OCHA East Timor Humanitarian Update

OCHA East Timor Humanitarian Update 2008/Issue No 16 17/09/2008 Extracts - Full Report is at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/TUJA-7JM8V8?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=tls

Reporting Period: 30 August - 12 September 2008

CAMP DECOMMISSIONING

The EWASH-WG continues to decommission IDP camps as IDP returns are facilitated by The Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS).:

• Arte Moris: Two families remain in this camp. The rehabilitation work, undertaken by Oxfam, was completed. This included repairs of latrines facilities, taps, and a portion of the access road damaged by frequent trips of trucks delivering water. Letters of decommissioning will be handed-over in the next two weeks.

• Dom Bosco: DNSAS, Oxfam, HealthNet and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) conducted the IDP Return WatSan Workshop at Dom Bosco. UNICEF will decommission the site.

• Seminario Balide: All IDPs have left the camp. Oxfam has been rehabilitating the site for the past two weeks according to the results of the negotiation with the land owner, as summarised in the decommissioning form (standard form used to support the discussions while negotiating the destination for the main assets installed in the camp by Oxfam, after all IDPs have left). This rehabilitation work has now been completed.

• Balide Iglesa and Balide San Jose: Oxfam held decommissioning meetings with the landlords in anticipation of the coming closure of these sites.

SITE LIAISON SUPPORT (SLS), CAMP MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION

• Hera Port

IOM (SLS agency), along with Oxfam (the water and sanitation agency), are working closely with MSS to ensure that the closure of Hera Port camp is completed well before the next rainy season, to avoid unnecessary water and sanitation, health, safety and other problems. At this point it appears that MSS will attempt to return and reintegrate IDPs from that camp in the coming weeks.

• Tent replacement for camps that do not close before the next rainy season

MSS informed the SLS Working Group that no decision has been taken regarding tent replacement for IDPs remaining in camps beyond the useful of life of theircurrent tents. The SLS Working Group will continue to advocate for their replacement.

CHILD PROTECTION

• Child Protection Workshops: In August, UNICEF and MSS conducted workshops with new MSS Child Protection district officers as well as members of the Child Protection Networks (Police, Education, Health, State Administration, the Church, etc) in Viqueque, Baucau, LosPalos, Manatutu and Ainaro. There workshops were about child protection case identification, referral and management as well as community mobilisation actions to raise awareness about children's right to protection at district, sub-district and village levels. They will continue throughout September and October to extend to all districts and will be conducted with a range of partners, including Plan International, Ba Futuru, the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit and others.

• Child Protection Working Group: The Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) chaired by MSS met on 27 August to discuss possibilities of extending the mandate of the Working Group to cover development, transition and emergency activities. A new TOR will be developed and finalised by MSS as well as all participants in the coming meetings, including contingency measures for sudden onset of crises.

• Child Care Centres: Members of the CPWG were informed that in Timor-Leste, the current policy on child care centres/ boarding houses and orphanages is that all such institutions must be registered by MSS prior to operations. The MSS Policy on Child Care Centres outlines minimum standards of care and professionalism required for the management of such institutions. Given the limitations of existing human resources within the Child Protection Unit of MSS to monitor the welfare of children in these institutions, it has been recommended by Government that no new orphanages should be opened.

• Child Protection Consultations: Plan International held child protection consultations with children and their parents in Motael Camp and Tibar Ismaek, UIR, Karantina and Becora I Transitional Shelter Sites. As in previous consultations in other Camps and Transitional Dhelters, the consultations explained to the participants about the new ECHO-funded Emergency project and how it will entail a change of focus, whereby camp residents are more actively engaged in providing their own child protection and children’s animation services, with support and training from Plan. They sought feedback from participants on this new project and how it could best meet their needs, whether through training, mentoring or the provision of other resources.

• Child Protection Focal Points: New child protection focal points (CPFPs) were nominated or volunteered following consultations in IDP Camps and Transitional Shelters where there were none previously. Training commenced this week for new CPFPs, as did refresher training for existing CPFPs.

• Child Protection Orientation Sessions: Child protection orientation sessions were conducted with child protection focal points in Becora I and UIR Transitional Shelter Sites. The sessions covered topics including: what child protection is; an introduction to the role of CPFPs and; mentoring support to monitor and report child protection incidents.

• Mobile Libraries: The Mobile Libraries team participated in a workshop on singing, guitar playing and writing children’s songs with a member of their team Jose Freitas. Jose is the lead singer of popular Timorese band Cinco do Oriente.

The Mobile Libraries team has been taking children’s paints to all IDP camps and Transitional Shelter Sites to run painting and printing workshops with the children.

GENDER

The Alola Foundation held a training on gender based violence during the week of 1 September in Metinaro IDP Camp for the husbands of 40 women in the handicrafts group. The Alola Foundation is preparing other essential trainings to support the women and their families as they leave the camp for
their communities.

RECOVERY PROCESS

ASPOL

On 1 September, PNTL and F-FDTL went to the ASPOL site to commence the execution of an eviction order that had been issued by the Ministry of Justice on 12 May 2008. The reason for the eviction notice is that the land of the ASPOL site is Government owned and is to be used for PNTL housing.

The Aspol/EDTL site gathers a mix of people:

a) Some who claim to have lived there since 1999,

b) Some who used to live there before the 2006 crisis, then moved to an IDP camp, before coming back recently once they received their recovery package because they consider this area theirhome,

c) and those in the same situation as the latter but who have not yet received their recovery package. In a letter addressed recently to the highest authorities of the Government, the representatives of the ASPOL residents express their concern, and state that the eviction process and options available remain unclear.

According to MSS, 33 families returned to the site from IDP camps (including Jardim, Hospital and Sional) with the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru programme’s Recovery Package. The remaining families (not registered as IDPs but living at the site) could be entitled to compensation. However, at this time, the exact nature of this compensation remains uncertain, and both the MSS and the Ministry of Justice are still discussing the nature of the compensation.

UPDATE ON IDP MOVEMENTS

• Movement out of Dom Bosco camp commenced on 8 September and progressed smoothly with 10 families out of 628 registered to move remaining as of 12 September.

With the return of the IDPs from Dom Bosco camp a total of more than 6,500 IDP families will have received a recovery or reintegration package under the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru National Recovery Strategy programme.

• Movement out of San Jose is expected to begin on 15 September with 97 families registered to move.

• Verification of Hera Port Camp is ongoing as is verification of Tibar and Tasi Tolu Transitional Shelters.

• Recent camp movements are reflected in the map attached to this Update.

RETURN MONITORING

• The post return monitoring process continues, with the engagement and support of, among others: the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice; Jesuit Refugee Service; IOM and partners CARE, BELUN and CRS, HAK Association and; the UNMIT Human Rights and Transitional Justice Unit. Developments and new information are currently discussed in the Hamutuk Hari’i Konfiansa Working Group meetings, which currently take place bi-weekly on Fridays at 2pm in the meeting room of the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

• In partnership with the IOM Return Monitoring project, CARE began conducting baseline surveys with community leaders in Bairo Pite. This will be followed by surveys of community members and former IDPs in each of the 32 Aldeias in Bairo Pite.

TRANSITIONAL SHELTER UPDATE

To date, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has built a total of 597 Transitional Shelters located in Tibar, Tasi-Tulu, Becora Unital, Becora Market and Hera. The Government has built 72 transitional shelters in Karantina, bringing the total of transitional shelters to 667 shelter units. See the table below for additional details. Excluding Hera, the current occupancy rate is approx. 85 %.

[see chart in original PDF]

• Tibar: The MSS verification process is ongoing at Tibar with a view to commencing the return and reintegration process there.
• Karantina: Due to a significant lack of potable water, WatSan implementing partner Triangle GH continue to truck water (average ten litres per person per day plus on-site brackish water for washing). A formal request is with the Goverment to take over this responsibility.
• Tasi Tolu: Some IDPs have begun the MSS verification process with the view to rebuild their former houses before the wet season commences.
• Becora UNITAL: IDPs claiming block C as their former residence continue blocking access for other / new IDPs to the ten rooms within this block. Similarly other ‘illegal’ occupants await an MSS decision on how best to proceed. Individuals breaking into rooms and claiming them has been an ongoing problem for some time.
• Becora Market: Tensions within the Transitional Shelter have eased following meetings between Watsan implementing partner Triangle GH, Watsan committee members and block leaders.

• As some IDPs have already received the MSS return package, there is a continued lack of clarity over their eligibility for ongoing food distributions; NRC will provide a detailed list for food distribution to MSS prior to next distribution.

HAMUTUK HARI’FUTURU

HAMUTUK HARI’I KONFIANSA

• MSS Dialogue Teams
On Monday, 8 September 2008, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and UNDP officially launched the joint UNDP/MSS project ‘Strengthening Institutional Mechaisms and Structures for Dialogue’. At the ceremony in Hotel Timor, H.E. Ms. Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves, Minister of Social Solidarity, Mr. Jacinto Rigoberto Gomes, Secretary of State for Social Assistance and Natural Disasters, Mr. Akbar Usmani, UNDP Country Director, and Mr. Ben Larke, UNDP/MSS Social Reintegration Specialist jointly welcomed the valuable contributions of the Dialogue Teams in the ongoing reintegration process of IDPs in their former communities. This occasion also marked the introduction of José Belo as the project manager.

Six dialogue teams recruited by MSS under the project have been in place since mid-July and in the past six weeks have facilitated mediation for 177 families relocating from IDP camps in Dili. At this point the team have approved funding for three community dialogue events to take place in the coming weeks and are supporting partners to accompany IDPs from camps in Baucau on ‘go and see visits to their former homes in Dili.

An additional Dialogue Team has been selected to be based in Baucau, from where they will cover activities across the district as well as in the districts of Viqueque and Lautem; they will begin working as soon as the team is fully equipped. In Ermera, recruitment has begun for an eighth team after consultation with local administration, police and Church representatives indicated a strong demand for community dialogue to secure ongoing stability in areas which were among the first to receive returning IDPs from Dili.

Most recently, the Dialogue Teams worked closely with partner organisations to facilitate the return of the IDPs living in the Dom Bosco IDP camp. Several problematic cases were solved successfully. Further coordination between the MSS dialogue teams and partners supporting the Government is paramount and will be supported through interactions between MSS representatives, UNDP project staff and an array of stakeholders and involved actors in the regular meetings of the Hamutuk Hari’i Konfiansa working group.

• Trust-Building Small Grants Scheme
The Project Management Board, comprising UNDP, AusAid and MSS, met on 5 August 2008 and approved seven initial applications under the small grants scheme. Applicant organizations are now in the process of completing full project documents and MoU’s with UNDP. The Project Management Board also decided that the remaining funds yet to be allocated will be made available only for project initiatives by local NGOs. Preference was also expressed by the board for programs addressing IDP return and reintegration in the Western districts of Timor Leste. For any additional information, please contact Ben Larke on ben.larke@undp.org

• CARE’s Peace building Project: This project continues to assist the MSS, IOM and other
organisations with IDP return and resettlement. CARE assisted in the verification of IDP status within Bairo Pite Suco in Dili, and worked closely with the MSS Dialogue Team to facilitate the mediation of various disputes over housing and other return-related issues.

HUMAN RIGHTS
CARE and Ba Futuru conducted a week long training event in the Manleuna area of Bairo Pite
focusing on Human Rights and conflict resolution.

AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS

AVOCATS SANS FRONTIERES
Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) continues to raise awareness at the grassroots level, offer free legal advice and build the capacity of community members to act as Community Legal Liaisons (CLLs). The activities are carried out by the “Access to Law Project” (ALP) in Dili and Reach out for Rights (RoR) in Dili, Liquica and Baucau and benefit vulnerable persons including IDPs and Returnees.

• Domestic Violence Training for IDPs
On 12 and 13 August, tASF’s Reach out for Rights (RoR) team, in co-operation with Judicial Systems Monitoring Programme (JSMP), Belun and IOM, conducted training about domestic violence for IDP women of all ages in Hera. IOM and Belun selected 15 women, with potential to become leaders in the community, to participate in the two day training aimed at increasing their knowledge about Domestic Violence and the process for dealing with it. ASF’s RoR team who specialise in providing public information aimed at increasing access to justice, provided training about the legal process associated with cases of domestic violence, while JSMP provided a general background about women’s rights and domestic violence.

• Domestic Violence Awareness for IDPs in Liquica District
On 1 September, the RoR team in conjunction with the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) provided awareness for the IDP communities in Tibar and Turleo Ismaik (Liquica). A half day session was conducted in each IDP camp and included the presentation of a drama about domestic violence, conceived by ASF and performed by specially trained youth from the Licquica district. In Turleo, 35 people attended the session and in Tibar 54 attended. Each group was made up of a cross section of the IDP communities.

• Capacity building of CLLs in Dili including Child Protection Traning
ASF’s RoR team has been continuing its work in Dili, to build the capacity of community members to act as Community Legal Liaisons (CLLs) thus enabling them to assist their communities, including returnees, with legal issues. ASF currently supports CLLs in the following Succos around Dili: Comoro, Santa Cruz, Mascarinhas, Kuluhun, Becora, Vilaverde, Bairopite, Motael and Bidau Santana. On 4 and 5 September, the RoR team facilitated a training for Dili based CLLs about Child Rights and Child Protection. During this training, the CLLs visited the child protection office at MSS to find out more about the role and function of the office. The CLLs and staff of the child protection office were also able to meet and develop relationships. As a result of this training and networking CLLs are better equipped to deal with child protection cases arising in their communities.

• Public Information Sessions in Dili
ASF’s RoR team has been working with CLLs to deliver legal information to communities around Dili, including returnees. 597 people participated in these sessions in August. The sessions focused on information about and how to access the formal justice system and included a screening of ASF’s film about court process, “Road to Justice”. Public information sessions were conducted in all succos where ASF is working with CLLs, namely: Comoro, Santa Cruz, Mascarinhas, Kuluhun, Becora, Vilaverde, Bairo Pite, Motael and Bidau Santana.

• Public Information via Radio
ASF presented two sessions on criminal law and process on Dili Radio Station RTK (Radio Timor Kmanek) on Saturday 6 September and Thursday 11 September, to provide the Dili community, including IDPs and returnees, with more information about the how crime in the community can be dealt with through legal process.

• Provision of Legal Advice and Mediation Services
ASF’s Access to Law team continues to provide free legal advice consultations to clients in Dili, including in IDP and returned communities. Anyone in and around Dili can contact the lawyers to ask for free consultations on 730 1881. The lawyers also conduct mediations to assist in resolving disputes.