Timor-Leste: UN political mission on assistance

Timor-Leste: UN political mission puts emphasis on assistance coordination

The residual United Nations mission in Timor-Leste is placing special emphasis on setting up a framework for sustainable international development assistance by the end of its mandate next May, according to Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s latest report.

The overall security situation in Timor-Leste has remained calm and the country has made further advances towards the threshold of self-sufficiency. Progress has also been made towards strengthening the country’s legal and institutional framework, Mr. Annan says in his report to the Security Council on the UN Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL).

UNOTIL was set up in May 2005 to succeed the UN Mission of Support in Timor-Leste (UNMISET), which was established in 2002 to help with administrative structures, law enforcement and security after the country gained independence from Indonesia.

Mr. Annan’s report also says that relations between Timor-Leste and Indonesia continue to improve and the two countries have recognized the importance of concluding a border management agreement by the end of the year.

It also reiterates the Secretary-General’s appeal to the Governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and to the international community as a whole, to ensure that all those responsible are held accountable for serious crimes committed in Timor-Leste in 1999 after the former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia in 1974 voted for independence.

UNOTIL’s mandate, which ends on 20 May next year, calls for it to 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 bolster the development of the Border Patrol Unit (BPU) by providing up to 35 additional advisers, 10 of whom may be military advisers.

It is also providing training in observance of democratic governance and human rights by providing up to 10 rights officers; and reviewing progress on those fronts.

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