UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
Statement by H.E. Mr John Dauth LVO Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission of support in Timor-Leste
New York 15 October 2003
Timor-Leste has come a long way, off a very low base, since achieving independence last year. A great deal of credit must go to the wise leadership of Timor-Leste and to the Timorese people whose energy and determination stand as the country�€™s greatest national asset.
The Council itself, and the UN membership more broadly, has good reason to be pleased with the part played by UN missions in Timor-Leste to date. The UN�€™s engagement in Timor-Leste stands as a benchmark and also a pointer to the crucial work the organisation can do in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Progress achieved to date in Timor-Leste is real but it is fragile.
Significant challenges remain ahead of Timor-Leste -in the security field, in institution-building and in bringing opportunities to the Timor-Lestese people. It is important therefore that the Council invest some time over the coming weeks and months to review the situation in Timor-Leste and to begin considering how the international community, separately and collectively, can best ensure that the progress achieved to date in Timor-Leste is protected.
Mr President, Australia welcomes the Secretary-General�€™s report on the United Nations Mission of Support in Timor-Leste. The report is well-crafted and well-timed. It accords closely with Australia�€™s own assessment of the current situation in Timor-Leste and of the areas that will require further international attention in the final months of the UNMISET mandate and beyond.
It is the latter point I wish to focus on today. Australia shares the Secretary-General�€™s assessment that it will not be possible for Timor-Leste to achieve self-sufficiency in certain key areas of the UN mandate before UNMISET�€™s term expires in May 2004. This much is clearly evident �€“ Timor-Leste�€™s security situation has stabilised significantly, but the legacy of decades of conflict remains and Timor-Leste�€™s security-related institutions are still weak. Equally clear is that while much can and is being done through bilateral and other donor support, there will be a need for a modest, security-focused UN mission in Timor-Leste after the current mission�€™s mandate expires next year.
Members of the Council will be aware of Australia�€™s keen interest in Timor-Leste�€™s stable future. After discussion with the government of Timor-Leste and other partners, Australia has put forward a model for a post-UNMISET mission, to be established for a one year period by Security Council mandate. We hope the model helps focus minds on what might be required of the UN presence in Timor-Leste after May 2004.
Mr President, the post-UNMISET UN presence Australia proposes would be fundamentally different in nature to the missions that have gone before it. At the centre of the model, in the drivers seat, are the Timor-Lestese themselves. The UN�€™s role would not be one of traditional peace-keeping, but of providing the back-up support and advice which will enable Timor-Leste�€™s own institutions to evolve and stand with confidence. The mission would complement the ongoing work being done by the Timor-Lestese authorities, and their development partners, to build sustainable capacity in Timor-Leste�€™s essential institutions, including its police and armed forces, and to lay the foundations for national stability and prosperity. Above all, it would be small, limited in scope and focused on specific needs, underpinning the transition to effective Timor-Lestese responsibility. It would also have a clear end point.
Turning to specifics, Australia shares the Secretary-General�€™s assessment that post-UNMISET requirements will include essential support to: Timor-Leste�€™s border security agencies; its police service and specialised police units; its institutions of government and to the serious crimes process. On this basis, Australia has proposed a follow-on UN mission, focused on security and comprised of:
- military liaison officers to facilitate liaison between security authorities across Timor-Leste�€™s land border and to monitor security-related developments in the border districts;
- an international police response group to provide back-up support to Timor-Lestese authorities in responding to emergency civil unrest;
- police observers deployed lightly throughout the districts to liaise with the Timor-Lestese police and monitor security-related developments;
- a core of international advisers to provide counsel to the Timor-Leste government in essential security-related areas; and
- international legal experts to work in the Office of Timor-Leste�€™s Prosecutor-General to conclude the priority crimes-against-humanity caseload.
Australia�€™s rough estimate suggests the cost of such a mission would be relatively modest, at around one-tenth the price of the current UN mission in its final year. We look forward to seeing detailed costings from the Secretariat in due course.
Mr President, maintaining security and stability in Timor-Leste will present ongoing challenges for the young state. Meeting these challenges will require continued effort over many years, and we all have a part to play. Essential to success will be continued far-sighted leadership from the government of Timor-Leste to build the foundations of national stability. Crucial also will be continued support from the international community, through the UN and beyond, and Australia will continue to do our part. In more immediate terms, Timor-Leste�€™s stability in the years ahead will depend on early concerted action by all parties to resolve the residual problem of Timor-Lestese displaced people in West Timor and other border management issues.
Australia welcomes recent renewed efforts by the governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia to resolve these matters.
Mr President, the history of Timor-Leste�€™s transition to independence has given to the international community and the Security Council a duty to acquit. The investment we have made in Timor-Leste could be a case-study of how the United Nations can work well, how it can make a difference. The modest, short-term additional commitment we are proposing could make the difference in securing the success of that investment. Decisions made in this Council over the coming months will be crucial to preserving that success.
In closing, I would like to endorse the words of the Secretary-General in paying tribute to the remarkable personal contribution made to Timor-Leste by Sergio Vieira de Mello. If Timor-Leste�€™s transition to independence has been a success story, that success is due in no small way to Mr Vieira de Mello�€™s remarkable leadership. Australia will remember him always for that.