[Ed. Note: From Jan. 15 to 20, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) conducted a human rights training program in Dili, East Timor, for local human rights activists funded by Freedom House. The article below summarises some of the thoughts and conclusions that emerged from the discussions during the program.]

During this six-day training program,
there was an intense discussion that gives some indication of the basic concerns of people in East Timor regarding human rights. Some of these issues are outlined below.

(1) A feeling that there is no justice in East Timor, even after the formation of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), seems to be one of the major preoccupations among human rights activists, which may also be a reflection of a general feeling among the people of East Timor. Justice is a foundation for human rights. Any attempt to promote the protection of human rights can be based only on the restoration of people's faith in justice. Thus, a major task facing those who try to work for the improvement of human rights in East Timor is to address this seemingly colossal loss of faith in obtaining justice in East Timor.

(2) In the discussions, it appeared that even for ordinary crimes, such as murder, rape, etc., it seems almost impossible to obtain justice. Many cases in East Timor were discussed during this training program. Almost all of the incidents show that, while there have been gross human rights abuses, there has not been any form of redress that has satisfied the people.

(3) One of the cases that was discussed was an incident relating to the death of a person known to one of the participants that the family believes to be a case of murder. In this case, a girl who was found dead with severe injuries to the entire right side of her body was determined to be an accident. However, the family has consistently held the view that this was a murder. There seems to have been no autopsy. Allegedly, the U.N. civilian police, or CivPol, kept the family moving between their police offices and the tribunal. After many attempts to keep the case alive, what the family has learned at last is that the record of the case is now missing from the tribunal. In the group discussions, the participants concluded that this case represents a violation of Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which enforces a duty on the State to ensure an effective remedy for all violations of human rights. This particular case occurred in 1999 after UNTAET began its operation and therefore during the time that CivPol had jurisdiction to investigate all crimes. The issue here is the failure to investigate and the failure to prosecute a case. Even if the death was due to an accident, it still should have been investigated, and the person who caused the accident should have been brought to justice under the appropriate laws. When no such action is taken, then faith in the justice system is seriously damaged. This is even more important in East Timor because for a long time under different colonial powers people have had no reason to trust their justice system. With the liberation of East Timor and the beginning of a process to build a nation, one of the primary objectives needs to be to construct a justice system through which people can regain their confidence in justice. Confidence in justice is a fundamental element in any nation-building. Thus, the activities that are taking place now to facilitate the development of the East Timorese State must give an enormous priority to rebuilding the justice system. Judging from the comments of the participants, no such process has yet started that can significantly alter the loss of confidence in the justice system, which has been prevalent in the psyche of the East Timorese people for so long.

(4) Many cases were discussed that took place during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor before UNTAET came into existence. When complaints are brought about the violations that took place during this time, the participants stated that the general reply by CivPol is that they have no jurisdiction to inquire into these cases. Thus, a question arises as to whether the victims of crimes during these times have any redress. It seems to be quite a common problem that upsets the Timorese people and is one to which no answer of any sort has been found thus far. There were various suggestions for finding possible solutions to this very important problem. One suggestion was that the U.N. Security Council should address this issue. The people, for example, can make requests to the United Nations to press the Security Council to address this issue. The uninvestigated crimes during the Indonesian occupation will remain a major stumbling block for the development of faith in justice in East Timor. Until this question is addressed, the progress of the development of institutions of justice in East Timor will face serious problems.

(5) One of the participants spoke of the need for people themselves to take responsibility for justice. This concept is of extreme importance in relation to the development of common notions of justice among the people. Justice cannot develop from the top down. It is the people's sense of justice that the State must recognise. The State needs to be aware of the demands for justice that exist among the people. The people themselves must assert themselves regarding matters of justice so that it will be impossible for the State to ignore their demand for justice. The promotion of justice must remain the primary responsibility of the community. In order to expose injustice and to extend solidarity to gain justice for everyone, community activists must constantly be vigilant. It is only when the flame of justice is alive in the community that the State and its institutions will be compelled to recognise its duty to deal with injustice and its obligations to ensure the proper administration of justice.

(6) The lack of justice for women, both by the State as well as by civil society, was another issue that was persistently raised during most of the discussion. There seems to be a deeply felt sense of woundedness among the people. The demand for equal treatment is clearly surfacing among women in East Timor.

(7) Civil society needs to address the issue of security and freedom in Dili and in other parts of East Timor. This requires the community to take responsibility to resolve its social and economic issues. This issue was initially raised by the women in the program for the women of East Timor, but the long-term objective is for the whole society to be safe, free and responsible. In the post-conflict social and economic context of East Timor, unemployment, a lack of structural channels to express and process the frustration and trauma of the post-conflict period and the weakness of implementing laws regarding women's rights all combine to create a situation where there is a strong feeling of insecurity, especially for women, to move freely about the capital of Dili.

(8) During the discussion on children's rights, the following problems were highlighted:

- The issue of street children and homeless children throughout the country;

- The trafficking of girls from East Timor to Malaysia and Indonesia; and

- The kidnapping of children by the Indonesian military, which took them to Indonesia to indoctrinate them in the beliefs of Islam for the purpose of later bringing them back to East Timor to create internal conflicts.

To address these issues, efforts should be made to investigate in detail the situation and to create thorough reports that can be used to raise international awareness and to get action within East Timor. Investigations must continue into these issues so that adequate strategies can be developed among the people themselves to deal with these concerns. It was also pointed out that malnutrition is increasing among children. Moreover, because of economic pressures, children are sent to work at an early age, and there is a deterioration of the appreciation of the value of education because of this deprivation. In addition, due to the destruction of the buildings used as schools, there is a serious lack of basic facilities for the education of children, such as chairs and desks. Consequently, children carry their chairs to school every day and back home at night.

(9) The participants of this seminar expressed a great desire to be educated in human rights. They expressed that the type of education that is needed is one that will help them to address the problems faced by their people. They specifically expressed a desire for technical training that will allow them to use all modern facilities for the protection and promotion of human rights. They agreed that training in the use of modern technology is of extreme importance to them to extend their influence in the field of human rights. They requested that international agencies consider support for them so that they can gain extensive training in human rights, particularly in the use of modern technology for the promotion of human rights. In the view of some participants, some international agencies that presently offer training do not help the East Timorese people themselves to become the trainers and to take leadership in such work. It is obvious that all training must be directed towards enabling the East Timorese themselves to undertake all aspects of leadership in the human rights movement in East Timor. Their sensitivity on this matter and their frustration regarding some of the training programmes that have taken place in East Timor in the past should be listened to.

Suggested Practical Actions

Based on the discussion during the training program, the following needs and responses for further work in East Timor were identified:

(1) The creation of rehabilitation facilities and services for both men and women, including training and trauma counselling;

(2) Training in collecting information, interviewing skills and report-writing;

(3) Training in creating strategies for campaigns, making appeals and other kinds of human rights actions;

(4) The introduction of conflict management and reconciliation skills that make use of the experience of the local community;

(5) The promotion of more direct contacts between people's organisations (POs) and the institutions of justice; in particular, the leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) need to evolve methods of consultation with the prosecutor general's office and to make effective suggestions for the improvement of the justice system;

(6) Training in the use of e-mail, the Internet and other modern facilities for the promotion and protection of human rights;

(7) Training in the use of urgent appeal systems to get attention to the problems that the East Timorese are facing in the field of human rights; and

(8) The provision of internships with international and regional NGOs for East Timorese human rights activists so that they can have more opportunities to learn the ways in which human rights work can be better facilitated.

Cambodian Wins

UNHCR AwardDr. Lao Mong Hay, executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, was rewarded for his work with Cambodian refugees in Thailand by being awarded the Nansen Medal by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Dec. 14, 2000. (Photo: Khem Sovannara, Phnom Penh Post)