Situation of human rights in East Timor
2. The Commission acknowledges relevant Security Council and other United Nations resolutions on the situation in East Timor.
3. The Commission expresses its acknowledgement to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor and to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), for the work carried out in the transition to independence.
4. The Commission warmly welcomes the forthcoming independence of East Timor and encourages the future East Timorese Government to continue to build on human rights achievements and in particular to sign and ratify international human rights treaties as soon as possible, including international conventions concerning refugees. The Commission welcomes the fact that the new Constitution gives primacy to the protection of human rights and incorporates fundamental rights in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Commission urges the future Government of East Timor to ensure that all legislation that will be adopted from the beginning of its mandate will be consistent with international human rights standards.
5. The Commission emphasizes that on 1 November 2001 an East Timorese Adviser on Equality, reporting directly to the Chief Minister, assumed her duties. The Commission assesses that the Adviser and her Office have taken on the functions related to the UNTAET Gender Affairs Unit, thus being devoted to giving support to the formulation and implementation of official policies concerning the equality of men and women, designing strategies and methodologies in this regard and promoting coordination and cooperation in the central Government and the districts.
6. The Commission welcomes the steps taken by the judicial system in East Timor concerning the indictment and judging of suspects accused of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes committed during the violence in 1999. It encourages further efforts in this regard and reiterates the need for continuing international assistance for strengthening of the justice system in East Timor, in order to allow it fully to promote the protection of human rights, carrying on with the investigations and addressing also domestic violence and the protection of religious and ethnic minorities. It welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation, and emphasizes, without prejudice efforts to address impunity through judicial remedies, the relevance of the reconciliation process and the promotion and protection of human rights for the social and political stability in East Timor.
7. The Commission recalls and reaffirms the Chairperson's statements on the situation of human rights in East Timor made at previous sessions and in this connection welcomes the important steps taken by the Government of Indonesia to bring to justice the perpetrators of cases of gross human rights violations in East Timor in the period leading up to and immediately following the popular consultation held in August 1999, notably the establishment and the commencement of the work of the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court. The Commission recalls the commitment of the Government of Indonesia to bring to justice, in the context of respect for international standards of justice and fairness, those responsible for violations of human rights and humanitarian law in East Timor. The Commission encourages the Government of Indonesia to take further steps in the investigation of the murder of journalist Sander Thoenes and expresses the hope that the perpetrators of the murder will be brought to trial.
8. In this regard, it underlines the importance of bilateral international assistance, as well as of technical cooperation, between the Government of Indonesia and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to enhance the capacity of the human rights courts. The Commission welcomes the agreement of the UNTAET/East Timorese authorities and the Government of Indonesia to strengthen ongoing cooperation on judicial matters and reiterates the importance of such cooperation. It commends the efforts by the Government of Indonesia and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to find an early, durable and comprehensive solution to the question of East Timorese refugees in West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara Province, in particular through the Government of Indonesia-United Nations Joint Appeal launched on 27 November 2001 which refers, inter alia, to the ongoing voluntary repatriation programme.
9. The Commission decides to keep these matters under consideration and requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session and to report to the Commission at its fifty-ninth session on this question."