Meeting of the Timor-Leste Council of Ministers 6 August 2013

ETLJB 09/08/2013 - The V Constitutional Government met on August 6, 2013, in the Council of Ministers Meeting Room at the Government Palace in Díli and approved the following:

1. Proposal of the Press Law

The Secretary of State for Social Communication presented the Council of Ministers with a Proposal on the Press Law. This law protects the rights of citizens to their full exercise of freedom of thought and expression and allows media professionals the guarantee of the confidentiality and safeguards their independence.

The Press Law aims to ensure the freedom of the press while at the same time promoting the necessary balance between the exercise of that freedom and other fundamental rights and values contained in the Constitution. Its purpose is primarily to regulate the activity of professionals adequately prepared and ethically responsible, so that they can inform the public objectively and impartially and encourage active and enlightened citizenship by the population, thus contributing to a democratic society.

This Proposal on the Press Law was approved by the Council of Ministers and will be submitted for
approval by the National Parliament.

2. Resolution that Approves the Implementation Guide of the Rural Employment Programme
(REP)

The Council of Ministers approved a resolution approving the Implementation Guide of the Rural
Employment Programme (REP) submitted by the Secretary of State for Professional Training and
Employment Policy (SEFOPE).

The REP is implemented by SEFOPE with the aim of creating jobs in rural areas and, at the same time, is intended to finance the rehabilitation and maintenance of local infrastructure through the use of local enterprises and human resources.

The PER Implementation Guide contains a set of rules for the use of the public transfer attributed to
SEFOPE by the General State Budget for 2013 and intended for the Rural Employment Programme.
The Council of Ministers also analysed the following:

1. Decree-Law that approves the First Amendment to the Decree-Law approving the Statute
of the University Teaching Career

The Ministry of Education submitted a proposal for what is the first amendment to the Decree-Law No. 7/2012 of 15 February on the Statute of the University Teaching Career. This draft of Decree-Law will again be submitted for approval in a future meeting of the Council of Ministers. Source: V Constitutional Government Press Release 6/08/2013 Edited by Warren L. Wright