UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
Open Meeting -The Situation in East Timor
Statement by H.E.Ms Penny Wensley AO, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
18 May 2001
Mr President
Thank you for this opportunity to participate in the Council's latest consideration of East Timor. The level of interest in today's open meeting, among Council and non-Council members, is welcome and reassuring. It is natural for Australia, as a country in the Asia-Pacific region and one of East Timor's closest neighbours, to be interested and engaged. But East Timor is at this time the direct responsibility of the United Nations, with a unique transition underway, mandated by this Council. The people of East Timor have placed great faith in the United Nations. They know, as do we, that continuing international interest and commitment is essential to the achievement of a successful long-term outcome in East Timor.
In that connection, we are especially pleased that Mr Xanana Gusmao, President of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) and Mr Jose Ramos Horta, Cabinet member for Foreign Affairs in the East Timor Transitional Administration, are able to be here today. Their presence and their insights bring the reality of East Timor vividly into this chamber and demonstrate more clearly than any briefing or report could do the nature of the transition process as it affects and involves the East Timorese themselves, the priorities and challenges which they are confronting now and those which they will need to address in the future.
I thank Assistant Secretary-General Annabi for his comprehensive briefing on the Secretary-General's interim report on UNTAET. Australia welcomes the Secretary-General's account of progress in the transition process over the past three months, and endorses his judgements about the current political and security situations in East Timor, particularly the view that we must maintain a prudent approach which will safeguard the international community's considerable investment in East Timor's future.
Continuing uncertainty about the security situation in West Timor dictates a cautious approach. Australia remains deeply concerned about the West Timor camps where tens of thousands of East Timorese refugees remain stranded, unable to make a free choice about their future. This is both a humanitarian and a security concern.
The prompt repatriation or resettlement of the remaining refugees is an important and pressing priority for East Timor's future stability and security. The fast approaching election, and the possibility of political disenfranchisement for a significant proportion of potential East Timorese voters, make an urgent resolution of the situation all the more important.
An end to militia intimidation, unimpeded access to camps for humanitarian workers, effective measures to counter disinformation and a credible registration process all remain key prerequisites for this to succeed. Australia welcomes recent discussions between the Indonesian Government and UNHCR on plans for registration and repatriation, but we emphasise the need for prompt and decisive action. We urge all parties to take now whatever steps are necessary to move the process forward.
Australia endorses strongly the Secretary-General's view that the military component of UNTAET should be maintained at its current level for the time being and that UNTAET should review this question again after the election of a Constituent Assembly. Any review must take careful account of the security conditions on the ground, particularly along the border, but also in West Timor. In addition, it is Australia's considered view that any decision to commence a draw-down of peacekeeping troops must be based on a clear assessment and understanding of the likely security needs in East Timor after independence. Importantly, any draw-down needs to be part of an overall exit strategy. This Council and the wider UN membership has consistently emphasised the importance of developing clear exit strategies for UN operations, whether in East Timor or elsewhere. In this respect, the Secretary-General's report would have benefited from greater attention to this important aspect of effective planning. If the United Nations and the international community make the right decisions now, and in the coming months, on political as well as security issues, the East Timor transition process has the potential to be a significant success story for the United Nations.
So far, UNTAET has been successful in establishing a sound political transition process. But this process is still far from complete. If we make the wrong decisions, there is a risk, not just to East Timor and its people, but to the UN's own standing and credibility. Cutting corners or costs, may be tempting, especially when things seem to be going smoothly and when the UN and its Member States have so many other pressures and crises to address, but such action carries real risks. It may actually cost more in the long run, dealing as we are with a situation which is yet fragile, and an emerging nation which is clearly yet vulnerable. Although I am speaking here of costs in the broad sense, it follows that the precipitate withdrawal of the support currently provided through assessed contributions would severely disrupt the transition process and is something that Australia opposes firmly at this time.
Mr President
Just as it is clear that East Timor needs strong UN support and engagement to bring it successfully to independence, so it has been clear for some time that the newly independent East Timor will require substantial international support, including military and civilian police components and support for civilian administration, if it is to become a self-reliant democratic nation.
Australia strongly supports the efforts of the working group on post-UNTAET planning and the Integrated Mission Task Force to produce an accurate picture of post-independence needs and available resources. The results of these planning efforts will be critical to decisions about the size, scope, and administration of, and the financial support for, a post-independence presence.
These are relevant topics for the international donor conference that Australia is hosting in Canberra in mid-June.
The June conference will also provide an opportunity for international donors to renew their support for East Timor. One of the key measures for determining confidence among donors in this newly emerging nation is its approach to economic management. Fiscal responsibility is a fundamental element of effective government anywhere and will be essential for an effective future East Timorese Government. In this regard, any further expansion of East Timor's budget significantly beyond the level agreed with donors at the Lisbon and Brussels International Donors' Conferences would be a matter of concern given the implications for prudent financial management and possible longer-term debt financing burdens.
I have repeatedly stressed to this Council the importance of progressive transfer of responsibility to the East Timorese (which in UN terminology has come to be referred to as "Timorisation") as the future East Timor Government establishes itself. Successful Timorisation and capacity building are both essential to the successful transfer of authority from the UN to an effective East Timorese administration. Not enough progress has been made.
Capacity building in the area of maintenance of law and order, including the gradual establishment of a functioning East Timor Police Service, is one critical element of the East Timor transition. Australia is committed to the maintenance of a United Nations civilian police presence in East Timor after independence until the achievement of a fully fledged local Police Service.
Justice, reconciliation and effective accountability are essential elements of long-term stability in East Timor. We welcome President Wahid's recent decree establishing an Ad Hoc Human Rights Court to prosecute human rights violations in East Timor in 1999, and urge the Indonesian authorities to include all serious abuses of human rights that occurred both in the lead up to and after the August 1999 ballot. Here, Mr President, I must express Australia's deep concern that the recent sentences delivered by the North Jakarta District Court against those responsible for the deaths of three UNHCR staff in Atambua were in no way commensurate with the gravity of the crimes. They certainly could not serve as a deterrent to others, nor encourage humanitarian workers to return to West Timor.
Mr President
The Secretary-General's report makes very clear that, despite progress so far, there are still many uncertainties as East Timor continues its transition towards independence. I began by welcoming the continuing international commitment to the East Timor transition. I feel compelled to conclude by repeating that this commitment is not only welcome, it is absolutely necessary. Australia agrees fully with the Secretary General's judgement that premature decisions to reduce the United Nations' security or civilian presence in East Timor could undermine the considerable efforts and investment which have been made so far and could result in considerable long-term costs for the United Nations, costs which would ultimately be much higher than those the UN and the international community will face if we maintain the current steady and prudent approach to the transition.
Over the past two years, the United Nations has played an exceptional role in East Timor. It is much too early, however, to declare the job done or the commitment to the people of East Timor fulfilled. UNTAET is a complex and unusual operation, conceived in crisis and founded on strong political commitment from the international community. It needs ongoing commitment and thoughtful planning and management if it is to succeed -not just from dedicated people on the ground, like the Secretary-General's Special Representative de Mello and his team, and from individuals in the UN Secretariat and agencies, but from the Member States, led by this Council.
We have the opportunity to get things right if we continue to make careful, measured decisions, based on the facts, on the situation on the ground and on objective assessments as to what is needed.
We also have the possibility of getting things wrong. We cannot afford to do that -not for this Council, not for the UN, not for the peacekeepers and humanitarian workers who have died in East and West Timor, and not for the East Timorese who are counting on the international community and the UN to help them build a sound future.