According to the US State Department, “International security forces in the country included the UN Police (UNPOL) within the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) and the International Stabilization Force (ISF), neither of which was under the direct control of the government. The national security forces are the National Police (PNTL) and Defense Forces (F-FDTL). While the government generally maintained control over these forces, there were problems with discipline and accountability.”
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and other national leaders publicly acknowledged the extent of official corruption. The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption, but the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices. The country does not have financial disclosure laws. Gusmão required that all cabinet officials in his government complete financial disclosure documents, but by the end of 2008 none had done so.
The most serious human rights issues are those that involve the Timorese security forces. According to the State Department, the most common include “police use of excessive force during arrest and abuse of authority; perception of impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention; and an inefficient and understaffed judiciary that deprived citizens of due process and an expeditious and fair trial. Domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse were also problems.
The aforementioned PNTL and the F-FDTL lack efficiency and professionalism and therefore make it difficult to uphold the rule of law. US cooperation hopes to improve in these areas through joint-training programs.
According to the State Department, “there were incidents of cruel or degrading treatment of civilians by police and military personnel.” Members of Parliament, NGOs, the UN, and the Office of the Ombudsman received numerous complaints of use of excessive force by personnel of the Joint Command or National Police (PNTL) during the state of emergency. The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste’s (UNMIT) human rights unit and NGOs received numerous complaints of excessive force and degrading treatment by the Dili Task Force, a rapid reaction police unit created in December 2007.
According to the US State Department, Sample Cases against the security forces included:
February to May 2008- “Ombudsman’s office investigated 40 cases of mistreatment committed by PNTL or F-FDTL personnel during the state of siege.”
November 2008- “Two police officers accused of the assault of a woman. They were sentenced to two and six months’ suspended imprisonment, the two remained on active duty.”
June 7, 2009- “F-FDTL personnel beat two civilians and reportedly pointed their weapons at UNPOL members after breaking up a fight between two martial arts groups.”
June 2009- “F-FDTL member allegedly threatened and beat a residential security guard.”
September 26, 2009- “A group of F-FDTL members physically assaulted a Timorese woman and two foreign military personnel.”
The PNTL as an institution remained poorly equipped and under-trained, subject to numerous credible allegations of abuse of authority, mishandling of firearms, and corruption. Some police officers did not pass the vetting process and were on suspension pending further investigation.
There were reports of arbitrary interference with privacy and home. During the state of emergency, there were at least three instances in which the PNTL or Joint Command carried out searches without warrants.
“UNMIT personnel noted allegations of mistreatment of detainees by prison guards during the first 72 hours of imprisonment and a lack of special facilities for the mentally ill, who consequently were detained along with other prisoners.” Police station detention cells generally did not comply with international standards and lacked sanitation facilities and bedding.
According to Human Rights Watch, the major problem in East Timor is impunity. There have been many cases of excessive use of force by the police. “We were shocked to find so many credible accounts of torture and severe ill-treatment by police officers,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “East Timor won independence in part because of Indonesia’s horrific record here. Now some people are saying that the new police force is no better than the old one, and this should worry the government.”
According to HRW, “police and other state institutions in East Timor also regularly fail to respond appropriately to incidents of police abuse. The main internal police oversight body, the Professional Ethics and Deontology Unit (PEDU), often fails to take cases of police abuse seriously, to follow up with complaints, or properly discipline the officers involved. Independent bodies that could take up cases of police abuse are ineffective and lack sufficient material or political support to succeed.”
“East Timor’s leaders are ignoring police abuse when they should be taking urgent steps to end it,” said Adams. “The people of East Timor have the right to expect better treatment from their own police force.”
Human Rights Watch also called for, “international donors to express their concern about police torture to the government of East Timor; substantially increase support for independent monitoring of police violence and for agencies that can provide services for victims; and fund and plan for long-term strategies on capacity-building, training, and other support to the PNTL.”
The judicial sector is also inefficient. The system lacks the required number of qualified staff in order to function efficiently. In its present state, there is a major problem of case backlog.
Arbitrary arrest and detention occurred in many instances because magistrates or judges were unavailable. The extreme shortage of prosecutors and judges outside of the capital contributed to police inability to obtain required warrants. There was an extreme shortage of qualified public defenders, and many indigent defendants relied on lawyers provided by legal aid organizations. A number of defendants who were assigned public defenders reported that they had never seen their lawyer, and there were concerns that some low priority cases were being delayed indefinitely while suspects remained in pretrial detention.
The country’s judicial system faced a wide array of challenges including concerns about the impartiality of some judicial organs, a severe shortage of qualified personnel, a complex and multi-sourced legal regime, and the fact that the majority of the population does not speak Portuguese, the language in which the laws were written and the courts operated.
The trial process often was hindered by nonattendance of witnesses due to lack of proper notification or lack of transportation. The shortage of qualified prosecutors and technical staff in the office of the prosecutor general hampered its work.
The legal regime is complex and was inconsistently applied. Pending development of a complete set of national laws, Indonesian laws and the UN’s transitional regulations remained in effect. The constitution stipulates that UN regulations supersede Indonesian laws; however, this was inconsistently applied.
The Court of Appeals operated primarily in Portuguese. The UN regulations, many of which remained in force, were available in English, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Tetum (the language most widely spoken in the country). Laws enacted by parliament, intended to supplant Indonesian laws and UN regulations, were published in Portuguese but were seldom available in Tetum. Litigants, witnesses, and criminal defendants often were unable to read the new laws. Trials are required to be conducted in Portuguese and Tetum. However, the quality of translation provided in court varied widely, and translations into Tetum were often incomplete summaries. The prevalence of other local languages compounded this problem in the districts, particularly in Oecussi.
As in previous years, concerns arose in 2008 over the lack of witness-protection arrangements. In many violent crimes, witnesses were unwilling to testify because of the high potential for retribution against themselves or their families. Court personnel also reported increased concern regarding their own safety.
The law stipulates that all legislation, Supreme Court decisions (when the court is established), and decisions made by government bodies must be published in the official gazette. If not published, they are null and void. Regulations also provide for public access to court proceedings and decisions and the national budget and accounts. In practice there were concerns that public access to information was constrained. For example, the official gazette was published only in Portuguese, although by law it is to be published in Tetum as well. Moreover, its irregular publishing schedule and varying cost meant that few journalists, public servants, or others had regular access to it or knew how to access it.
The government suspended freedom of assembly and the right to demonstrate during the state of emergency. There were credible reports that, following the February 11 attacks, members of the Joint Command explicitly warned villagers in Ermera against making human rights complaints.
Violence against women was a problem, and discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and members of minority groups occurred. Outside of the capital, non-Catholic religious groups were at times regarded with suspicion. There were reports that Catholics who converted to other religions were subjected to harassment and abuse by community members. Gender-based violence remained a serious concern. Although rape is a crime, failures to investigate or prosecute cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse were common as were long delays.
Delay or refusal by police to investigate allegations of rape or domestic violence was a common problem.
Domestic violence against women was a significant problem often exacerbated by the reluctance of authorities to respond aggressively. Police also at times came under pressure from community members to ignore cases of domestic violence or sexual abuse.
Government regulations prohibit persons from organizing prostitution. However, under the Court of Appeals’ interpretation of Indonesian laws, prostitution is not illegal. Nonetheless, in past years there were reports of women being arrested for prostitution.
There was no law prohibiting sexual harassment, and sexual harassment was reportedly widespread, particularly within some government ministries and the police.
Some customary practices discriminate against women. For example, in some regions or villages where traditional practices hold sway, women may not inherit or own property. Traditional cultural practices such as payment of a bride price and occasionally polyandry also occurred.
In rural areas heavily indebted parents sometimes provided their children as indentured servants as a way to settle the debt. If the child was a girl, the receiving family may also demand any dowry payment normally owed to the girl’s parents.
Violence against children and child sexual assault was a significant problem. Some commercial sexual exploitation of minors occurred.
Thousands of children remained at risk due to their continued displacement. The capacity of the state, communities, and families to protect children was seriously challenged. Incidents of child abuse, including sexual abuse, were reported both inside and outside the IDP camps. Underreporting of child abuse was a problem.
In many districts children with disabilities were unable to attend school due to accessibility problems. During the year some persons with mental disabilities faced discriminatory or degrading treatment due in part to a lack of appropriate treatment resources or lack of referral to existing resources. Mentally ill persons were imprisoned with the general prison population and were denied needed psychiatric care.
According to Amnesty International, there are cases of forced labor in Malaysia that originate from Timor-Leste. Ramos, a 25-year-old plantation worker in Malaysia from Timor-Leste said, “Some workers did not know precisely how much was deducted from their wages.”He also stated that workers are often abused and mistakenly arrested by RELA, Malaysia People’s Volunteer Corps which is charged with preserving national security.
Following a meeting between President José Ramos –Horta and Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Claudio Cordone, a letter was issued for the president with regard to the meeting’s issues. According to the letter, “Amnesty International addressed the role of criminal justice in dealing with the crimes of the past in Timor-Leste, including the proposal to set up an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed during Indonesia’s occupation of Timor-Leste between 1975 and 1999.”
According to Amnesty International, President Ramos-Horta has long objected such a tribunal but has stated that he will not oppose it if the international Security Council decided to establish it. On its part, Amnesty International has adamantly established its firm belief in the importance of the public’s confidence in the rule of law. The level of impunity seen during the Indonesian occupation can weaken such confidence and leave the system open to instability. The tribunal would act as an impartial external arbiter of the law and help curb corruption and improve on the national courts inability to address its responsibilities adequately.
The tribunal hopes not to enforce prosecutions in Timor-Leste for the crimes during the occupation but would do it in Indonesia as well as long as they are willing to cooperate. Amnesty International suggested these steps are only part of a long-run process aimed at addressing impunity.
Amnesty International also wrote a letter to all members of the UN Security Council urging it “to take immediate steps to address the continuing lack of accountability for crimes against humanity and other grave human rights violations which occurred in Timor-Leste (then East Timor) under Indonesia’s occupation.” This was a plea to renew the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).
According to the International Criminal Court, “Timor-Leste acceded to the Rome Statute on 6 September 2002, becoming the 79th State Party.” According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the aim of this is to achieve international Peace and Justice. Its aims are expanding justice for all, end impunity, help end conflicts, remedy the deficiencies of ad hoc tribunals, take over when national criminal justice institutions are unwilling or unable to act, and to deter future war criminals. The current International Court of Justice at The Hague only handles cases between states. The Rome Statute emphasizes that, “without an international criminal court for dealing with individual responsibility as an enforcement mechanism, acts of genocide and egregious violations of human rights often go unpunished.
Human Rights Watch published a report in 2002 describing Indonesian efforts to convict war criminals as a “sham.” These criminals have not been brought to justice for their crimes committed in the violence following a Timorese vote for independence in 1999.
According to HRW, there has been:
1. Failure of prosecution
2. Limited geographical and temporal jurisdiction
3. Inadequate witness protection
4. Questionable selection of judges; inadequate judicial training
5. History of light punishment for members of the security forces
6. Insufficient number of trial judges; non-functioning court of appeals
7. Inadequate trial transcripts and translation devices
8. Lack of support services and resources for judges
9. Inadequate professional training for the judiciary
10. Indonesia’s unwillingness to cooperate with the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU)
Da Pinto, Constancio
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