SC/8371
2 May 2005
Security Council Establishes One-Year Political Mission in Timor-Leste, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1599 (2005)
UN Office Will Remain until 20 May 2006, Supporting Development of Police, Border Patrol, Other Critical Institutions
NEW YORK, 28 April (UN Headquarters) -- The Security Council this morning established the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), a one-year follow-on special political mission that will remain in the country until 20 May 2006.
Unanimously adopting resolution 1599 (2005), the Council decided further that UNOTIL would: support the development of critical State institutions by providing up to 45 civilian advisers; support further development of the police through the provision of up to 40 police advisers, and support the development of the Border Patrol Unit (BPU), by providing up to 35 additional advisers, 10 of whom may be military advisers; provide training in observance of democratic governance and human rights by providing up to 10 human rights officers; and review progress in all those tasks
Underlining that United Nations assistance to Timor-Leste should be coordinated with the efforts of bilateral and multilateral donors, regional mechanisms, non-governmental organizations, private sector organizations and other international actors, the Council encouraged the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to establish and chair a consultative group, made up of those stakeholders, that would meet regularly for that purpose. The Council urged the donor community, as well as United Nations agencies and multilateral financial institutions, to continue providing resources and assistance for the implementation of projects towards sustainable and long-term development in Timor-Leste.
Acknowledging the Secretary-General’s decision to send a Commission of Experts to Timor-Leste and Indonesia to review the serious crimes accountability processes, the Council reaffirmed the need for credible accountability for the serious human rights violations committed in East Timor in 1999. In that regard, it underlined the need for the United Nations Secretariat, in agreement with Timor-Leste authorities, to preserve a complete copy of all records compiled by the Serious Crimes Unit and called on all parties to cooperate fully with the work of the Secretary-General’s Commission of Experts. The Council looked forward to the Commission’s upcoming report exploring possible ways to address that issue, including ways to assist the Truth and Friendship Commission, which Indonesia and Timor-Leste had agreed to establish.
Expressing its continuing commitment to the promotion of long-lasting stability in Timor-Leste, the Council requested that UNOTIL, when implementing its mandate, emphasize proper transfer of skills and knowledge in order to build the capacity of Timorese public institutions to deliver their services in accordance with the principles of the rule of law, justice, human rights, democratic governance, transparency, accountability and professionalism. It encouraged the Government of Timor-Leste, UNOTIL, the United Nations Secretariat, United Nations development and humanitarian agencies, and multilateral financial institutions to start immediate planning for a smooth and rapid transition from a special political mission to a sustainable development assistance framework.
The Council had before it the Secretary-General’s progress report on the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) for the period 10 November 2004 to 16 February 2005 (document S/2005/99). (For details, see Press Release SC/8323 of 28 February 2005.)
The meeting began at 10:40 a.m. and ended at 10:45 a.m.
Council Resolution
The full text of resolution 1599 (2005) reads, as follows:
“The Security Council,
“Reaffirming its previous resolutions on the situation in Timor-Leste, in particular its resolutions 1543 (2004) of 14 May 2004 and 1573 (2004) of 16 November 2004,
“Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 18 February 2005 (S/2005/99),
“Commending the people and the Government of Timor-Leste for the peace and stability they have achieved in the country, as well as for their continuing efforts towards consolidating democracy and strengthening state institutions,
“Further commending the United Nations Mission of Support in Timor-Leste (UNMISET), under the leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and welcoming the continuing progress made towards the completion of key tasks inscribed in its mandate, particularly during its consolidation phase, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 1543 (2004) and 1573 (2004),
“Paying tribute to Timor-Leste’s bilateral and multilateral partners for their invaluable assistance, particularly with regards to institutional capacity building and social and economic development,
“Expressing its appreciation to those Member States which have provided support to UNMISET,
“Having considered the letter dated 20 January 2005, from the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste to the Secretary-General (S/2005/103),
“Noting the Secretary-General’s analysis of the need for a United Nations presence to remain in Timor-Leste after 20 May 2005, although at a reduced level;
“Noting also that the emerging institutions in Timor-Leste are still in the process of consolidation and that further assistance is required to ensure sustained development and strengthening of key sectors, mainly rule of law, including justice, human rights, and support for the Timor-Leste police, and other public administration,
“Acknowledging the excellent communication and good will that have characterized relations between Timor-Leste and Indonesia including the decision to establish a Truth and Friendship Commission, and their land border agreement signed in Dili 8 April 2005, which covers approximately 96 per cent of the land border, and encouraging continued efforts by both Governments towards resolving this and all pending bilateral issues,
“Acknowledging the Secretary-General’s decision outlined in his letter to the Security Council dated 11 January 2005 (S/2005/96) to send a Commission of Experts to Timor-Leste and Indonesia to review the serious crimes accountability processes, and recommend further measures as appropriate,
“Remaining fully committed to the promotion of long lasting stability in Timor-Leste,
“1. Decides to establish a one-year follow-on special political mission in Timor-Leste, the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), which will remain in Timor-Leste until 20 May 2006;
“2. Decides further that UNOTIL will have the following mandate:
(i) to support the development of critical State institutions through provision of up to 45 civilian advisers;
(ii) to support further development of the police through provision of up to 40 police advisers, and support for development of the Border Patrol Unit (BPU), through provision of up to 35 additional advisers, 10 of whom may be military advisers;
(iii) to provide training in observance of democratic governance and human rights through provision of up to 10 human rights officers; and
(iv) to monitor and review progress in (i) through (iii) above;
“3. Requests that, when implementing its mandate, UNOTIL emphasize proper transfer of skills and knowledge in order to build the capacity of the public institutions of Timor-Leste to deliver their services in accordance with international principles of rule of law, justice, human rights, democratic governance, transparency, accountability and professionalism;
“4. Requests further that UNOTIL be led by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who will direct the operations of the mission and coordinate all United Nations activities in Timor-Leste through his office, with due attention to safety of personnel, and facilitated by appropriate levels of logistics support, including transportation assets, such as air transport when necessary;
“5. Requests that the Secretary-General deploy some of the advisers, authorized in paragraph 2 (ii) above, to assist the National Police of Timor-Leste in developing procedures for and in training the Border Patrol Unit (BPU) and to assist the Timor-Leste Government in coordinating contacts with the Indonesian military, with the objective of transferring skills to the BPU to assume full responsibility for such coordination as soon as possible;
“6. Underlines that United Nations assistance to Timor-Leste should be coordinated with the efforts of bilateral and multilateral donors, regional mechanisms, non-governmental organizations, private sector organizations and other actors from within the international community, and encourages the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to establish and chair a consultative group, made up of these stakeholders in Timor-Leste, that will meet regularly for that purpose;
“7. Urges the donor community as well as the United Nations agencies and multilateral financial institutions to continue providing resources and assistance for the implementation of projects towards sustainable and long-term development in Timor-Leste, and urges the donor community to actively participate in the donor’s conference scheduled to be held in April 2005;
“8. Encourages, in particular, the Government of Timor-Leste, UNOTIL, the United Nations Secretariat, Unites Nations development and humanitarian agencies, and multilateral financial institutions to start immediately planning for a smooth and rapid transition, in Timor-Leste, from a special political mission to a sustainable development assistance framework;
“9. Reaffirms the need for credible accountability for the serious human rights violations committed in East Timor in 1999, and, in this regard, underlines the need for the United Nations Secretariat, in agreement with Timor-Leste authorities, to preserve a complete copy of all the records compiled by the Serious Crimes Unit, calls on all parties to cooperate fully with the work of the Secretary-General’s Commission of Experts, and looks forward to the Commission’s upcoming report exploring possible ways to address this issue, including ways of assisting the Truth and Friendship Commission, which Indonesia and Timor-Leste have agreed to establish;
“10. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council closely and regularly informed of developments on the ground and of the implementation of the mandate of UNOTIL, and the planning for a transition to a sustainable development assistance framework, and to submit a report within four months of the date of adoption of the present resolution and every four months thereafter, with recommendations for any modifications such progress might allow to size, composition, mandate and duration of the UNOTIL presence;
“11. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.”
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