29 September 2016

Prime Minister of East Timor Addresses at United Nations General Assembly

ETLJB 29 September 2016 Source: Government of East Timor Press Release Dili, 27 September, 2016 - On Saturday morning, the 24th of September, Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo delivered his address on behalf of Timor-Leste to the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

The Prime Minister told the assembly that “Timor-Leste has first-hand experience, that the United Nations is essential to ensure the security of peoples and countries throughout the world” and reiterated the importance of the multilateral and international system “aware that the world has a continued need to keep international peace and security, establish friendly relations among countries, and work in cooperation to find solutions to the problems of the world and to foster respect for human rights.”

Timor-Leste’s international roles within the CPLP and G7+ were noted along with the value placed on
regional integration and consequently the nation’s aspiration to join ASEAN. The country’s action on its international commitments were highlighted, particularly regarding the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, endorsed at last years General Assembly, and now being integrated nationally within the planning activities and Budget of the Government Program. The Prime Minister reminded that “in addition to being one of the first countries in the world to subscribe to the Sustainable Development Goals” Timor-Leste was part of “a group of another eight countries that, by sharing good practices and experiences, wish to serve as models for the implementation of this Agenda.”

To further the work of SDG implementation the Prime Minister explained that the Government, in
collaboration with other stakeholders, has “mapped indicators for the 17 Goals and selected 20 targets that will allow us to monitor implementation based on measurable results”.

Timor-Leste’s challenge of establishing sovereign rights over its surrounding seas by delimiting maritime borders was raised in the speech, stressing the role of dialogue, the multilateral system and international law, and expressing the Prime Ministers hope to progress with this issue “in a true spirit of openness, transparency and friendship.”

The Prime Minister finished his speech reiterating “the unshakeable conviction of Timor-Leste on the
importance of the multilateral system, the primacy of dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts, on the basis of international law and the preservation of democracy and the Rule of Law as essential ingredients to the progress of peoples and nations.”ENDS

26 September 2016

Timor Sea Forum Website

ETLJB 26 September 2016 TIMFO.ORG is the website of the Timor Sea Forum and supports East Timor's campaign to determine its maritime boundary with Australia.

There is no maritime boundary between our two countries, only provisional arrangements for resource sharing. The Timorese people say that "drawing the line" is an important and final step in fully determining their sovereign territory.

Extract from Timfo:

"Get Up" put together this ad to get the message out around the time of the G20 summit held in Australia earlier in 2015. Have a look.

Here's what they write:

A decade ago, Australia took advantage of a nascent East Timor to negotiate a remarkable treaty that short-changed the second poorest country in Asia out of tens of billions of dollars in gas and oil revenue. That included alleged spying on East Timor negotiators to get an upper hand.

When East Timor learned of Australia's espionage last year, they sought to renegotiate the treaty. What happened next was shocking. Australian agents raided the home of a former intelligence agent and seized his passport preventing him from traveling to the The Hague to provide his evidence.

The International Court of Justice has slammed the Australian Government's actions. But without international pressure, history may well repeat itself during this next round of negotiations.

24 September 2016

East Timor Government conducts public information campaign ahead of local elections

ETLJB 24 September 2016  Source: Government of East Timor Press Release Dili, 23 September, 2016 - The Government is conducting a public information campaign on the new Law of Sucos and the upcoming local elections to be held on the 29th of October 2016. The Ministry of State Administration and the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration [STAE] is reaching out across Timor-Leste’s 12 municipalities and the Special Zone of Oé-Cusse Ambeno, to the nation’s 442 Sucos and 2,225 Aldeias [villages] in order to prepare the electorate for this significant exercise of citizen’s democratic rights. On the 29th of October, eligible voters in each Aldeia will elect a female and male delegate to represent their Aldeia in the local Suco Council, their Aldeia Chief and the Suco Chief.

The Government and the new Suco Law encourages the participation of women in community leadership roles, including as applicants for the role of Aldeia Chief and Suco Chief. Each of the nation’s 442 Suco Councils will subsequently convene on the 30th of October to determine the final results of the Suco Chief’s election. If a second round is necessary to determine a Suco Chief it will take place on the 13th of November. Depending on the need for a second round of voting for a Suco Chief, Suco Council’s will meet on either the 9th of November or the 24th of November to elect a lian-na’in [traditional authority] and a male and female youth representative to their Council. Each Suco Council will then be fully established, made up of the Suco Chief, the Aldeia Chiefs of the Suco, a female delegate from each of the Suco’s Aldeias, a male delegate from each of the Suco’s Aldeias, a female youth representative of the Suco, a male youth representative of the Suco and a ‘lian-na’in’.

The full calendar for the local elections is available on the Government Portal.
As a part of the process of decentralization, Sucos have been exercising a leading role in the design and implementation of local infrastructure projects under the National Suco Development Program [PNDS] and the Integrated Municipal Development Planning [IMDP]. Capacity building and structural preparation has also begun in earnest to set the foundations for local government representation at the municipal level in coming years. These measures for decentralization are based on the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, and form an important part of the

Program of the Sixth Constitutional Government.
The next elections to follow the upcoming local election this year will be the Presidential elections to be conducted in the first half of 2017 followed by the Parliamentary elections.
Government Spokesperson, Minister of State Agio Pereira, thanked all in advance of the upcoming
community leaders election for their engagement in this democratic process noting “the opportunity to vote in secret and with dignity for the local representative of our choosing is an opportunity not afforded to our people in the long years of struggle. That is why we appreciate this opportunity to exercise our hard won democratic freedoms in the weeks ahead.” ENDS

21 September 2016

East Timor Council of Ministers Meeting of 13 September 2016

ETLJB 21 September 2016 Source: Government of East Timor Press Release 13 September 2016 DILI Council of Ministers meeting of September 13th , 2016  - The Council of Ministers met on Tuesday at the Government Palace in Dili, and was updated on the status of the National Registry System project, managed by the GMN-H/ARM-APPRIZE consortium and under the authority of the Minister of State, Coordinator of State Administration Affairs and Justice and Minister of State Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of State for Land and Property.

The project, initiated in 2014, includes the survey and cadastral mapping of the territory, the establishment of a computerised database of registration and the creation of a system of property valuation for tax purposes, with the aim of supporting the implementation of a set of clear and fair rules in regulating the mechanisms of property ownership and transfer.

The Council of Ministers approved the proposed acquisition of a property for the Chancellery and Embassy of Timor-Leste in Singapore, presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The project for the construction of a new passenger terminal for the Dili port, in negotiation with the Government of Japan, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will partially finance the project, presented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, together with the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications and APORTIL (the Port Administration in Timor-Leste), was also approved.

The Council of Ministers approved the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Mozambique and Cape Verde, in the area of education, through the signing of three memorandums of understanding. Also related to education was the approval of the Decree-Law establishing the Polytechnic Institute of Betano and approval of its Provisional Statutes. The creation of this public institution of higher technical education fulfils the item of the Government’s Programme which stipulates that the "Government will promote an efficient polytechnic and university sector in order to provide our children with the opportunity to receive quality education and to take part in the building of our country ".

The Government Decree on remuneration of the Bodies of the Authority for Inspection and Supervision of Economic, Health and Food Activities, PI, presented by the Prime Minister's Office, was approved, fulfilling the need for regulation of Decree-Law N. 35/2016, of September 7 th , which creates this structure. The Ministry of State Administration had four proposals approved: the Second amendment to Law N. 11/2009, of October 7 th (Administrative Division of the Territory), which allows the extension of the territorial competence of the Special Administrative Region of Oe-cusse Ambeno administrative bodies to the Administrative Post of Atauro, so that it can achieve the objectives for which it was intended, in the context of the Special Economic Zone for Social Market Economy, which will make the island a complementary development area; the Government Decree on the change of dates for the meetings of the Village Assemblies and of the Suco Councils under the procedures for the election of community leaders, changing the dates approved in the August 16th Meeting (updated calendar available in www.timor-leste.gov); the Government Decree establishing the rules for electing the members of the Suco bodies; and the Government Decree approving technical procedures for implementation and updating of the electoral data base. This document establishes how the electoral registration will be held throughout national territory as well as in the diplomatic missions and consular posts abroad.

Also approved was the Government Decree that regulates the process of opening escrow bank accounts and signing of escrow deposit contracts, in the framework of the implementation of the Public Private Partnership for the Tibar Port, presented by the Minister of Finance. This legal innovative instrument in Timor-Leste establishes the necessary rules for the opening of accounts that guarantee the availability of State funds to pay its financial contribution in the construction of the Tibar Port project.

From the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment two documents were approved: the Government Resolution Repealing Resolution N. 34/2014, of November 5 th , adopting legal measures and regulations for the creation of new solutions in the treatment of waste, suitable for the needs of the people, reviewing those whose results were not effective; and the proposal for ratification of the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be submitted to the National Parliament. Timor-Leste ratified, in 2006, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The Minister of Defence, Cirílo Cristóvão, and the MP Carmelita Moniz were reappointed as members (effective and alternate, respectively) to the Superior Council of Magistrates. The Council of Ministers approved the financial support to the internally displaced persons from the Central African Republic, having granted one million five hundred thousand dollars for humanitarian aid, to support the resolution of the distressing situation of tens of thousands of displaced people, who are concentrated in the country’s capital. ENDS