Meeting of the Timor-Leste Council of Ministers on April 23, 2013

ETLJB 27 April 2013 - The V Constitutional Government met on April 23, 2013 in the Council of Ministers Meeting Room, at the Government Palace, in Díli, and approved the following:

1. Draft Resolution approving the Adhesion to the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

The Government approved, for adhesion, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, thereby augmenting the instruments of struggle against narcotraffic and against money laundering.

2. Draft Proposal approving the Adhesion to the United Nations Convention for Suppression of Terrorism Financing

The Government approved, for adhesion, the United Nations Convention for Suppression of Terrorism Financing, thus reaffirming its commitment to the struggle against Terrorism. This Convention constitutes an adequate instrument for the struggle against money laundering and terrorism financing, thereby responding to the commitment of Timor-Leste in its capacity as full- fledged member of the United Nations and Interpol.

3. Resolution approving the Blacklist of Individuals and Entities Linked to Al-Qaeda

By ratifying the United Nations Charter in 2002, Timor-Leste has a number of obligations to accomplish in its capacity as Member State of the Security Council and of Interpol, notably the need to ensure compliance with the Resolutions relating to the struggle against International Terrorism, including the struggle against individuals and entities linked to Al-Qaeda. Thus, the Government approved the latest version of the Blacklist of Individuals linked to Al-Qaeda as published by the respective Committee of the United Nations Security Council. The Government is also to take all other preventive measures relating to the struggle against international terrorism.

4. Government Resolution approving the Procurement Procedure and the Minutes of the Contract to be signed with TIMOR GAP, E.P., for the Supply of High Speed Diesel

Following the approval by the Council of Ministers, on 5 March 2013, of the Government Resolution on the Need to Ensure the Supply of Fuel to EDTL and the Appointment of TIMOR GAP, E.P., to Supply High Speed Diesel, the Council of Ministers, in its meeting held today, approved, with corrections, the contents of the contract to be signed with TIMOR GAP, E.P., for the supply of high speed diesel to EDTL. The Minister for Public Works was mandated to submit the contract to the Chamber of Commerce for prior approval.

5. Decree-Law approving the General Regime of the National Programme for Suco Development

In complying with the Programme of the V Constitutional Government and the National Strategic Development Plan for the period 2011-2030, the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee and the Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group have been established in order to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of a national mechanism to accelerate community development.

Such initiative translates the political will to establish a stronger link of the Government with the sucos, providing them with tools for a sustainable development, thereby promoting social and economic well-being, quality of life and social and economic cohesion, through the participation of the community in its own development process. Compliance with these objectives justifies the granting of financial support by the Government to entities providing services of general interest to the population.

Thus, allowances will be granted directly to sucos for the execution of small infrastructure projects previously identified as constituting a priority for the local community.

The Government, through the Ministry of State Administration, will be in charge of the initial training of professional teams so as to enable their adequate participation in the implementation of the General Regime of the National Programme for Suco Development. The Government will also be in charge of its supervision and follow-up through the Technical Secretariat for Support to the National Programme for Suco Development.

The Council of Ministers also analysed the following:

1. Presentation of the Report of the Central Report

Following the Process of Mutual Evaluation of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering for Timor-Leste, the Governor of the Central Bank presented to the Council of Ministers the Plan of Action for the implementation of the recommendations proposed by the Asia-Pacific Group (Portuguese acronym GAP) for Timor-Leste.

The recommendations of the GAP are contained in the Report of Mutual Evaluation. This document makes an evaluation of the Legal and Institutional System and broaches preventive measures intended for financial and non-financial institutions, including forms of national and international cooperation with a view to a sustainable development of the sector in Timor-Leste. The report of Timor-Leste will be discussed during the GAP annual meeting to take place in Shanghai, the Republic of China, next July.

2. Statistics and respective Policies

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) presented the Council of Ministers with the Fundamental Principles of the United Nations Official Statistics. These are the principles on the basis of which the Australian Bureau of Statistics governs itself for conducting statistics in Australia. With this presentation, it is the intention of the Australian Bureau of Statistics to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the importance of implementing a statistical system in the national territory, with policies of international scope, in order to maximize efficiency in the collection of statistical data  and in favor of international harmonization. Source: Presidency of the Council of Ministers Press Release 23 April 2013 Edited by Warren L. Wright