.

Moreover, the European Union congratulates the governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia for the record time in which they were able to agree on most of their common border. The EU encourages both governments to achieve a sustainable co-operation on possible ways to address this sensitive issue and that an agreement, beneficial to both parties, will soon be signed.

Mr. President,

The European Union is aware that all the achievements in Timor-Leste could not have been made at the current pace without the unwavering commitment and support of the United Nations. The EU would like to reiterate its admiration for the men and women who contributed to the success of the missions under the able leaderships of Special Representative Kamalesh Sharma and currently Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa. The EU is confident that the United Nations will continue to have a pivotal role in strengthening the capacity building of the Timorese and in the formulation of policy frameworks.

Mr. President,

Despite the clear successes in most fields, and despite cautious advances in others, the EU regrets to state that it still distinguishes an area of serious concern. Ending impunity and promoting a culture of accountability and transparency is one of the key tasks of post-independence Timor-Leste. The European Union has always supported all efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of serious crimes committed in then East Timor in 1999. Several efforts have been made, and with a view to granting the processes the benefit of the doubt and a chance to observe international standards in the trials of suspected human rights abusers, the European Union had generally refrained from overly explicit public observations so far. However, the EU now considers the process towards justice and impunity to have gone awry. The Serious Crimes process, while being conducted competently, has not resulted in bringing all perpetrators to justice, given that many of the indicted are still believed to be outside Timor-Leste. The EU therefore calls on Member States of the UN to extend full cooperation, as called for by the Secretary-General, to ensure that those responsible for serious crimes do not enjoy impunity. This issue is gaining urgency as the SCU, in conformity with the current mandate of UNMISET, will be terminated in May 2005.

Mr. President,

The European Union has noted with concern the recent overturning of convictions by the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta. The European Union expected the trials to be conducted according to international standards to which the Government of Indonesia is itself deeply committed to. We hope that the Indonesian Government will do its utmost to ascertain the credibility of the judicial process. In this regard, the the European Union intends to support any future actions by all concerned, including the Secretary General.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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• EU Presidency Statement - The situation in Timor-Leste (10/5/2004)