UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
Open Debate -The Situation in East Timor
Statement by H.E. Ms Penny Wensley AO Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
30 July 2001
Mr President
Thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the Council's ongoing consideration of East Timor. We welcome your personal efforts to ensure that this meeting has taken place in a timely fashion and under your own Presidency.
The overriding interest of the international community is to see the emergence of a stable, secure, prosperous and democratic East Timor, governed by an effective administration. The United Nations, as mandated by the Security Council, will continue to have a clear and necessary role in the transition process, which will bring this about. Good progress continues to be made, but as we once again assess this progress, informed by the Secretary-General's progress report on the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), it is clear the task, is still far from complete.
I thank the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, for his comprehensive presentation. I also extend Australia's continuing thanks to Mr Vieira de Mello and all of the members of UNTAET for their dedication to establishing a solid foundation for East Timor.It is a mark of the progress made so far that an increasing number of East Timorese are involved in this process, including through the East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA). East Timorese commitment and determination to develop the skills and capacity they need to govern and administer their own nation are vital ingredients in the continuing transition process. In this respect I am delighted to see Ramos Horta again present in the Council to represent the East Timorese perspectiveon the transition. My Government pays tribute to him and to the commitment and effort which the East Timorese are investing in the establishment of their future nation.
In his report, the Secretary-General has reiterated the need for a continuing substantial international presence if there is to be a successful long-term outcome in East Timor. Australia fully endorses this judgement. The solid start which has been made to the transition process must be seen through to its conclusion. The considerable investment in the process must be protected, and made to work for a peaceful and sustainable outcome.
It is Australia's firm view that a continuing UN presence after independence should be provided through an integrated mission comprising civilian, civilian police and peacekeeping components, under a single Security Council mandate and funded from UN assessed contributions. This is the most coherent and practical approach which can be taken to handle the tasks and challenges which still lie ahead.
As so many have emphasised today, the size of this successor mission will, naturally, be substantially smaller than UNTAET. As East Timor's capacity in government and adminstration increases, and as security and stability on the ground improves, the requirement for international support will diminish. The overall costs of the international presence will be considerably less than those which have been necessary to establish the transition process to date. Nevertheless, continuing consistent sources of funding for the three components of civilian administration, civilian police and peacekeeping will be needed if we are to achieve a durable and fully functioning democratic state in East Timor. This will require a flexible and creative approach to the use of assessed contributions.
The costs of the continued use of assessed contributions in the immediate post-independence period will be far less than the potential long-term costs if funding is withdrawn prematurely, or if funding gaps appear. While we await the details promised in a further report in October, the Secretary-General's report has indicated that the UN successor mission will not be overly-ambitious or costly. The international community has a responsibility to deal carefully with a situation which remains fragile, and an emerging nation which is clearly yet vulnerable. As my Singaporean colleague argued so eloquently earlier today, the credibility of the United Nations as the caretaker of East Timor's transition is at stake.
Australia welcomes the outline in the Secretary-General's report of the likely shape and size of the overall international post-independence presence in East Timor. This outline takes us a step forward in the development of a clear exit strategy. The development of an acceptable exit strategy must underpin, and will condition, the continuing post-independence UN presence. Australia strongly supports the Secretary-General's message that a flexible approach to planning is needed for all components of the post-independence presence. Decisions on how and when to adjust the UN presence must be guided by developments on the ground in East Timor. This applies to all three components of the successor mission -civilian, civpol and peacekeeping.
On the civilian side, we note the Secretary-General's advice that the UN presence after independence will be significantly smaller than it is now. We endorse the Secretary-General's assessment, that despite considerable progress in the recruitment of East Timorese civil servants, administrative systems are new and fragile. In Australia's view it will be essential to provide further assistance at a senior management level to complete effectively the work of Timorisation and skills transfer in specific areas. This will be critical to the long-term success of the UN mission and will ensure the completion of the UN's original mandate in East Timor (Security Council Resolution 1272 of 25 October 1999) to establish an effective administration. We note the view of the Secretary-General that this necessary assistance will be limited in time. These considerations reinforce our view that a flexible and creative approach to assessed contributions is required.
Careful management of the reduction of the current level of UN involvement to the successor mission is as important as careful management of the longer term transition to a fully functioning government. This is an issue which requires attention now and in the period after the 30 August election. We encourage UNTAET to continue to focus on its plans for the gradual transfer of responsibility and functions to the East Timorese administration, and the parallel reduction in its own role. It will be important for UNTAET to decide, within the scope of its agreed budget, which functions can be transferred to the East Timorese, and sustained in the long-term without incurring further costs. The transfer of assets from UNTAET to the new administration will also require sensible decisions and careful planning well in advance of independence. We look forward to receiving more details on the planned reduction in the civilian presence in the Secretary-General's October report.
We note and welcome the steady progress in UNTAET's phased plan for development and training of the East Timorese Police Service (ETPS) and we support the gradual reduction of international assistance, in line with the law and order situation on the ground. Australia notes the Secretary-General's advice on plans for the phased transfer of the international police force (CIVPOL) to a mentoring and monitoring role as local capacity improves. This must be based on a clear strategy and rationale for the development of the East Timorese Police Force as a stand-alone force, which will be sustainable financially in the long-term.
The peacekeeping component of the current and future UN presence remains critical to East Timor's successful transition to independence. Australia welcomes the Secretary-General's clear and candid assessment of current security conditions in East Timor. It is also our firm view that the maintenance of security on the border between East and West Timor, by a UN peacekeeping force, is vital and linked to all other aspects of the transition proceeding smoothly.
We support the Secretary-General's approach to management of the future size of the peacekeeping force, as part of the development of a clear exit strategy. I reiterate what I have said before in this Council and to many colleagues, that development of this strategy, and decisions on the peacekeeping force must take full account of the security conditions on the ground. We therefore endorse the Secretary-General's decision to keep the security situation under constant review to enable further recommendations on the future size of the peacekeeping force, to be presented in a later report.
The 30 August election is a major step towards East Timor's independence. Australia encourages all parties to contribute to the peaceful conduct of the elections and a smooth and fair implementation of the result, and to uphold the commitments they have made in the Pact of National Unity.
The election and implementation of the results will also mark an important new phase in this Council's consideration of East Timor. While all subsequent steps, and their timing, must be determined by the political situation on the ground, it is Australia's view that the establishment of the Constituent Assembly, and further decisions on the future shape of the East Timor administration, should lead us to a point at which concrete decisions on the mandate for a future UN presence can start to be framed by the Council. Timely decisions by the Council will maximise the prospects of achieving a smooth transition from the pre to post independence UN presence, including allowing Troop Contributing Countries to make their plans on future contributions and to facilitate recruitment of suitable civilian personnel. We would want the Secretary-General's report in October to provide the Council with the basis to begin to formulate, in a substantial way, the mandate for the future UN presence.
Mr President
Australia continues to monitor closely the problems in the West Timor refugee camps. These obviously affect the security situation along the border and have critical implications for the overall situation in East Timor as a whole. We do acknowledge the steps taken by the Government of Indonesia so far to resolve these problems. We look forward to further intensified efforts by the new Government of Indonesia to bring about a comprehensive solution to the problem, including an end to militia intimidation.
Justice, reconciliation and effective accountability are essential elements of long-term stability in East Timor. Australia continues to attach a high priority to progress in all of these areas, both in East Timor and through the Indonesian justice system. We urge the Indonesian authorities to use the recently established Ad Hoc Human Rights Court to prosecute violations of human rights which occurred in East Timor, both in the lead up to and after the August 1999 ballot. UNTAET's own investigation of human rights violations is an important component in the achievement of justice for the East Timorese affected by the events of 1999. The international community will need to work to support much needed capacity building in the justice sector. We also encourage a coordinated approach by UNTAET and the East Timorese to the inter-related issues of justice and reconciliation in order to maximise the prospects of satisfactory results in both of these vital areas.
Mr President
Australia continues to expend considerable energy and resources, both through the UN and bilateral channels, to support the transition and the establishment of a viable independent state in East Timor. The recent conclusion of the new Timor Sea Arrangement to govern petroleum development in the Timor Sea between Australia, East Timor and the UN (UNTAET) is a strong example of this. The Arrangement should provide the future independent East Timor with a very substantial and long-term revenue flow to support its development, but this does not obviate the need, as emphasised by the Secretary-General's Special Representative this morning, for prudent financial and economic planning. An early priority for the incoming East Timorese administration should be to engage donors and the International Financial Institutions which contribute to its overall budget, on the development of a Medium Term Economic Framework. In addition to the significant contribution to East Timor's future through the Timor Sea Arrangement, Australia is committed to a substantial bilateral assistance programme to reduce poverty and to build East Timorese capacity to govern a peaceful, democratic independent nation. A substantial proportion of our bilateral assistance is devoted to capacity building in areas which will be critical to the future independent East Timor administration. Some examples include technical assistance to develop the Central Fiscal Authority including the preparation of sound budgetary and taxation frameworks, building capacity to plan and manage future elections, and assistance to develop legislative processes and support services, and to train senior civil service managers.
So far the process of managing the East Timor transition has been a conspicuous success for the United Nations. We believe that with continuing commitment and careful and prudent management, the United Nations can fulfil its substantial responsibility to establish, beyond independence, a fully functioning, democratic and viable state. If we maintain a steady course, and if we continue to make the right decisions now and over the coming months, this will be the result. And if we succeed, then this outcome will have been achieved in a short space of time, from the minimum imaginable starting point what Sergio de Melo described this morning as "such a bleak beginning", less than two years ago, and in the face of very considerable challenges.
Mr President, Council members
It is within our and your grasp to deliver this outcome to the people of East Timor. The Security Council has delivered on its commitments and responsibilities so far. It must not fail the East Timorese in the coming critical phase.