UNMIT Background
Past United Nations missions in Timor-Leste
The establishment of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was preceded by a number of other United Nations operations or missions deployed in Timor-Leste beginning in 1999.- The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) (June - October 1999) was mandated to organize and conduct a popular consultation to ascertain whether the East Timorese people accepted a special autonomy within Indonesia or rejected the proposed special autonomy, leading to East Timor's separation from Indonesia. UNAMET was a political mission.
- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) (October 1999 - May 2002) was a peacekeeping operation. The Security Council established UNTAET following rejection by the East Timorese of special autonomy. UNTAET exercised administrative authority over East Timor during the transition to independence.
- The United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) (May 2002 - May 2005), also a peacekeeping mission, was mandated to provide assistance to the newly independent East Timor until all operational responsibilities were fully devolved to the East Timor authorities, and to permit the new nation, now called Timor-Leste, to attain self-sufficiency.
- Once the peacekeeping mission withdrew, a new political mission, the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL) (May 2005—August 2006), supported the development of critical State institutions and the police and provided training in observance of democratic governance and human rights.
April/June 2006 crisis
UNOTIL was scheduled to end its mandate in May 2006, and the Security Council had already received the Secretary-General's recommendations for the post-UNOTIL period. However, a series of events in Timor-Leste culminating in April-June in a political, humanitarian and security crisis of major dimensions led the Council to prolong UNOTIL's mandate, ultimately to 20 August 2006, and to request the Secretary-General to present new recommendations taking into account the need for a strengthened United Nations presence. Against this background, Timor-Leste urgently requested police and military assistance from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal. On 26 May, incoming international forces began securing key installations in the country.«UNMIT was established with a far-reaching mandate to assist the country in overcoming the consequences and underling causes of the 2006 crisis.»Reporting to the Council in August 2006
,
the Secretary-General noted that the level of violence had abated
significantly since its peak in late May and early June and that a new
Government had been installed on the pledge to unify the nation. His
view, however, was that the crisis was far from resolved, with many of
the underlying factors needing attention over the longer term. Among
these were the failure of government to engage with people, the unhealed
wounds of the past and high youth unemployment. The Secretary-General
noted that the resolution of the political stand-off merely created an
opportunity to address the grievances that gave rise to the crisis and
the longer-term issues. In assessing the situation, the Secretary-General's report pointed to the mixed legacy of the 24 years of occupation, resulting in a gulf of understanding separating those who spent years as resistance fighters, those who lived in occupied towns and villages and those who went into exile. Veterans and young people were also likely to be divided by a generation gap. Furthermore, the single party that had dominated politics since 2001 rested its claim to be the party of government. Among other factors were long-standing frictions between easterners and westerners in the armed forces and the police. The report also noted that the roots of the imbalance in power between the institutions of State, allowing the executive to operate with few constraints, were political, institutional and constitutional. Poverty and its associated deprivations had contributed to the crisis.
Request for a new mission
On 11 June 2006, the President of Timor-Leste, the President of the National Parliament and the Prime Minister wrote to the Secretary-General requesting that he propose to the Security Council to establish a United Nations police force in Timor-Leste to maintain law and order until the national police could undergo reorganization and restructuring. The Secretary-General requested his Special Envoy, appointed on 25 May 2006, to lead a multidisciplinary assessment mission to Timor-Leste to identify the scope of tasks to be undertaken by a post-UNOTIL mission and to develop recommendations for a future UN presence. The mission conducted its assessment from 26 June to 9 July.Secretary-General's recommendations
In his report to the Security Council dated 8 August 2006,
the Secretary-General stated that much had been achieved since
independence in major areas of institutional capacity building.
Nevertheless, the United Nations and the international community had
learned from lessons elsewhere, and had been starkly reminded by the
Timor-Leste crisis, that nation-building and peacebuilding were
long-term tasks. This was especially true of the time required to build a
new police service and justice system. The Secretary-General went on to note that successes achieved through the work of successive peacekeeping missions would be undermined if a failure of socio-economic development left the people of Timor-Leste in poverty and unemployment. Long-term development efforts to translate available budgetary resources into programmes addressing rural poverty and urban unemployment were as crucial as anything that could be done through a new United Nations mission.
He stressed that an enhanced international role in the security sector and elsewhere must fully respect the national sovereignty of Timor-Leste, and the process of nation-building must be Timorese-owned and led. At the same time, the international community should be able to expect that the country's political leadership, having reflected on the crisis, would work together to broaden the country's political functioning into an open, pluralistic democracy in which all Timorese felt that they have a stake.
The Secretary-General recommended the establishment of a United Nations multidimensional, integrated mission, with the mandate to support the Government of Timor-Leste and to assist it in its efforts to bring about a process of national reconciliation; to support the country in all aspects of the 2007 presidential and parliamentary electoral process; to ensure, through the presence of United Nations police with an executive policing mandate, the restoration and maintenance of public security; to assist in liaising with the Indonesian military through the impartial presence of United Nations Military Liaison Officers; and to assist in further strengthening the national capacity for the monitoring, promotion and protection of human rights.
Establishment of UNMIT
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General and, among other things expressing its appreciation and support for the deployment of the international security forces, the Security Council, by its resolution 1704 (2006)
of 25 August 2006, established UNMIT with a far-reaching mandate to
assist the country in overcoming the consequences and underling causes
of the April/June 2006 crisis. The Council decided that it would consist
of an appropriate civilian component, including up to 1,608 police
personnel, and an initial component of up to 34 military liaison and
staff officers. The Council requested the Secretary-General to review
the arrangements to be established between UNMIT and the international
security forces and affirmed that it would consider possible adjustments
in the mission structure taking into account the views of the
Secretary-General. Since its establishment, UNMIT has been working with the Government of Timor-Leste, various political parties and other partners and stakeholders in the country and elsewhere to ensure the effective implementation of the entrusted mandate.
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2007 elections
Following the deployment of UNMIT, the overall situation in Timor-Leste improved, although the security situation in the country remained volatile and the political climate fluid. The three rounds of presidential and parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste concluded in June 2007, characterized by high voter participation of 80 to 82 per cent (47 to 48 per cent for women), a generally calm security environment and results widely accepted by all political actors, demonstrated that there had been considerable progress in dialogue and reconciliation since the April-May 2006 crisis. As a result of these elections, former Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta was sworn in as the new President on 20 May, succeeding Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, and the new 65-member Parliament was inaugurated on 30 July 2007.February 2008 events
On 11 February 2008, the armed group led by the fugitive Alfredo Reinado, the former Military Police Commander of the Falintil-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL), carried out separate armed attacks against the President, José Ramos-Horta, and the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, resulting in the nearly fatal injury of the President and the death of Reinado. Rapid medical intervention, in Dili and, subsequently, in Australia saved the life of the President.The incidents presented an unexpected and serious challenge to State institutions, but encouragingly, and in contrast to the events of 2006, the situation did not precipitate a crisis destabilizing the entire society. The institutions of the State responded in an appropriate and responsible manner that respected constitutional procedures. The Prime Minister demonstrated firm and reasoned leadership; the Parliament functioned effectively as a forum for debate in response to the events; and leaders of all political parties urged their supporters to remain calm, while the general population demonstrated faith in the ability of the State to deal with the situation.
The Security Council, by its resolution 1802 of 25 February 2008
extending the mandate of UNMIT, condemned in the strongest possible
terms the attacks on the President and Prime Minister of Timor-Leste and
all attempts to destabilize the country, noting that these heinous acts
represent an attack on the legitimate institutions of Timor-Leste. The
Council also entrusted UNMIT with some additional tasks.UNMIT continues mandate implementation
Since then, the security situation in Timor-Leste had remained calm, albeit fragile, and UNMIT’s efforts to foster dialogue and reconciliation and to effectively implement other provisions of its mandate continued. The Mission maintained its integrated “one United Nations system” approach and made significant progress in achieving integration across all relevant areas of the mandate. The joint efforts of UNMIT and the United Nations country team were instrumental in providing coordinated policy, political, technical and financial support to help Timor-Leste accomplish its goals.In September 2011, the Government and UNMIT signed a Joint Transition Plan (JTP) to guide planning for UNMIT’s expected withdrawal by the end of 2012. The plan, the first of its kind in peacekeeping, mapped out priorities and objectives until UNMIT’s departure, and identified 129 UNMIT activities to be completed by the end of December 2012 or handed over to partners thereafter.
UNMIT completes mandate
Thanks to the resilience and determination of the Timorese people and their leaders, and with the support of the international community, Timor-Leste has made tremendous progress since 2006. The displaced people peacefully returned to their homes. Since March 2011, the national police had been responsible for policing throughout the country, with no major breakdown of law and order. Timorese news media and civil society were growing ever stronger, making important contributions to the democratic debate in the country. Poverty decreased as a result of public investments in infrastructure and services. Since 2005, life expectancy at birth had increased by more than two years and averaged 62.1 years by the end of 2012. Primary school enrolment, a key element to future stability and growth, jumped from 63 per cent in 2006 to 90 per cent in 2012. The country was on track to eradicate adult illiteracy by 2015.On the political front, 2012 saw free and peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections, followed by the smooth formation of a new Government. Well over 70 per cent of the population went to the polls to vote in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. Through a quota system, women comprised 38 per cent of the parliament, the highest representation of women in parliament in the Asia-Pacific region. Beyond its borders, Timor-Leste had transitioned from receiving peacekeeping assistance to contributing personnel to United Nations operations in other parts of the world. The country assumed a leadership role with the g7+ and was a key contributor to the New Deal for aid effectiveness.
By its resolution 2037
of 23 February 2012, the Security Council extended the mandate of UNMIT
for a final period until 31 December 2012. The departure of the
Mission, however, does not mean the end of the United Nations engagement
in the country as Timor-Leste continued to face many challenges. The
United Nations has been determined to embrace the Government’s proposal
for the global body to continue to be an important partner in the new
phase of the country’s development and to establish an innovative
working relationship of cooperation for the post-UNMIT phase focusing on
institutional strengthening and development.As UNMIT was completing its mandate, the Security Council, in its statement
of 19 December 2012, commended the remarkable achievements made by
Timor-Leste over the past decade and recognized the important
contribution of UNMIT in promoting peace, stability and development in
the country.19 December 2012 – As the United Nations winds down its peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste, the Security Council today applauded the “remarkable achievements” made by the small south-east Asian country as it transitioned over the past decade from a colonial enclave to an independent and democratic State.
“The Security Council welcomes the considerable progress that has been made by Timor-Leste in strengthening institutional and human resources capacities of State institutions,” the Council said in a presidential statement issued by Ambassador Mohammed Loulichki of Morocco, which holds the Council’s presidency for December.
Noting that Timor-Leste had also made advancements in the security, justice, and governance sectors which play “crucial roles in safeguarding stability and promoting democracy,” Amb. Loulichki further complimented the country on its recent successful presidential and parliamentary elections which, he said, had “helped to consolidate Timor-Leste’s democratic institutions.”
Timor-Leste has endured a long and often violent journey towards independence and democracy since it formally broke away from Indonesia in 2002. Following another outbreak of deadly fighting in 2006, the UN set up the peacekeeping operation known as the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) to replace several earlier missions in the Asian nation.
Since then, the country has progressed on the path to democracy. This year, Timor-Leste celebrated the 10th anniversary of its independence, elected a new president and held parliamentary elections, which were largely peaceful and held in an orderly manner, and prompted UNMIT’s expected and definitive withdrawal.
In his statement, the President of the Security Council congratulated the Government and all Timorese for their “steadfast collaboration and partnership” with the UN presence in the country and suggested that UNMIT’s drawdown and the principle of national ownership could serve as a future model of joint collaboration for other UN missions around the world.
“The Security Council underscores the importance of continued support to Timor-Leste as it embarks on the next stage of its development, beyond UNMIT,” Amb. Loulichki continued, adding that the Council also welcomed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s ongoing engagement with the nation as it “seeks to preserve and consolidate its peace building gains.”
UNMIT’s drawdown is reportedly proceeding apace and the remaining UN presence is expected to leave the country by 31 December.
News Tracker: past stories on this issue
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres. The name is a variant of timur, Malay for "east"; it is so called because it is at the eastern end of Lesser Sunda Islands.
The earliest historical record about Timor island is 14th century Nagarakretagama, Canto 14, that identify Timur as an island within Majapahit's realm. Timor was incorporated into ancient Javanese, Chinese and Indian trading networks of the 14th century as an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves, honey and wax, and was settled by both the Dutch, based in Kupang, and the Portuguese in the mid-17th century.
As the nearest island with a European settlement at the time, Timor was the destination of William Bligh and seamen loyal to him following the infamous mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. It was also where survivors of the wrecked HMS Pandora, sent to arrest the Bounty mutineers, landed in 1791 after that ship sank in the Great Barrier Reef.
The island has been politically divided in two parts for centuries. The Dutch and Portuguese fought for control of the island until it was divided by treaty in 1859, but they still did not formally resolve the matter of the boundary until 1912. West Timor, was known as Dutch Timor until 1949 when it became Indonesian Timor, a part of the nation of Indonesia which was formed from the old Netherlands East Indies; while East Timor was known as Portuguese Timor, a Portuguese colony until 1975. It includes the enclave of Oecussi-Ambeno in West Timor.
Japanese forces occupied the whole island from 1942 to 1945. They were resisted in a guerrilla campaign led initially by Australian commandos.
Following the military coup in Portugal in 1974 the Portuguese began to withdraw from Timor, the subsequent internal unrest and fear of the communist Fretilin party encouraged an invasion by Indonesia, who opposed the concept of an independent East Timor. In 1975, East Timor was annexed by Indonesia and became known as Timor Timur or 'Tim-Tim' for short. It was regarded by Indonesia as the country's 27th province, but this was never recognised by the United Nations or Portugal.
The people of East Timor, through Falintil the military wing of Fretilin, resisted 35,000 Indonesian forces in a prolonged guerilla campaign, but the whole island remained under Indonesian control until a referendum held in 1999 under a UN sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal in which its people rejected the offer of autonomy within Indonesia. The UN then temporarily governed East Timor until it became independent as Timor-Leste in 2002 under the presidency of Falintil leader Xanana Gusmão. Although political strife continued as the new nation coped with poverty the UN presence was much reduced.
A group of people on the Indonesian side of Timor have been reported active since 2001 trying to establish a Great Timor State.[8] However, there is no real evidence whatsoever that the people of West Timor, most of whom are from Atoni ethnicity who are the traditional enemy of the East Timorese, have any interest in joining their tribal enemies. Additionally, East Timor's independence movement never laid claim to West Timor at any time, before the Indonesian invasion or thereafter. Similarly, the government of East Timor fully recognises Indonesia's existing boundaries as inherited from the Netherlands East Indies. This is similar to the position taken by Papua New Guinea in relation to West Papua, when the former became independent of Australia.
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timor
i/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia.[a] It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km²[6] (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
East Timor has a lower-middle-income economy.[7] It continues to suffer the aftereffects of a decades-long independence struggle against Indonesia, which damaged infrastructure and displaced thousands of civilians. It is placed 147th by Human Development Index (HDI).
The Portuguese established outposts in Timor and Maluku. Effective European occupation of a small part of the territory began in 1769, when the city of Dili was founded and the colony of Portuguese Timor declared.[13] A definitive border between the Dutch colonised western half of the island and the Portuguese colonised eastern half of the island was established by the Hague Treaty of 1914[14], and it remains the international boundary between the successor states East Timor and Indonesia. For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure, health, and education. Sandalwood remained the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century. In places where Portuguese rule was asserted, it tended to be brutal and exploitative.[15]
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with Timorese resistance.[15] During World War II, the Japanese occupied Dili, and the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor. Waged by Allied forces and Timorese volunteers against the Japanese, the struggle resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 70,000 Timorese.[16] Following the end of the war, Portuguese control was reinstated.
The decolonisation process instigated by the 1974 Portuguese revolution saw Portugal effectively abandon the colony of East Timor. A civil war between supporters of East Timorese political parties, Fretilin and the UDT, broke out in 1975 as UDT attempted a coup which Fretilin resisted with the help of local Portuguese military.[17] Independence was unilaterally declared on November 28, 1975.[citation needed] The Indonesian government was fearful of an independent communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, and at the height of the Cold War, Western governments were supportive of Indonesia's position. The Indonesian military launched a full-scale invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Indonesia declared East Timor as its 27th province on July 17, 1976.[18] The UN Security Council opposed the invasion and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration."
Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, a UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. The resulting clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by Timorese pro-integration militia with the support of elements of the Indonesian military. An Australian-led international peacekeeping force, INTERFET, was sent (with Indonesian permission) until order was restored. The administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) in October 1999.[20] The INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN.[21] East Timorese independence was formalised on May 20, 2002 with Xanana Gusmão sworn in as the country's first President. East Timor became a member of the UN on September 27, 2002.
The following year, Gusmão declined another presidential term and in the build-up to the April 2007 presidential elections there were renewed outbreaks of violence. José Ramos-Horta was elected President in the May 2007 election.[22] Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination in February 2008. Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order.[23]
In 2006, the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order when unrest and factional fighting forced 15 percent of the population (155,000 people) to flee their homes. In March 2011, the UN handed-off operational control of the police force to the East Timor authorities, but more than 1,200 UN police officers still patrol on the street. After the 2012 presidential election, the missions are scheduled to end
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