S/PV.4403 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Korea and Thailand in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative and Transitional Administrator for East Timor. It is so decided. I invite Mr. Vieira de Mello to take a seat at the Council table. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and in the absence of objection, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Mari Alkatiri, Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor. It is so decided. I invite Mr. Alkatiri to take a seat at the Council table. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and in the absence of objection, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Mats Karlsson, Vice President, External Affairs and United Nations Affairs, of the World Bank. There being no objection, it is so decided. I invite Mr. Karlsson to take a seat at the Council table. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, and in the absence of objection, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Zephirin Diabre, Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. There being no objection, it is so decided. I invite Mr. Diabre to take a seat at the Council table. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, document S/2001/983 and Corr.1. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to a letter dated 30 October 2001 from the Secretary-General transmitting a letter from the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of East Timor, photocopies of which are before the members of the Council. At this meeting the Security Council will hear a briefing from Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative and Transitional Administrator for East Timor. I now give the floor to Mr. Vieira de Mello. Mr. Vieira de Mello: Though it is only three months since I last had the opportunity of briefing the Council, I do so now against the backdrop of a radically different situation in East Timor. These past weeks have witnessed the most exciting qualitative leap forward in the process that the Council tasked the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) — exactly two years ago — with performing: devolving authority onto what will ultimately be the fully independent State of East Timor. My briefing today will not repeat the contents of the Secretary-General’s report but, rather, provide some more intimate commentary to the recommendations made therein. In particular, I intend to devote some time to the outline of our plans for a successor mission to UNTAET, which we consider necessary to ensure that East Timor’s full independence is more of a political reality and not, in effect, a merely ceremonial event. Needless to say, it is our hope that the Council will agree with us that what we put forward today and what members have read in the Secretary-General’s report do indeed constitute the best possible approach: modest, focused, practical and, above all, necessary. Before I begin my briefing proper, allow me to say how truly pleased we are that today’s meeting is being presided over by such a distinguished President, Foreign Minister Cowen of the Republic of Ireland, a nation whose people and Government have been particularly stalwart friends of East Timor over the years. Thank you, Minister, for honouring East Timor and UNTAET through your presence here today. Finally, I would like to introduce several of my close partners who have been integral in bringing us to where we are today. Sitting beside me is Mr. Mari Alkatiri, who, as members know, is Chief Minister of the Council of Ministers of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor. He is also the Secretary- General of FRETILIN, which won the largest number of votes in the election of 30 August. Mr. Alkatiri is a busy man; his other portfolios include Economy and Development, as well as Timor Sea petroleum issues, in addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Constituent Assembly. Also with us is Ms. Fernanda Borges, the new Minister for Finance and an independent member of Government, as well as Mr. Fernando de Araújo, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and leader of the Partido Democrático, which came in second in the ballot. Contrary to the views of the many naysayers, the election campaign and polling day, as well as the days leading up to the announcement of the results, proceeded as we knew they would: in a remarkably peaceful and dignified fashion. It was a process widely praised by outside observers, including by this Council. As the Council knows, on 15 September the 88- member Constituent Assembly was sworn in, while on 20 September the new all-East Timorese Cabinet, now called the Council of Ministers, was formally established. The creation of a democratically elected Constituent Assembly and the formation of an executive branch that, by and large, reflects the vote is an event of enormous significance for East Timor. Never before has East Timor been afforded this most basic of rights: the ability of its people to select for themselves who should govern them. This marks the most decisive move yet forward towards full independence. At this stage, UNTAET is, quite clearly, a mission in support of the Government. Within the parameters laid out in resolutions 1272 (1999) and 1338 (2001), and the powers assigned therein to UNTAET, all administrative decisions are now taken by the East Timorese themselves. This is in line with our stated goal of using the period from the election to independence to have a trial run, so to speak, in which effective responsibility lies with a national Government that will hopefully maintain its composition after independence, but with UNTAET continuing to provide the closest possible support, guidance and partnership. The Secretary-General, in the letter he addressed to the President yesterday, informed the Council that, on 19 October, the Constituent Assembly voted overwhelmingly to recommend to the Secretary- General 20 May 2002 as the date of independence for East Timor. This date, if approved by the Council, would see the end of the transitional administration and the transfer of executive, legislative and judicial authority to the constitutionally mandated institutions of East Timor. In other words, should the Council agree to this date, East Timor’s long quest will be attained exactly 200 days from now. How these 200 days are used, both in preparing for that momentous occasion and also in preparing for what takes place afterwards, will have the most marked impact on how we remember the previous 24 months since the Council created UNTAET. I mentioned a moment ago that with the devolution of power onto East Timorese institutions came the inevitable increase in responsibility as well. One of the more onerous aspects of this will be fitting the activities of the new Government within its limited means. As the Council knows, this has been a complicated and, yes, a frustrating and unpleasant task. Crafting a budget of some $65 million in a country with as many competing demands as East Timor has forced on us the cruellest of decisions. These will become ever more apparent as the process of drawing down the number of international personnel in the East Timor Public Administration — a process that is already under way — begins to bite. This should not be surprising when we face an imminent situation in which the support provided by the current mission, with its budget roughly 10 times that of East Timor’s national budget, will simply not be sustained after independence. Adjustments will be inevitable. Our aim, in the time remaining before independence, is to minimize this negative impact and at the same time seek to ensure that those aspects of administration that are critical to the viability of the Government and stability of the new State are sufficiently ensured after the UNTAET mandate comes to an end, while also making certain that we are well placed to continue the critical tasks of assisting the East Timorese gradually to take over all line functions. A key component of our work in the time remaining is managing an organized, rational drawdown of UNTAET personnel in positions of public administration, in line with the figures presented in July by the Secretary-General in his last report to the Council. The 35 per cent target set for this October has been achieved, and that of 75 per cent will be attained by independence. Three factors are critical in the management of this process. First, we need to avoid an unduly precipitous reduction in the calibre of delivery of Government services. Secondly, a minimum degree of continued support is required to ensure that the new Government does not falter. I will come to this in more detail later. Finally, we need a clear indication from the Council as to its concurrence on the nature of the successor mission that we are proposing. Obtaining that will allow us to commence, in good time, the selection of personnel to help perform key functions. This will clearly be critical. I have noted before that one of the primary lessons for the United Nations to learn from a mission such as UNTAET is that we need to be able to select and recruit, more effectively and rapidly than is currently the case, individuals not only with the requisite skills for the jobs at hand, but also with the ability to transfer those skills to local capacity. As proposed, the successor mission to UNTAET would focus on the security of the new nation. In the most basic sense of the word, security continues to provide little cause for concern. Border infiltrations have not occurred during this year’s dry season ─ which, incidentally, is coming to an end ─ as a result of our robust response to last year’s significant and murderous threat, while the Indonesian armed forces now provide more resolute action against hardcore militia in West Timor. As far as national crime rates are concerned, they would, I suspect, be the envy of many Governments. On independence, maintaining internal security will continue to be the primary responsibility of international civilian police, though with the increasing involvement of the national Police Service that we are creating. More so than was the case with the Defence Force, the East Timorese police were at the forefront of ensuring security on polling day. They performed their potentially difficult duties in an outstanding manner, and their high visibility, good nature and professionalism ─ qualities not always found in more mature forces ─ lent lustre to an already brilliant day. We are planning a reduction in the authorized strength of the civilian police component of some 25 per cent — that is, 400 police officers — between now and independence, for a total of 1,240 on that day. These will then be reduced in a phased manner as the East Timor Police Service acquires ever more operational capacity. I shall confine my comments on the policing of independent East Timor to just two. First — and this is another of my hobby horses — we need to get absolutely right our approach to the deployment of international police officers so as to ensure that this most important of institutions is built on solid foundations. It is vital to the success of this element of the mission that we deploy only those officers who have the most appropriate qualifications. Secondly, as indicated in the report, it is possible that the current target of a 3,000-strong East Timor Police Service is overly generous. If this is the case, and if it is decided through consultation with the Council of Ministers to reduce the overall ultimate size of the East Timor Police Service, it would obviously have beneficial consequences in terms of cost and speed of full deployment. Until the East Timorese can assume full responsibility for the maintenance of their internal security through a non-corrupt and effective police force, it will be very difficult for the international community to abdicate its responsibilities in this area. However time consuming and expensive our obligation in this regard, it would be the most false of economies to prematurely call the job done. By independence we also propose that the United Nations military component should number some 5,000 personnel, a reduction of roughly 44 per cent from the current authorized strength. Their purpose will be to continue to ensure effective border security pending the full establishment and training of the East Timor Defence Force and while there continues to be growing illegal trading and other forms of criminality on the border and grounds for believing that residue armed militia in West Timor retain the determination to cross into East Timor and inflict harm — despite, as I mentioned earlier, a welcome increase in Indonesian enforcement action. The East Timor Defence Force has now been moved to its new training centre, which has been fully functional since last June. The first battalion has been formally raised, following the completion of its basic training, and is on its way to operational tasking. In a significant, though little noted, development, I ordered that a small contingent of East Timorese soldiers be on active duty throughout the country through the final weeks of election campaigning and for the day of the elections. Though the men were small in number, the impact of the sight of them provided a significant reassurance to the people of East Timor. They were a source of pride on that day, as well as of optimism that East Timor would have at its disposal a small but effective apolitical armed force. The first East Timor Defence Force battalion will be deployed to the eastern sector of East Timor early next year once the area has been vacated by United Nations peacekeepers, and will be ready for operational tasking in June. Under the current schedule, the second battalion will not be operational until late 2003, while the whole force will not be free-standing until mid- 2004. Donors thus may wish to consider accelerating their capital funding of this exercise to allow for a quicker final withdrawal of international military forces from East Timor. I am acutely aware that military costs present the most sizeable portion of the expenses of any United Nations mission. While a competent military force is one means of providing a degree of security, more effective still is the realization of sensible bilateral relations based on mutual respect and an identification of common interests. This is what the East Timorese leadership, with the assistance of UNTAET, has been seeking with Indonesia. On 12 September Mari Alkatiri, José Ramos-Horta, Xanana Gusmão and I met with the new President of Indonesia, Ms. Megawati Soekarnoputri, as well as with her Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs and her Foreign Minister. The meeting set the tone for what I hope will be a reinvigorated and increasingly harmonious period in the development of relations between the two neighbours. This should be cemented in the coming weeks and months with a series of meetings on a broad range of issues of mutual interest. We are also working towards holding a further high-level discussion next January, at which it is our hope to clear the books of a number of these issues. Nearly two weeks ago, in follow-up to the meeting with the Indonesian President, my Deputy visited Jakarta for discussions focusing exclusively on justice issues. While the new Attorney-General has responded favourably to our proposal for monthly working-level meetings, with a view to moving forward the many outstanding and complicated cases of serious crimes involving both Indonesia and East Timor — including by judicial cooperation and the support we will continue to extend to the new ad hoc human rights tribunal that President Megawati has decided to establish, with a view to taking to court the first group of suspects identified last year by the then Attorney-General — much still needs to be achieved in this area. The events that I have described are positive developments that I warmly welcome. However, if we are to prove the cynics wrong, let us be clear that real progress can only come with concrete action. There are still far too many outstanding issues affecting both sides of the border that require resolution. These include, to name but a few, cooperation in the investigation and bringing to justice perpetrators of serious crimes in East Timor; cross-border issues, including the formal demarcation of the border; bringing closure to the question of pensions for former Indonesian civil servants, on which significant progress has been achieved; and ensuring adequate land access between contiguous East Timor and the enclave of Oecussi. We need to use the coming 200 days to push for answers to as many of these as possible prior to independence. Progress has also been made in encouraging refugee returns and working to isolate the unrepentant, permanently embittered militia hardcore. October saw the highest monthly return — 3,233 refugees — since March 2000, bringing to 188,646 the total number of returns since September 1999. A number of factors perhaps contributed to this welcome development, among them the peaceful holding of the elections, greater cooperation with the Indonesian authorities and the reconciliation process being driven by the East Timor leadership, with our full support, in particular through the sustained involvement of my own Chief of Staff. We anticipate further returns before the full onset of the rains and the Christmas period, and must continue in our efforts to find a quick solution to the far too prolonged misery of the many thousands of refugees who continue to live in fear and poverty in West Timor. In order to reinforce current peace and stability, it is essential that both the demands for justice and the need for reconciliation are addressed in a mutually supportive manner. Together with Timorese partners, we continue to work on a variety of programmes focused on reconciliation, and early interventions designed to prevent past differences developing into communal violence. To date, violence flowing from the 1999 abuses has been remarkably minimal, although challenges may increase with the return of a more difficult refugee caseload in the coming months. After broad consultations, a regulation establishing the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation was promulgated in July, and it is expected that the selection of regional and national Commissioners will be finalized by the first week in December. The Commission will facilitate healing by allowing human rights victims, perpetrators and witnesses to give their personal accounts, which will be compiled into a report. The other main goal will be to offer perpetrators of less serious crimes the opportunity to enter into community-based plea-bargaining mechanisms, rather than the formal justice system. These procedures will not, obviously, apply to murder, rape and other serious crimes, which will remain within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court system. The Commission will have a mandate of two years. It will cover the whole period from 25 April 1974 to 25 October 1999, and will be totally funded through voluntary contributions. Finally, and most importantly, I wish to address the matter of what we — the East Timorese and the United Nations — hope will be the civilian elements of the successor mission. It will include the standard offices, such as political affairs and human rights that support the Special Representative of the Secretary- General in traditional operations and mission administration elements. Let me, however, focus specifically on an area that may require more explanation than other components: our proposed structure for dealing with serious crimes committed in the course of the violence of 1999. The report of the Security Council Mission to East Timor and Indonesia, of November 2000, rightly pointed out the significant difficulties we were facing in dealing with serious crimes. Likewise, these concerns were reflected in the exhortation to deal effectively with this matter contained in Security Council resolution 1338 (2001). We have taken these concerns seriously. Consequently, we are seeking to restructure our approach, bringing our handling of serious crimes more directly within the purview of my office. We are doing this not simply to ensure that this area is dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible, but also to reflect the distinctive international nature of the responsibility to deal with this matter. To be sure, progress in this area has been made. As the Secretary-General’s report indicates, 32 indictments have been issued, charging 62 individuals with crimes against humanity. New territory in jurisprudence is being explored with the first ever indictment for the crime of extermination being issued for crimes committed in the enclave of Oecussi. In other words, real progress can be made. The first indictments were issued much faster and at significantly less cost than was the case in either The Hague or Arusha. We should ensure that the process can be further cemented, and thus we have proposed this restructuring for a continued, assured presence in dealing with serious crimes, but at a reduced level and for a time-limited period. Let me now turn to the proposed civilian support group. It does indeed bear repeating that UNTAET’s mandate to establish a national civil administration, assist in the development of civil social services and support capacity-building was both unprecedented in scope and began following the near total destruction of East Timor. The two years since have seen much progress. However, the limited human resource base available and the fact that provincial East Timor under Indonesian rule lacked the institutions of a full-fledged State meant that it was impossible to create self- sufficient government structures in just two years. In my last briefing to the Council, I mentioned that we could not simply walk away from the nascent government administration and put at risk the investment that, the Member States have made so far. We are currently working with the Second Transitional Government to identify its human resource needs across all ministries, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). While the comprehensive results are not yet available, it is clear that up to 300 positions in total would be needed, with the majority in areas related to human development and poverty reduction, which will be funded through voluntary — either multilateral or bilateral — sources. However, some areas of the administration are critical to the viability and political stability of the Government as a whole, and we must ensure that they are supported for a specific period of time through the assessed budget. As the Council knows, we have been studying this question since last March. A series of studies — the latest being the UNDP human resources assessment report just released — have made it clear that government stability will depend upon international expertise in the following areas: finance, legal and justice systems, essential infrastructural services and basic regulatory, administrative and central logistical and procurement systems. They are akin to the vital functions upon which the corpus of government depends. Any resulting failure of the public administration would, I believe, be the failure of the United Nations. These may be strong words, but it could not have been expected that a self-sustaining government could be established from the ground up in just two years. Let us therefore finish the job. I can assure the Council that the Timorese do not want a needlessly protracted dependence on international support. Equally, I can confidently say that UNTAET, the East Timorese leadership, the civil service, United Nations agencies, the World Bank and others are all unanimously convinced of the serious risks accompanying a precipitous withdrawal of critical international support. I therefore believe that it is a fair and — in relative terms — modest proposal that is made by the Secretary-General. A civilian support group of 100 or so experts out of the up to 300 that I mentioned earlier is all that has been requested to ensure a minimum degree of expertise in the critical areas I have just enumerated. The civilian support group would have within its mission plan the task to also train and hand over to Timorese staff as soon as possible. I appreciate that elements of the successor mission are unprecedented, but this is natural, given the fact that so much of UNTAET’s mandate was unprecedented. In conclusion, we are well advanced in the planning for the successor mission. We will continue to keep you closely informed of our progress in finalizing and adding detail to these plans, a process that I am confident will gather steam in the coming weeks as the Second Transitional Government — which, you will recall, is only just over one month old — fully establishes itself. It is said in some quarters that UNTAET stands on the verge of being a United Nations success. While it is flattering to hear this, Mr. President, Mr. Minister, it is a premature verdict, and certainly not one for me to make, save that we stand a much greater chance of ensuring that this is the case if — paraphrasing a recent Council debate — we allow UNTAET to exit with a strategy. That strategy is, I would strongly suggest, what has been presented to you by the Secretary- General. In other words, while the current phase on which we are embarked may be nearing completion with the approach of independence, the job we have all set out to do is not yet done. We need to ensure that our combined and truly inspiring investment in East Timor to date is fully realized as a fitting and deserved reward for both the East Timorese — for the courage and determination they have shown over the years — and for our Organization, the United Nations, for the commitment it has shown to this most noble task.

I wish to thank Mr. Vieira de Mello for his comprehensive briefing and his kind words addressed to me, which I appreciate. As there is no list of speakers for this meeting, I invite Council members who wish to take the floor to so indicate to the secretariat as from now. I now give the floor to Mr. Mari Alkatiri, Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor. Mr. Alkatiri: Allow me to address my very first words to the United Nations Organization and to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and to present, on behalf of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor, our wholehearted congratulations on being awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. The awarding of this prestigious prize is the acknowledgement of the new role that the United Nations decided to take up and of the reformist stance taken by Secretary-General Annan since 1997. Despite the original aims in establishing this Organization — to prevent war and consolidate world peace — we all know that in the past, wrong political decisions were made and a huge price in human lives has been paid. The responsibility borne by the United Nations in some countries with peace missions — for example, in East Timor — demands a careful and unbiased look into the past so as to avoid repetition of the same mistakes. We believe in and share the United Nations ideals and the sense of justice of its Member States. For this reason, for over two decades we have tenaciously worked with the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Decolonization Committee and the Human Rights Commission. During the 24 years of illegal Indonesian occupation, and despite Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, genocide was perpetrated in East Timor, resulting in the loss of more than 200,000 lives. However, after this sad and most unfortunate time of our history, including 1999, the Security Council did hear the cries of the children, mothers, men, women and elderly of our country. As an East Timorese, I am pleased to recall that in 1997, when Kofi Annan became Secretary-General, a new impetus was given to the quest for a just, peaceful and lasting solution for the East Timorese cause. The courage of our people, together with the total commitment of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) to the United Nations ideals and high standard of professionalism, was a formula that led to success. The 30 August 1999 referendum was an act of self-determination, with overwhelming participation by our people that went far beyond the expectations of the international community. In our view, this act of self- determination is the democratic foundation that will henceforth configure our independence. In its commitment to this democratic founding act, the United Nations has committed itself to building the democratic institutions and processes that the people of East Timor have also honoured and have been committed to at all stages. The outcome of the referendum speaks for itself, and as a result the people of East Timor have expressed their clear wish to begin a transition process towards independence under the authority of the United Nations. The brutal destruction of property and loss of human life that followed the announcements of the referendum’s results necessitated a military intervention by the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) to enforce security and avert a threat to peace and security. The Security Council adopted resolution 1272 (1999), which established the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and, in an act without precedent, endowed the United Nations with the overall responsibility for the administration of East Timor. This mandate gave extensive authority to the Transitional Administration to act as the government of East Timor with all the powers to exercise legislative and executive authority, including the administration of justice. At that time, our dear friend the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was handed the Herculean task of establishing a government from scratch. The mandate of UNTAET was indeed comprehensive and consisted essentially of elements that included peacekeeping, establishing an effective administration, supporting capacity-building for self-governance, and the development of democratic institutions. Despite the achievements of UNTAET to date, its mandate is yet to be fully accomplished. The building of critical institutions for the new State, capacity- building and functional preparedness of the East Timorese are ultimate goals that are still to be achieved. For the people of East Timor, the priority is to continue the process of institution-building in order for UNTAET to effectively and systematically transfer its administrative functions to an independent East Timorese Government. The smooth and gradual transfer of these administrative functions will ensure that the United Nations is continuing in an indirect way to foster and fortify peace-building and stability — something we, the East Timorese, cherish and believe the Security Council itself upholds. To this end, we would request that the Security Council maintain as far as possible the current United Nations civilian staffing component until the end of the transition and enter into dialogue with our Government before the end of the Transitional Administration on the post-independence staffing component. It will be recalled that, following the 30 August 2001 elections, the United Nations took the decisive and progressive step of setting up the legislative and executive arms of the State through the swearing in of members of the Constituent Assembly and the appointment of the members of the Council of Ministers. Within the next 60 days, we expect the Constituent Assembly of East Timor to complete the drafting of the country's constitution. At this juncture, it is my greatest pleasure to announce to this body that the Constituent Assembly of East Timor has reached a consensus to recommend that the date of independence be 20 May 2002. The people of East Timor consider that success can be achieved only if the viability of the State of East Timor is guaranteed well beyond UNTAET's existing mandate. It is for this reason, among other, poignant ones, that we consider it of utmost importance that this Council pays special attention to institution-building and the gradual transfer of administrative functions to our civil servants under phased and flexible arrangements. Accordingly, we request the Security Council to provide us with the necessary human, material and financial resources, which will demonstrate the success of the United Nations and the international community. This success should translate into the entrenchment of the democratic State, with all the requisite and functional institutions that will ensure the prevalence of the rule of law. We are certain that this success will be sustainable only if the United Nations guarantees assistance through its mandatory assessed contributions to continue to support critical civilian posts in the follow-on mission. We have assessed the experience of other countries in similar positions that have tried to tap bilateral and multilateral sources to fund critical government functions and have found that they have not been successful, as these are not the traditional areas that donors are attracted to fund. That is not to say that we will not pursue bilateral, multilateral and other United Nations specialized agencies to assist in meeting our needs for a functioning Government. We have just made a comprehensive submission to the Government of Portugal to assist in providing technical assistance personnel to fill some of the positions earmarked for bilateral assistance. Our country’s financial resources are presently inadequate to cover the costs of contracting experts to assist in the critical areas. The World Bank agrees with us that the use of the limited financial resources of the Trust Fund for East Timor and the Consolidated Fund for East Timor for that purpose would be to the detriment of education, health and other reconstruction and development sectors, which cannot in themselves be wholly funded from our own resources for the time being. I would also like to take this opportunity to inform the Council that the recurrent budget of East Timor of $65 million remains to be funded. In order for the new Second Transitional Government to successfully carry out its function and programmes, we will require donors to quickly meet the financing gap. In Oslo, we will be looking for the strong commitment of donors to not only pledge, but also make good their contributions as early as January to obviate liquidity constraints that could cripple and destabilize the Government. The United Nations Development Programme has completed its first draft of a needs assessment study for personnel requirements for an independent East Timor Government. This report is a good starting point and can be used as the basis for discussion in the coming weeks. The Council of Ministers will require time to review the numbers and needs in order to be able to clearly articulate and fine-tune the Government’s needs. I would take this opportunity to reiterate to the members of the Council that East Timor has always sought to maintain the presence of civilian personnel in the post-UNTAET period. This is reflected in some of the words spoken by my brother Xanana Gusmão, national leader of our country, during his address to this body on 18 May during the Council’s special meeting on East Timor. The success of the Mission is the success of the international community, given that it fully reflects the international community. Together we can uphold the values of peace, justice, democracy, human rights and abidance by international law. It will be recalled that our country’s infrastructures and other assets were completely destroyed after the August referendum. The nature of the UNTAET mandate has necessitated that, in order to function as a Government, the United Nations have its human resources, assets and communications systems in place. Consequently, this has meant that the Second Transitional Government is presently heavily reliant on the assets of the United Nations to function effectively and efficiently and will need time and the necessary financial resources to disentangle itself from the web of dependence. We are currently attempting to address this issue through the UNTAET core transition group, but we would wish to use this unique opportunity to request the United Nations to continue to maintain its support structures and capital equipment until the independent Government is able to replace them with its own. In order not to cripple the operations of the Government, the people of East Timor would urge the Security Council to recognize the need to maintain these support structures and critical assets in place for the independent Government. I wish to also underscore the mission carried out by the peacekeeping force throughout this mandate. The peacekeeping force in East Timor has gained the respect and admiration of our people for the professional and committed way it has been carrying out its mission. We wish to publicly commend the force for the secure environment it has fostered in our country. The downsizing of the force is understandable and we support it at this point. However, it is our fervent belief that the Government of East Timor and, in particular, the Commander of our Defence Force, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, should be given the opportunity to actively contribute to the debate on the downsizing of the peacekeeping force. The Second Transitional Government is also preoccupied with the reconciliation process and the return of refugees from Indonesia. We maintain that reconciliation is an important component of the healing process that our people will need to go through. We are also clear that reconciliation without justice will not be meaningful and in this context fully support the maintenance of a Serious Crimes Unit funded by assessed contributions. Over the past 12 months, we have seen a steady increase in the number of refugees returning to the country. This effort has been strongly led by Mr. Xanana Gusmão and fully supported by UNTAET and the Second Transitional Government. All efforts will be made to continue to encourage the returnees and to resettle them in the country so that they, too, can enjoy the tranquillity of being in their homeland. We were also heartened and pleased by the positive reaction of the President of Indonesia, Mrs. Megawati Sukarnoputri, to the reconciliation process when the East Timorese delegation and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General visited Indonesia last September. We are hopeful that the strong interest in re-establishing good relations based on mutual respect between our two countries will be quickly cemented. The members of the Council may be asking themselves how all this assistance is going to affect East Timor’s use of the assessed contributions fund. We East Timorese are counting on this source of funds to consolidate the peacekeeping process and at the same time to create the necessary conditions for peace- building. On the socio-economic front, the Council would agree that the viability of any State depends to a great extent on the sustainability of the development of the productive sectors of its economy. Cognizant of this, the Government of East Timor is currently embarking on the creation of an enabling environment to address land issues and the investment and corporate laws required to foster development in this area. The drafters of the Constitution are presently addressing the land-tenure issues and the Council of Minister’s is reviewing the legislation on investment, micro-credit banks and corporate laws. The newly appointed Council of Ministers is conscious of the high level of unemployment in East Timor. Anecdotal evidence suggests an unemployment rate as high as 80 per cent. It is critical that we create the necessary conditions to stimulate domestic private- sector activity and attract sound foreign investment to assist in the generation of employment and development. The focus of the Government is on the areas of education, health, housing and infrastructure policies to guarantee social and political stability in East Timor. However, the independent Government will be able to deliver on this only if it has strong, efficient and transparent institutions. As a young nation, we will endeavour to diversify our revenue base and to avoid over-dependency on the potential revenues derivable from our stock of non-renewable natural resources. We recognize that there is a need to be prudent on the use of these funds and are now studying the appropriate investment and saving strategy for the Timor Sea revenues so that these funds are spent to develop other income-producing resources. As the lead negotiator on the Timor Sea, I and the people of East Timor are grateful for the tremendous support provided by the United Nations in the treaty negotiations pertaining to the Timor Sea resources. I am pleased to inform the Council that the Second Transitional Government, since taking office, has established the Planning Commission, the role of which is to develop a framework for a national development plan that will later be translated into a blueprint. The Government, civic society, youth and women are part of this all-inclusive process. This development plan will be designed to contain macroeconomic variables and strategies aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the well-being of society. In this regard, we will be seeking the assistance of multilateral financial institutions, particularly the World Bank, and our bilateral partners in the design and funding of this development plan. Allow me to mention our potential fishing resources. I wish to draw attention to this matter not only because of the economic perspective, but also because of the political implications of defining our maritime borders and hence our sovereignty. Surveillance of our territorial waters is a prerequisite, especially when East Timor’s exclusive economic zone is defined. To this end, a naval component of our East Timor Defence Force is currently being established, and we request assistance from the United Nations and our development partners. Although we address the Council today with a clear appeal to continue to provide the assistance and support given to East Timor, we fully recognize the responsibility that falls upon the East Timorese. We are conscious of our role as a Government to build the capacity to become self-reliant in our quest for economic independence. East Timor will soon be part of the community of nations and a Member of this unique international Organization. As a responsible member of the international community, East Timor will join the nations of the world in the struggle against all forms of terrorism. No one can be indifferent to terrorist acts, such as the barbaric acts of 11 September. We assure the Council that our country will stand with all peace- loving countries and join in the efforts to put an end to individuals, groups or organizations that organize or sponsor terrorist activities. In conclusion, allow me again to express our special, heartfelt feelings of appreciation for the opportunity to address the Council. Twenty-seven years ago my colleagues and I came to the United Nations for the first time to ask for the support of the international community to oppose the illegal invasion and occupation of our homeland, as a gross violation of international law. Today we address the Council as the East Timorese Transitional Government, established in the aftermath of the first free and democratic elections in East Timor. We acknowledge that in 24 years of resistance it was difficult to liberate our people from the illegal occupation, but now the challenge of governing the country and addressing the problems of poverty, disease, education and health is even more difficult. For this reason, our people still count on and deserve the Council’s continued support. We have no doubt that had it not been for the courage and resilience of our people in resisting the illegal occupation, and later the joint role played by the international community in restoring international law and assisting the reconstruction of our country, we would not have the honour of sharing these special moments with the Council. On behalf of our people and the Second Transitional Government of East Timor, I extend our invitation to you, Mr. President and the other members of the Council, to join us on 20 May 2002 for our independence day celebration in our humble country, East Timor. We look forward to seeing you all there to share this special day with us.

Thank you, indeed, Mr. Alkatiri for those excellent remarks. We wish you well. I now give the floor to Mr. Mats Karlsson. Mr. Karlsson: I am very pleased to have this opportunity to address the Security Council on behalf of the World Bank. This is the second time this year that the World Bank has participated in a Security Council discussion on the future of East Timor, underscoring the close collaboration of our respective institutions. I would like to express our sincere thanks to the President of the Security Council for his gracious invitation. I would also like to note our appreciation for the report of the Secretary-General, the briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and in particular, of course, the substantive contribution of the Chief Minister of the Transitional Government. The United Nations and the Secretary-General have played an unprecedented role in paving the way for East Timor to become an independent, sovereign nation in the near future. We are very proud to have been associated with this process. We all recognize that East Timor is at a turning point. With general elections peacefully concluded, a Second Transitional Government in place and the momentum for independence gathering, the newly established Administration faces many formidable challenges. The greatest of these, undoubtedly, is that of governing a new country with very limited human resources. We duly acknowledge the substantial efforts made, by United Nations agencies in particular, to build institutional capacity in East Timor, a process that has accelerated substantially in the past year. We also recognize that capacity-building will be a long- term process. The transfer of technical and managerial skills to East Timorese must therefore follow a strategic approach, with the coordinated support of multiple donor organizations. However, there are immediate skill needs that require to be filled, without which there is a risk of Government collapse. Security Council resolution 1272 (1999) established a wide mandate for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), including the establishment of a national civil administration, the development of civil and social services and support for capacity-building for self- government. The report of the Secretary-General presented here today recommends that a limited number of civilian professional staff remain within a successor mission to provide assistance to the new Timorese Government, both in the area of training and to ensure the continued daily functioning of the administration. The positions proposed are in the key State functions of budget, tax, treasury, central payments, justice and legal counsel, procurement, internal administration, infrastructure management and land and property. The World Bank’s assessment of the governance situation in East Timor and East Timorese capacity indicates that the continued provision of international staff in those positions is critical to avoid a risk of collapse of State services in the period immediately after independence. Before the August independence ballot, supervised by the United Nations, little opportunity existed for Timorese professionals to develop relevant skills. Good progress has been made since late 2000, but strong management systems and skills will take much longer to build than the short period between the establishment of the East Timorese Transitional Administration and independence. We estimate that, without operational management support from international staff, there would indeed be a risk of paralysis in some of these functions. This has a substantial knock-on effect across government. For example, if medicines cannot be procured or health workers paid, health services will collapse, even though in all other ways public health management may be quite sound and capacity to manage sector ministries by the East Timorese generally is sound. We note that the current proposal on the need for United Nations funding is already based on strong burden-sharing with bilateral and multilateral donors. The Trust Fund for East Timor, for example, which is administered by the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA), will finance at least 30 international positions in the year following independence. Bilateral donors are also providing a good deal of technical assistance. However, the nature of many of the functions outlined in the Secretary-General’s report is outside the type of capacity-building more normally provided by donors, in that the positions directly support the ongoing operational management of government, often in politically sensitive areas such as procurement or legal counsel. In contrast, development assistance for capacity-building is provided through training or international staff engaged in development projects. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the aggregate external financing available for East Timor is already overstretched to assist the East Timorese Government in delivering basic services. The UNTAET-administered Consolidated Fund of East Timor and the IDA-administered Trust Fund for East Timor currently have a combined financing gap of over $14 million. In the post-independence period, we estimate that East Timor will have some difficulty in mobilizing the external financing required to bridge the lean years between independence and the realization of more substantial Timor Sea hydrocarbon revenues in 2005/2006, even after allowing for concessional support through the international development banks. Preparations are currently under way for the next East Timor donors meeting in Oslo, from 11 to 13 December this year. This meeting, chaired jointly by the United Nations and the World Bank, aims to provide a platform to initiate donor discussions on the medium-term programme of support for East Timor after independence. An integrated approach between this process and discussions of the assessed contribution budget is desirable, since uncertainties over the coverage of the assessed contribution budget will inevitably affect donor discussions on the medium- term aid programme. East Timor is very important to the World Bank Group because of the strong partnerships we have forged with the Timorese people and with donors in post-conflict reconstruction in a particularly challenging environment. We will maintain this commitment over the years following independence. We look forward to working with the new East Timorese Government, the United Nations and donor partners to ensure that gains made in social and economic recovery since the 1999 ballot are strengthened as the first new independent nation and Member State in this new millennium is born.

I call on Mr. Zephirin Diabre, Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

It is my honour to address the Security Council today on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the important issue of East Timor’s transition to independence and the support needed from the international community to ensure the viability of this first new State of the millennium. This is an especially rare privilege because the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland, a country that is a valued partner of UNDP, is presiding over this meeting. United Nations agencies, funds and programmes are well established in East Timor and are determined to support that nation during the transition period and the time of independence. Everyone can see how necessary external assistance will be for many years to come. To date, offices in Dili have been opened by UNDP including the United Nations Volunteers programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Office, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Population Fund; they have implemented major programmes in support of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the Second Transitional Government in East Timor in their respective areas of competence and expertise. Their activities are coordinated by the United Nations Development Coordinator, who also represents UNDP in East Timor. With independence, that post will become a normal post of United Nations resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative. The incumbent will serve as assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and will be charged with enhancing the cohesiveness of the work of the United Nations system in East Timor and with ensuring close cooperation among the United Nations mission and United Nations agencies, funds and programmes. A draft country programme has been prepared, and a United Nations framework plan for development assistance should be approved by the new Government as soon as independence is attained. Then, regular programmes can be submitted to the governing bodies of the funds and programmes before the end of 2002. Let me say what a great contribution the personal commitment, open-mindedness, intellectual capacity and tirelessness of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, have made to the work of the United Nations funds and programmes. I thank him once again, and I assure him that we stand with him as he carries out his important mission, the success of which has been hailed by all. Over the past two years, assistance provided by the United Nations Development Group has shifted from emergency support to reconstruction and development. Now there is an emphasis on capacity- building, particularly training, institution-building and formulating policies, all of which are at the forefront of concerns for the new nation. With UNDP support, an overall framework for capacity-building in the public sector has been formulated and officially adopted. Health, energy, water, natural-disaster management, the legal system and the establishment of an inspector- general’s office are among the areas that have received assistance with a view to building national capacity. The electoral process too has benefited from considerable assistance. A coordination unit has been set up within the Government with a view to ensuring good coordination of activities and to support efforts to mobilize donor resources. (spoke in English) With the ongoing withdrawal of UNTAET civilian personnel and the establishment of the Second Transitional Government, it has become increasingly obvious that in order to sustain the current success of the UNTAET mission beyond independence, East Timor will continue to require significant international personnel support for an interim period. For reasons well known to all, there simply are not enough qualified and experienced East Timorese to ensure the viability of the new State and to embark upon the daunting task of nation-building and ensuring sustainable development in one of the world’s poorest countries. As indicated by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and by the Chief Minister, UNDP has, at the request of the transitional authority, completed a technical study of human-resource needs in the short term and the medium term. The study shows that to ensure political stability, 96 positions will be required for periods of up to 24 months. Some of those positions will have line functions, but the majority will focus on mentoring and advisory services to develop the skills and knowledge of East Timorese officials to enable them to take over line positions immediately. The study also provides illustrations, using standardized formats for job descriptions related to the required positions. In addition to those positions, UNDP estimates that some 200 positions will also be required to effectively address issues of poverty reduction and sustainable development as part of the nation-building process. More work will be done by UNDP in close collaboration with the Government to define such positions in greater detail. A preliminary report will be ready before the next donor conference on East Timor, which is due to be held at Oslo in mid-December. I should like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of UNDP to continue to support efforts to mobilize the financial resources required to fund the estimated 200 positions for nation-building from voluntary sources. But we need to be realistic about the likelihood of meeting all the development needs of East Timor in the future. The amount of funds available for East Timor is clearly finite, and tough choices on priorities will have to be made within the framework of the overall envelope. Furthermore, conflicting demands on scarce resources for development and the emergence of new global priorities will clearly make the task more difficult. The United Nations agencies, funds and programmes have only limited financial resources of their own, and will have to rely on additional contributions from bilateral and other donors to secure full funding for the programmes in East Timor now and in the future. The inclusion of a civilian personnel support component in the planned successor mission will clearly be a major contribution to ensuring continued political stability in East Timor after independence. It is our considered opinion that, without that guarantee of support, critical government functions will be compromised. The United Nations was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the successful transition of East Timor from the emergency of 1999 to independence as a full member of the community of nations. While we in the United Nations Development Group know that our relationship is just beginning as the nation begins its new independent life, we know too that we are as yet unable fully to fulfil our normal role in the absence of counterparts to work with in many areas. The East Timorese themselves have now elected their first Constituent Assembly, and its leaders have concluded that considerable external support must be guaranteed by the international community if the new Government is to carry out its responsibilities. The United Nations Development Group and the people of East Timor trust that the Council will find the means to guarantee that the United Nations, complemented by generous voluntary contributions, can complete the tasks it was charged with: to put in place not only support elements for the fledgling civil service, but also major programmes for long-term capacity-building and poverty eradication. Thus will we help put in place a strong, confident and capable Government in East Timor with the capacity and the commitment to meet the needs of all its citizens. (spoke in French) That is UNDP’s analysis and explanation of the recommendations that have been placed before the Security Council. Again, it has been a great honour and privilege for me to address the Council today.

First of all, I would like to welcome you, Minister Cowen, to New York. Since this is the last day of the Irish presidency, we would like to congratulate you and your team. It has been a difficult month, and your team has done a sterling job. We would also like to welcome our friends, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and, of course, Chief Minister Mr. Mari Alkatiri; once again, I would like to congratulate Mr. Alkatiri on the successful holding of elections. We also welcome our colleagues from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Before I go into the substance of my remarks today on a subject of great importance to us, I want to make three brief procedural points arising from the discussions that we had on the draft presidential statement. These are important procedural points, because they may come into play when, in elaborating the draft resolution, we decide the future of East Timor. The first procedural question is this: when we, the members, produce decisions of the Council, should we factor in only our national interests, or also the concerns of the international community? Our own view is that — and this is an important point — each one of us wears two hats: our national hat, and our hat as a representative of the international community. This, by the way, is enshrined in Article 24, paragraph 1, of the Charter, which states that “Members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf.” We think that we should bear that in mind when we discuss the situation in East Timor. The second question is this: when we produce decisions, how do we factor in the views of other Member States? We had a very fruitful discussion with the troop-contributing countries. This afternoon, we will be hearing the views of other Member States. How do we bring those views into play when we make concrete decisions on East Timor? That is a real question that we need to answer. The third procedural question is this: when making decisions, how do we remember past decisions and commitments, and how do we bring them into play? For example, earlier today, you, Mr. President, read out a presidential statement on women and peace and security, which I think mentioned East Timor. How do we take that presidential statement and apply it to East Timor? I raised those procedural questions because they will come up in the future. Today, in response to your appeal, Mr. President, to be brief and to highlight the key points, I will not read out the text that we have distributed. But, given the importance of East Timor to Singapore and to our region, I hope that you will allow me to make seven points. First, I would like to say that, of course, we fully support the Secretary-General’s report. We normally say that of all the Secretary-General’s reports, but it is important to bear in mind that this time the Secretary-General has produced a very careful and well-balanced report pointing out how to take the large operation that we have in East Timor today and scale it down significantly in such a manner that it ensures a successful transition. Figures are provided in the report, and the Secretary-General also gives an indication of how the United Nations presence will be scaled down as the East Timor Defence Force and the East Timor Police Service are built up. I am glad that today we will be endorsing the Secretary-General’s report. The second key point — I am glad that this was emphasized by Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello — is that we have undertaken a big job in East Timor, and we must finish it. I believe that that is what Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello said. But the question is: what is the job? In that respect, I suppose that it would be normal for most people to think that when East Timor becomes independent, the job will be done and the United Nations will have completed its mission. But clearly the requirements of the job have been spelt out in paragraph 2 of resolution 1272 (1999), which I will read out, because I believe that it is important. It states: “Decides also that the mandate of UNTAET shall consist of the following elements: (a) To provide security and maintain law and order throughout the territory of East Timor; (b) To establish an effective administration; (c) To assist in the development of civil and social services; (d) To ensure the coordination and delivery of humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation and development assistance; (e) To support capacity-building for self- government; (f) To assist in the establishment of conditions for sustainable development”. Those are simple requirements. Have we fulfilled them yet? Will we have done so in time for independence? The answer is, “No”. Interestingly enough, in connection with our discussion of exit strategies, a note (S/2001/905) was issued by the President of the Council on 25 September, which, in paragraph 6, stated: “The Security Council agrees that a major criterion for the Council’s decision on the scaling down or withdrawal of a peacekeeping operation is the successful completion of its mandate”. That was stated in a note issued by the President of the Security Council. Now we have a real case to which we must apply the commitment that we made. We have given ourselves a mandate, and we must therefore complete the job. I hope that all members will agree with that. The third key point is that, if we look at the recent history of the United Nations, there have, unfortunately, not been too many success stories. But East Timor provides real potential for a real success story. For that to come about, however, we will have to learn the lesson of why we have not had success stories in the past. To take two recent examples, to which I refer in my written statement — those of the Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau — sadly, we walked away before the job was done. All we are saying is that we should not let that happen to East Timor. Success never comes easily, however. If it were a natural phenomenon, we would see it every day. But we do not see success every day. Success comes through hard thinking, shrewd judgements, hard work, dedication and commitment. The image we have suggested using to help us to understand this is that of a duck moving smoothly across a lake. All we see is the smooth movement on the surface; we do not see the legs paddling away ferociously below. But it is the ferocious paddling below the surface that delivers the smooth movement across the lake. It is the Security Council’s job to provide the ferociously moving legs that will make East Timor a success story. We think it can be done if we make the right decisions now and in the coming months. The fourth point is that the key to success in East Timor is assured funding. In this context, assured funding means assessed contributions. We believe that these are required in order to protect the investments made and the success achieved to date. But a much more important point is this: if things go wrong in East Timor, how much more will it cost us to go back in and rebuild the success that we have today? I think that if, even with limited contributions, we can sustain the success story, we should do so, in order to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish. The fifth key point is that we have a responsibility to the people of East Timor. Indeed, in paragraph 87 of his report (S/2001/983), the Secretary- General states: “Initially, the responsibility to establish a viable state in East Timor clearly belongs to its people. The East Timorese have amply demonstrated the depth of their commitment to this task through sacrifice, imagination and determination. I urge the Security Council to ensure that these foundations are not undermined and to consolidate the remarkable contribution it has already made to this historic undertaking.” I suggest we heed the words of the Secretary-General and remember our responsibility to the East Timorese people. Our sixth key point is this: let us think of the implications for other United Nations endeavours of failure in East Timor. We all know — it is no secret — that the United Nations is now contemplating an extremely difficult — indeed, possibly perilous — United Nations mission in another corner of Asia, called Afghanistan. A significant United Nations success story in East Timor will increase the prestige and standing of the United Nations. This, in turn, will boost the credibility of the United Nations as it takes on other difficult and continuing challenges, not just in Afghanistan, but in Africa and the Balkans. Clearly, we now know that, in the light of the events of 11 September and the global campaign against terrorism, it is important that we deliver such success stories from the United Nations. Our seventh key point — and this is, for Singapore, a very important point — is that this issue has a strategic dimension for us. East Timor’s future and that of the region are inextricably linked. An unstable East Timor will unsettle the entire region, which has been undergoing various wrenching transformations. This will complicate the region’s efforts to overcome the political and economic problems it faces. How the United Nations handles East Timor after independence will therefore have wide-ranging strategic consequences for our region as a whole. For us, East Timor is not an abstract matter; it is not just another agenda item. It is of vital and immediate strategic importance to Singapore and to other countries in our region. To be sure, other members of the Council may take a more detached view of East Timor. It is in the nature of multilateral diplomacy that not every issue is of equal or immediate significance to every member of the Council. How the Council responds to this issue, however, will inevitably colour how our region will view other initiatives that may appear as detached from our immediate concerns as East Timor may seem to some Council members. Finally, I am glad that we will endorse the report and recommendations of the Secretary-General. The reason this endorsement is important at this stage is that it will send an important signal of confidence to the people of East Timor, who must be wondering as they move towards independence how much support the international community will give them. With this presidential statement we will be sending them a very positive signal. Our only hope is that we will remember this presidential statement when we return here in early January to discuss the concrete structure of United Nations assistance to East Timor. Miss Durrant (Jamaica): Mr. President, my delegation is pleased to see you, the Foreign Minister of Ireland, presiding over today’s meeting of the Security Council, as this marks another milestone in the period leading up to the independence of East Timor. We join in welcoming the Chief Minister of the Council of Ministers of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor and his team, and assure them of Jamaica’s continued solidarity with the people of East Timor. Let me also thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, for his leadership of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and for his comprehensive briefing. In addition, we thank the Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Vice- President of the World Bank for the contributions their organizations are making to East Timor’s development. Following the success of elections in East Timor on 30 August, and UNTAET’s progress in implementing the mandate given to it in resolution 1272 (1999), it is important for the Council to take another look at the future role of the United Nations and the way ahead for the people of East Timor. In so doing, we are mindful of and agree wholeheartedly with the words of the Secretary-General: “The essential requirement in the case of East Timor is to ensure that the enormous sacrifices of the East Timorese, the substantial investments of the international community, and the cooperation of the parties required to bring about a successful transition to independence are not squandered for lack of international attention and support for the new State”. (S/2001/394, para. 43) As Ambassador Mahbubani has indicated, the Council has been discussing for several months the transition from peacekeeping to peace-building. We now have a concrete case before us, East Timor, and it is important for us to demonstrate that we will move from words to action. We must therefore work quickly to address the problems that still exist and to build on the gains achieved over the past two years. We must continue to lay the groundwork for the establishment of an effective administration by emphasizing capacity- building and the training of the East Timorese for self- government and independence. We are pleased with UNTAET’s continued focus on accelerated devolution of authority. The Constituent Assembly has been sworn in and has begun its work on the Constitution. A Second Transitional Government has been established. Along with the devolution of authority to the executive, the recruitment and training of civil servants have improved. A functioning public administration staffed by East Timorese is evolving. We also note that three times as many refugees returned to East Timor in September as in August. We must also work to ensure the safety of those in West Timor. In both instances, the cooperation of the Indonesian Government remains important. We are therefore disappointed that talks on the security phase imposed by the Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator have not borne much fruit and that there is no agreement on the memorandum of understanding. The Indonesian Government’s plans to cease providing humanitarian assistance to refugees give greater urgency to these talks, and we hope that future discussions will be conducted in a spirit of compromise and understanding. We welcome the cooperation between UNTAET’s military component and the Indonesian armed forces, as well as the agreement to improve security cooperation. We would like to commend the Indonesian Government for its efforts in this regard, and reiterate that the continued promotion of good relations between the two Governments is essential to East Timor’s future. We must also consider the dangers posed to a sustainable and lasting peace by debilitating poverty and underdevelopment. My delegation therefore attaches great importance to continued progress in East Timor’s economic and social development. The Secretary-General’s report notes that the decrease in United Nations personnel and expenditure will adversely affect the territory’s economic growth. We agree that poverty-reduction initiatives and structural reforms are a good start. We therefore welcome the continued efforts of the UNDP and the World Bank to assist in the areas of poverty alleviation and reconstruction. But we must also assist the people of East Timor in creating an enabling environment for sustained economic growth and sustainable development. Coordination and proper planning to ensure simultaneous development in the areas of health and education, as well as in the agricultural sector, will ensure that overall development is promoted. It is clear that the accomplishments of UNTAET since the 1999 referendum are substantial, and that it has been successfully implementing many parts of the mandate given to it in resolution 1272 (1999). Nevertheless, it is clear also that the people of East Timor will require further support. The Secretary- General points out in his report that the primary focus of the successor mission will be to ensure the security of East Timor and the viability and stability of its government structures. It is in this context that we fully support the Secretary-General’s recommendations for an international presence after independence. I wish to make a few comments on the issues raised in the Secretary-General’s report. First, the military component must work effectively with the judicial system to achieve the maintenance of law and order. Both have implications for reconciliation and refugee return. We support a military component that is able to address internal and external threats to East Timor, and we look forward to the further development of the East Timor Police Service and the East Timor Defence Force. Further downgrading of the military component should take place only with the parallel development of the capacity of local law enforcement and defence authorities. Certainly, there will be a need for constant review as developments require. Secondly, with regard to the civilian component, the Secretary-General has pointed to a significant lack of local expertise needed to perform core functions essential to the stability and functioning of the Government, and we have heard these addressed by previous speakers. In the light of the importance of these 100 core functions, we support the recommendation that they be funded from assessed contributions. However, paragraph 80 of the Secretary- General’s report points out: “Owing to the unprecedented scope of the UNTAET mandate, and the need to build the administration from the ground up, further external assistance beyond these core functions will unquestionably be required to ensure broader government services.” (S/2001/983) The paragraph also notes that there will be need for funding from voluntary contributions and that, in addition to the 100 core functions, we will need 135 functions which are crucial to the effectiveness of the new State. We therefore join the Secretary-General in his appeal to donors to contribute generously in order to meet these needs. Thirdly, we are concerned that the justice system is still at a nascent stage, and we agree that it will require close attention. We therefore support a greater emphasis on the justice system and on human rights, and we encourage greater support in the Territory’s civil administration in particular. Fourthly, we commend UNTAET for its attention to gender issues. We are gratified at the recent election of a number of women to the Constituent Assembly, and we feel it is important for the future of East Timor to continue to make provisions to deal with the role of women in society. We strongly support the view that gender initiatives should continue to form an integral part of the civilian component, and it is probably very propitious that we were able to adopt the presidential statement today on women and peace and security. Fifthly, consistent with the importance that we attach to the process of reconciliation, we support the Secretary-General’s plans for the Serious Crimes Unit. My delegation believes that the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes and other heinous acts is essential to the maintenance of, and respect for, law and order, and that this will have a positive impact on reconciliation. In the same vein, we hope that the Indonesian Supreme Court will soon undertake a review of the verdicts handed down to those responsible for the deaths of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff members on 6 September 2000. The Secretary-General’s report has identified a number of crucial areas in the structure of the East Timor Government that will require our continued support. If we are to be consistent in our approach and our commitment to the people of East Timor, the international community must ensure that adequate and assured financial support is provided where needed. But based on the past experience of UNTAET, it is clear that we cannot rely substantially on voluntary contributions. The Secretary-General’s report indicates that voluntary contributions are already stretched thin in East Timor and that even the two primary trust funds are not yet fully resourced. Furthermore, as we have heard this morning, United Nations agencies are experiencing serious substantial constraints. We would wish to emphasize that we have gone so far based on the determination, the commitment and the sacrifice of the people of East Timor and their leaders, the guidance of UNTAET and the close involvement of the Council and the international community. As East Timor joins the international community, we must not breach the trust which the people of East Timor have placed in us. We owe it to them not only to welcome them into the international community but also to ensure their future.

First of all, Sir, I should like to welcome you and to express our satisfaction at seeing you preside over our meeting. We would like also to welcome the representatives of East Timor, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme and to thank them for their statements. We also thank Mr. Vieira de Mello for his comprehensive briefing. We are pleased at the obvious progress that East Timor is continuing to achieve in various fields following the election of the Constituent Assembly. We appreciate the fruitful efforts made in this regard by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The Chinese delegation welcomes East Timor’s decision to declare independence on 20 May next year. The independence of East Timor is the result of the common efforts made by the East Timorese people and the international community, and it also represents important progress on the part of the United Nations towards fulfilling its mission in East Timor. However, 20 May is by no means a cutoff date for UNTAET. My delegation has always emphasized the fact that, even after the independence of East Timor, it is imperative to maintain a considerable international presence there, with a view to completing the mandate entrusted to UNTAET by the Security Council and to ensure the full success of the work of the United Nations in East Timor. The Secretary-General, in his report, has put forward specific recommendations with regard to the composition and scale of a successor mission. We deem his recommendations practical and feasible. Paragraph 84 of the report emphasizes in particular the views he expressed in his report entitled “No exit without strategy”: “The essential requirement in the case of East Timor is to ensure that the enormous sacrifices of the East Timorese, the substantial investments of the international community and the cooperation of the parties required to bring about a successful transition to independence are not squandered for lack of international attention and support for the new State.” (S/2001/983) This statement cuts to the heart of the matter and inspires us to deep reflection. The realization of independence in East Timor represents only half of what the United Nations has set out to achieve there. After 20 May, as a newly independent State, East Timor will be facing the tremendous task of reconstruction. In many areas, the help of the United Nations will be indispensable. The final withdrawal of the United Nations from East Timor must have as its precondition the completion of its mandate, as set out in resolution 1272 (1999). After the independence of East Timor, the continued presence of the United Nations will have the goal of ensuring that the efforts made to date by the international community, including the United Nations, in East Timor are not squandered. The Secretary-General, in his report, said that he was submitting his proposals to the Security Council for its consideration and approval. I want to emphasize the fact that he used the word “approval”. Having carefully considered the objective needs of the independence process of East Timor and the practical recommendations made by the Secretary-General, China endorses those recommendations. Of course, this is on the understanding that the successor mission is guaranteed sufficient financial resources. Finally, we support the presidential statement to be made at the end of this meeting.

Let me thank you, Sir, for honouring us with your presence at today’s meeting, which is taking place at a very important stage in the history of East Timor. We would like also to welcome Mr. Mari Alkatiri, who is ably guiding the work of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor. France also welcomes Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, who, as always, described with precision and clarity the current situation and above all the path to follow. France subscribes word for word to his language. Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello is one of those men who do the United Nations honour. From Cambodia to East Timor, his entire career is an example of those great servants of the United Nations who explain why the Oslo jury decided to confer the Nobel Peace Prize on the United Nations. Later in the debate the Ambassador of the European Union, the Ambassador of Belgium, will state the position of the 15 members of the European Union. I will therefore confine myself, as you, Mr. President, have requested, to a few brief remarks. Also, since this is a debate and our friend Kishore Mahbubani enjoys debate, I will respond to Kishore Mahbubani. Timor and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) are clearly already one of the success stories of the United Nations. Sergio Vieira de Mello said that we must remain prudent. He is right. We must get to the very end of the route. But there are already signs of success. The elections were perfect. The drafting of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly is progressing well. The declaration of independence, in friendship and cooperation with Indonesia, is scheduled for 20 May 2002. I thank the head of Government for his invitation. I think that the Council will unhesitatingly be in Dili on 20 May to be at his side on that great day. But, naturally, the history of East Timor and international involvement there will not end on independence day. We must not, as Kishore Mahbubani rightly said, repeat the mistakes of the past. There must be no exit without strategy. The stability of the entire region depends on it. Moreover, the enormous investment that the international community has already rightly made in East Timor cannot be put at risk. More than a billion dollars of multilateral aid has been mobilized since October 1999 to show the solidarity of all our countries with East Timor. Even today, a quarter of the soldiers wearing blue helmets deployed around the world are in East Timor. This means that the international community’s solidarity has been strong, and that of France, which has no national interest in East Timor or the region, is exemplary. I wish to state that each French citizen spends eight times the amount spent by each citizen of Singapore on nation-building in East Timor, even though the standard of living of the citizen of Singapore is higher than that of the French citizen. That is only one figure among several. It testifies to France’s commitment, because that is how France judges that its role — not in the Security Council, but in the service of the United Nations — should be fulfilled. But there is a real debate — as is clear from our interventions — stemming from the complex character of an operation such as that of East Timor. The truth is that the United Nations is more and more involved in operations that are at once peacekeeping and nation- building. France has for long considered that to carry out these operations the Security Council needs to develop a dual partnership. I said 18 months ago; I have repeated it since, and I repeat it today, because I believe it to be important: the first partnership is naturally the Council’s partnership with the troop- contributing countries. They have expressed frustration at not being sufficiently involved. I believe that the Council responded to their concerns in resolution 1353 (2001), and I had the honour, during the French presidency of the Council, to organize the Council’s first consultations with troop-contributing countries under the new format, which I believe was a real improvement. The Council’s second partnership is with the international institutions belonging to the family of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and, naturally, also the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), whose representative I welcome to this table, as well as other institutions. Good coordination is essential. I believe that our meeting today proves that it can exist between what the Council deems must be done and what the institutions of the United Nations family, such as the Bretton Woods institutions, can achieve in close cooperation with the United Nations. Now I come to the heart of today’s debate, which is also a recurring debate heard next door, in the General Assembly. It is a real debate that we should approach openly. As the Council further develops these complex operations — Cambodia was the first, followed by others including East Timor — it can clearly be seen that the Council’s jurisdiction tends to stretch beyond that strictly prescribed by the Charter: the maintenance of international peace and security. It now extends to activities that are more of the nature of nation-building: the construction or reconstruction of the economy, of social structures, even of State structures. Therefore, in the debates, particularly in the General Assembly, a certain frustration is expressed. How far will the Security Council expand its area of competence? What will be left to the General Assembly if the Security Council becomes more and more involved in these complex and integrated operations? I believe that the Council must be attentive to these frustrations expressed in the General Assembly. That is why, in the framework of the preparation of a presidential statement, on the basis of some noteworthy recommendations by the Secretary-General, France wished that the debate be open. It is not a debate on financing, because, in any case, the financing must be provided. It must be part of our regular budget, whether in the United Nations regular budget under the General Assembly or in the budget for peacekeeping operations. It is a question of distribution of competences. I believe that this is a debate that we should have not just in today’s case, but also with respect to other complex operations, so that when we are heading towards success, as we are under the leadership of Sergio Vieira de Mello, it will be the success of not just one people, the East Timorese, or one man, Sergio Vieira de Mello, or perhaps one institution, the Security Council, but truly the entire United Nations family, including the General Assembly.

We would like to join others in welcoming you, Mr. President, as well as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor, the Vice-President of the World Bank and the representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We greatly appreciate the work done by the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), so brilliantly headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello. We also greatly appreciate what has been done to establish the statehood of this territory as it moves towards independence. In particular, we welcome the successful holding of elections to the Constituent Assembly. We believe that is an indication of a healthy trend in the development of social and political processes in East Timor. We are convinced that Timorization of authority in the territory is the only real way that one can move towards establishing an independent and stable State. Overall, we feel that the United Nations has played a key role in overcoming the East Timor crisis. It is necessary to envisage a future evolution of the role of the United Nations in the international community’s post-conflict presence in that new State. We believe that the size, shape and timing of the future international presence must be determined on the basis of analysing the real needs of East Timor, while taking into account the dynamics of the developing situation on the island and the position of the country’s Government. A broad range of United Nations organizations and agencies must be engaged in helping to establish the independent State. Regional structures, international financial institutions and individual donor countries must also back up the efforts of the United Nations, which, in our opinion, should play the role of coordinator in this process. We also think that as the State structures of East Timor are established, the international presence should gradually wind down. All of these processes, including the transition from UNTAET to the new format of a United Nations presence, must be smoothly and carefully verified so that there can be a successful continuation of United Nations achievements in East Timor. In view of all that I have said, let me now say that we support the tenor and specific ideas contained in the recent report of the Secretary-General. We believe that report has set the right tone in discussing specific steps of international assistance to an independent East Timor. But at the same time, we would like to have a clearer picture of exactly what is involved in the programme of international assistance. The report of the Secretary-General on the future role of the United Nations in East Timor can be regarded as a good first step that must be followed up with more substance ─ one could call it a prelude to a complete, beautiful symphony. It is our expectation that detailed proposals by the Secretary-General will be submitted to the Security Council along with a recommendation about the last extension of UNTAET’s mandate, set for January of next year, so that the Council can, in good time and without undue haste, prepare the mandate of the new mission and thereby help to ensure successful preparations for independence in East Timor.

My delegation is pleased to see you presiding over this meeting today, Mr. President. We are also pleased to welcome to the Security Council the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Vieira de Mello, and Chief Minister Alkatiri. We thank them for their comprehensive briefings. We also welcome the representatives of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and thank them for their statements. Let me also congratulate, through the Chief Minister, the people of East Timor for successfully electing the national Constituent Assembly in an atmosphere of peace and free of violence. In effect, the rate of participation in the election in East Timor of over 91 per cent has proved once again that no spirit or desire is bigger than that of self- determination. We are happy to note that not only have peace and calm now been firmly established in the country, but that the people of East Timor are heading towards soon achieving their cherished goal of independence in a systematic and well-prepared manner. The report of the Secretary-General is highly commendable for its detailed information on the situation in East Timor, especially after the peaceful elections for the Constituent Assembly, on 30 August 2001. My delegation fully supports the recommendations of the Secretary-General, especially those relating to the continued presence of United Nations personnel in East Timor. Now that the cornerstone of popular democracy and representative government has been put in place, the primary aim of the transitional and future Governments will have to be the consolidation of these principles, so that reconstruction of the island can be facilitated and expedited. In this regard, it is important for the international community to extend the necessary support to East Timor in all spheres of activity. The Security Council should therefore continue to support East Timor and to show that it remains fully committed during the transition period. Any compromise or self- complacency on the part of the international community could lead to a standstill, or even to a reversal of the situation, thereby jeopardizing the gains already made. The elections to the Constituent Assembly have indeed paved the way to independence for the people. However, for independence to be fully enjoyed, the following three pillars are essential for a functioning democracy in a new, independent country: an impartial and independent judiciary, a competent and fully trained civilian police service, and a solid and broad- based administrative framework. The fledgling judiciary will therefore need training and support in order to make it more professional, and so that it can perform its role effectively in ensuring the rule of law and the protection of human rights. In this respect, we welcome the promulgation of regulation 2001/25, of 14 September 2001, which lays down measures to make the court system more effective and to expedite the judicial process. Likewise, a well-trained civilian police service will be very important for maintaining law and order in East Timor and for the promotion and protection of human rights. In this regard, we welcome the progress in the training of East Timorese for the higher posts in the Police Service. In respect of the establishment of a functioning public administration, we welcome the major advances made in the past two years in building a civil service and its institutions from the ground up. With the increased facilities for the training of personnel, we are confident that the East Timorese will be able to shoulder responsibility for their country in the best possible manner. No sustainable peace or stability can be possible in the absence of a secure environment in East Timor. Although the elections were held in a very peaceful manner, we should not overlook certain factors that might negatively impact on the good works so far carried out. In this regard, we express our concerns over militia activities and illegal markets along the borders ─ although those are on the decline ─ and over the continued intimidation of refugees. The Council should therefore ensure that the 80,000 refugees still in Indonesia are free to return voluntarily to East Timor. Until they are resettled in East Timor, it is imperative for humanitarian assistance to continue unabated. It is also important that the people of East Timor feel secure in every walk of life. This can be possible only by ensuring that they fully enjoy their rights without discrimination, by promoting confidence- building measures and by incorporating all human rights norms into the Constitution that is currently being drafted, and which is expected to be completed within the next 60 days, as the Chief Minister has informed us. On the external front, East Timor desperately needs the necessary diplomatic support from neighbouring States, especially Indonesia. It is encouraging to note that informal meetings are already being held at higher levels between Indonesia and East Timor. We welcome the meeting held on 12 September between the President of Indonesia and the Special Representative, accompanied by the Chief Minister and the Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Xanana Gusmão. We also welcome the ongoing negotiations between Indonesia and the office of the United Nations Development Office (UNDP) towards the establishment of technical arrangements, as a basis for the return of United Nations agencies to East Nusa Tanggara. There has been much talk about lack of coordination among various United Nations agencies. The situation in East Timor is one of those where such coordination can be of paramount importance, especially when we enter the phase of peace-building and reconstruction of the East Timorese economy. It is the view of my delegation that the experience gained in Haiti should serve as a basis for future action in East Timor. A country that has suffered so much trauma and been subjected to untold hardships can never embark on nation-building without justice being seen to be done in favour of the victims. Nation-building is never complete without a consolidated, united and peace- loving society. The same is true for East Timor. We believe more is required than what is currently in place in order to encourage longer-term reconciliation among the East Timorese. Importance must therefore be given to nation-building, capacity-building and institution- building. My delegation, like others, welcomes the amendment to the Presidential Decree of 23 April that established an ad hoc human rights tribunal to deal with gross human rights violations in East Timor. Although it expands the jurisdiction of the tribunal, it fails, however, in its objective of restricting trials to those cases that occurred in the months of April and September 1999. We hope that the Government of Indonesia will revisit its decision by expanding the jurisdiction of the ad hoc tribunal to cover all cases of human rights crimes committed in East Timor from January to October 1999. My delegation fully supports the establishment of a Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation that would be empowered to hold hearings and seek evidence in order to establish the truth about all relevant events that occurred in East Timor from 25 April 1974 to 25 October 1999. However, the Commission should not be seen as an alternative to justice, but should supplement the judicial process. We are confident that the Commission will help in healing the wounds and in bringing the East Timorese closer together than ever, in the interests of the whole nation. With only three months to go before the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) expires, there is a need for a decision on the successor mission. The United Nations should not be complacent. Instead, it should at all costs avoid having a half-accomplished mission. We therefore believe that it is imperative for the international community to remain involved in East Timor for a period of two years, starting from independence. The United Nations has no other responsible choice but to remain committed to the goals set out for UNTAET. The successor mission plan, detailing and providing for an integrated peacekeeping mission is the right decision by the international community, given that UNTAET’s mandate will not have been fulfilled by the end of January 2002. In this regard, we fully support the recommendations of the Secretary-General and agree that the United Nations should remain engaged in East Timor to protect and consolidate the major achievements so far realized. With regard to the physical presence of UNTAET in a post-independence East Timor, we fully agree that it should be the right size to cater to the more specific needs of the country in this new phase of its political future. Finally, we support the draft presidential statement circulated today.

The representative of Singapore wishes to take the floor on a point of clarification with regard to his earlier statement. With the concurrence of the members of the Council, I propose to give him the floor now.

In view of the fact that Ambassador Jean-David Levitte referred to some of my points, I just wanted to clarify the situation for the record. First, Ambassador Levitte said that we liked to debate for the sake of debate. On this issue, we were not really trying to debate, but we were very puzzled by our difficulties in the informal consultations in endorsing a very reasonable report of the Secretary- General. We did not know how to alert the non- members of the Council that we were having these difficulties. But in some ways Ambassador Levitte has done it for us. Secondly, I heard Ambassador Levitte say that he completely agreed with the remarks made by Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, and so do we. I think that puts us in substantial agreement on the core issues. Thirdly — and we were very puzzled by this — Ambassador Levitte referred to the fact that France’s contribution is much more than Singapore’s on East Timor. We do not have the figures here, nor do we have the time to research them — but we will research them. But it is a fact that under the formula whereby contributions are made to peacekeeping operations permanent members do pay a certain premium because of their permanent membership. I think it is generally acknowledged within the United Nations community that with privilege comes responsibility. That is an agreed principle. Indeed, many Members are prepared to become permanent members even if they have to pay a bit more. Fourthly — and I think this is a very important point that Ambassador Levitte made — is that we should be sensitive to the views of the General Assembly. I completely agree with him, and I hope that in the course of today’s debate we will listen very carefully to the views of the non-members and also hear a very key point that they always make in the discussions in the Security Council, which is that they hope that the Security Council will be accountable to the members of the General Assembly. If we do that, I think we will be making a very positive contribution.

Foreign Minister, Special Representative and Chief Minister, we welcome you to the Council. I am very grateful to you all for the helpful, useful and constructive statements that have been made today. I am grateful also to the representatives of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who have briefed us also this morning. Minister, I personally find it extremely gratifying good news to be where we are in this room two years on, as Sergio Vieira de Mello has said. I think — and I would like to paraphrase Ambassador Mahbubani here — that over the last two years the Council has in fact done a very good job of shouldering both its national and collective responsibilities. For the United Kingdom —I cannot speak for others — the presence of 200 Gurkhas in the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET), the military observers and the civilian police in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), and the extensive development and reconstruction assistance given in the early stages, are an expression both of national commitment and of our commitment as a permanent member of this Council to what is, I think, a very successful United Nations operation. We are fully committed to supporting the East Timorese people in achieving the independence they deserve. It is particularly good that we now have a date, and that date will give us all a target to which we can work. The Secretary-General’s report is a particularly well-argued, well-researched and very worthwhile document. The establishment of an integrated mission task force within the Secretariat, as recommended by the Brahimi report on peace operations, has helped to contribute to that process. Here, too, there may be useful lessons learned in the context of other future and current United Nations operations and the way we prepare for them. I hope very much that, as we refine the recommendations about the structure of the post- independence United Nations presence over the next few months, the Secretariat will take advantage of these mechanisms, these new working procedures, to build on what is already a pretty good basis. We are very happy to endorse the Secretary- General’s recommendations in the Presidential Statement today. We believe that a premature withdrawal of the international presence from East Timor could have a destabilizing effect. We, therefore, fully endorse the concept of a continued but reduced United Nations presence up to, and through, the initial independence period. We welcome the Secretary- General’s recognition that a clear exit strategy must also be in place. We also support the recommendation that a number of key civilian positions to support the East Timorese administration should be funded from assessed contributions for a limited period after independence. These core functions, for which local expertise does not yet exist, will be crucial to the stability and functioning of the new government in the early months of independence. It is because the move from UNTAET to post- independence United Nations presence is so unique that we can on this occasion accept consideration of funding from assessed contributions for civilian personnel working in support of the Timorese. But, looking ahead, I am sure everyone would agree that the key objective should be to provide some assurance to the new nation of East Timor so that it will have the support it needs to carry on and get through. I hope that the use of assessed contributions for these posts in this period will not discourage others from coming forward with voluntary contributions to the post-independence East Timor that will clearly be very necessary. It is clearly in the interests of everyone, not least the East Timorese people themselves, to move to more conventional methods of development assistance, as soon as is sustainable and not before. Our agreement to the funding of a certain number of core civil posts extends to those recommended for the Serious Crimes Unit. During the Security Council mission to East Timor last year, members of the mission were extremely concerned about the serious crimes issues, and I am very pleased to have heard today of the action that Mr. Vieira de Mello has taken in respect of that operation. It clearly has a very important role, both in terms of justice and in terms of national reconciliation, and we welcome the progress that has been made both by UNTAET and by the Indonesian authorities in bringing to account those responsible for crimes in East Timor during the dark days immediately following the referendum. We particularly welcome the decision by President Megawati in August to extend the jurisdiction of the Indonesian ad hoc tribunals, and we look forward to Indonesia setting up these courts as a matter of urgency. Mr. President, you have asked me to be brief, so I will be. I would simply conclude with another expression of compliment and satisfaction to UNTAET and to the East Timorese people and with the best wishes of the United Kingdom for the remaining months ahead up until 20 May and to the people of East Timor for beyond.

I intend to suspend the meeting at 1.15 p.m. and to recommence at 3.00 p.m., so we have time for one or two more speakers before we suspend for lunch.

Mr. President, let me congratulate you and your delegation for Ireland’s outstanding leadership of the Council during this presidency. It is good to see you here. I want to thank Mr. Vieira de Mello also for his briefing and for his tireless and admirable efforts and those of his team in East Timor. We believe that Mr. Alkatiri’s participation today is particularly important, because it is the first time the Council hears from an elected East Timorese leader. This is a significant milestone. I also want to thank the briefers from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Their presence illustrates that East Timor is not just a Council responsibility, and that the concept of responsibility, shared among principal interacting players, which will be referred to in the Presidential Statement later on, exists already in practice. We welcomed the Secretary-General’s report on East Timor. The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), working with the East Timorese, has done very serious work, and it shows. The United States joins other Council members in endorsing the Secretary-General’s proposals for the way ahead, both the transition from now until independence and the plan for a successor mission. We endorse these recommendations in the context of our support for UNTAET as a continuing international presence, for UNTAET’s ongoing downsizing and for the United Nations initial work on a reasonable and rational exit strategy. I would like particularly to welcome the work that the United Nations Development Programme did in support of UNTAET, making a technical assessment to determine which civilian posts were priority positions for political stability to be included in the limited core to be financed from assessed contributions for periods ranging from six to 24 months. Many people talk about East Timor as a United Nations success story or talk about how we need to invest more to ensure that East Timor is a success, and we agree. I would like to encourage the Council, the United Nations and the East Timorese themselves to agree that a good definition of ultimate success will be when the last United Nations staff members leave and an independent and stable East Timor stands up on its own. To get there, the United Nations and the East Timorese will need to work with the widest range of bilateral donors and interested agencies to ensure that, as the extraordinary measures financed through peacekeeping progressively diminish within two years, other appropriate mechanisms of support are in place. I would like to stress to Minister Alkatiri that the East Timorese must help this process by focusing on a democratic, harmonious and peaceful way forward, practicing fiscal responsibility and programmatic rigour, capturing as much as the United Nations and others can teach and setting the right priorities. UNTAET must help this process by staying on schedule with the downsizing it has set for itself between now and independence and by working even harder to develop and implement the big picture of how the United Nations efforts fit in with those of other actors and in the near future by elaborating its plan for getting, starting on independence day, to a goal of zero or near zero peacekeeping finance support by mid- 2004. If we can all do that, we can truly talk about a United Nations success story and a success story for the people of East Timor as well.

Mr. Minister, the delegation of Mali is pleased that the Security Council, under your guidance, is studying the Secretary-General’s report on the situation in East Timor. It is a pleasure once again for my delegation to welcome Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the Secretary-General. I thank him for his comments in complement to the excellent report of the Secretary-General before us. My delegation associates itself with the words of welcome addressed to the remarkable delegation from East Timor, led by Mr. Mari Alkatiri, Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government of East Timor. We are, of course, pleased to note the presence at this meeting of Mr. Mats Karlsson, Vice-President of the World Bank, and of Mr. Zephirin Diabre, Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, and we thank them for their contributions today. I will heed your appeal for brevity, Sir, and simply make two comments. First, I wish to emphasize that Mali is pleased to note the political progress made to date towards the establishment of an independent State of East Timor through the election of 88 members of the Constituent Assembly, the creation of an all-East Timorese Council of Ministers, the establishment of a Timorese Administration, the enhancement of security measures, the provision of public services and the reconstruction of infrastructure. These results have certainly been obtained thanks to the efforts of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to bolster the contribution and direct participation of the people of East Timor in the administration of the country. They also attest to the great political maturity of the people of East Timor as they move towards independence. My second comment relates to the most important challenge before us: guaranteeing the viability of the future independent State. We hope that all will be done to help East Timor embark on independence. In that context, we support the Secretary-General’s recommendation that a substantial international presence be maintained in East Timor after it accedes to independence. Indeed, the international community is duty-bound to accompany the new State in its first steps, particularly by providing it with all necessary assistance in administration and finance and by guaranteeing its security. In the same vein, we encourage the relevant international and bilateral partners, particularly the Bretton Woods institutions and United Nations funds and programmes, to provide increased assistance to East Timor after it accedes to independence. The information provided by Mr. Karlsson and Mr. Diabre is encouraging in that regard. In conclusion, I pay tribute to Mr. Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor, and to the entire UNTAET team for their dedication in conducting this operation, unprecedented in United Nations history, to its proper conclusion. We appreciate their impressive efforts to build an independent, democratic and economically viable East Timor. We fully endorse the presidential statement to be issued at the conclusion of this meeting.

I welcome you to New York, Sir, and thank you for presiding over this meeting. I congratulate Ireland on its achievements during its presidency of the Security Council. I would also like to thank Mr. Vieira de Mello and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) for their considerable achievements in East Timor so far. I should also like to say how pleased we are to see Mari Alkatiri and members of the Transitional Government attending this meeting of the Security Council. Norway extends its full support to the East Timorese Cabinet as it prepares for independence, as we have heard, on 20 May next year. In recent months, East Timor has gone through a period of historic political developments. In addition, significant progress has been made in the field of social and economic development and in establishing a functioning Public Administration. The challenges ahead are now to protect and build upon these achievements so that the nation-building project can be completed. This will require a substantial international and United Nations presence after independence. Norway fully endorses the recommendations regarding the establishment of an integrated United Nations mission post-UNTAET. We believe that the exact mandate of the successor mission should allow for the completion of the mandate entrusted to UNTAET. When discussing the downsizing of the military and civilian police components exceeding the proposals contained in the report now before us, a great deal of caution will be required. We must always keep in mind the need to contribute to national and regional stability. Needless to say, the military and police presence should reflect the security situation on the ground at any given time. Moreover, the downsizing of the civilian police component should not jeopardize the crucial task of building capacity within the East Timor Police Service, aimed at transforming it into a fully accountable and professional institution. In order to prevent a gap in resource allocations and to ensure that key tasks within the civilian component of the successor mission are undertaken without delay, my delegation agrees with the Secretary- General’s recommendation concerning assessed contributions. This is also a way for the Security Council to demonstrate that peacekeepers and peace- builders are indeed inseparable partners in efforts to establish sustainable peace. However, bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as the international financial institutions, will also have to contribute their share to the peace-building efforts. The prospects for long-term security and stability are closely linked to the question of accountability and reconciliation. It is therefore of vital importance that this Council renew its commitment to the task of bringing to justice, in a manner consistent with international standards of fair trial and due process, those responsible for serious crimes committed in 1999. Moreover, it is crucial that the future State of East Timor be firmly rooted in the rule of law and respect for citizens’ rights. I would therefore express Norway’s full support for the recommendation of including a strong human rights presence within the framework of the successor mission. Full justice for the people of East Timor can be achieved only when individuals residing in Indonesia who are suspected in relation to crimes committed in East Timor are also brought to justice. In this regard, we welcome the announcement by the Indonesian Government that trials are to begin in December this year. However, to avoid any danger of institutionalizing impunity for a number of suspects, we reiterate our call on the Indonesian authorities to furnish the ad hoc tribunal with the jurisdiction required to prosecute all serious crimes committed in East Timor from January through October 1999. With regard to the establishment of a civil administration in East Timor, Norway is pleased to note that the process of “Timorization” has continued over the last months. By mid-September, UNTAET had recruited some 9,500 civil servants and the number of women had increased to 25 of the total staff. While we welcome the progress made, we urge UNTAET to continue its efforts to increase the number of women employed at all levels within the civil administration. We would also like to underline the need for continued efforts in the field of training and capacity-building of civil servants. It is also of vital importance for the security and the sustainable environment in the region that strong and peaceful relations between East Timor and the Republic of Indonesia continue to be developed. Reconciliation and enhanced cooperation between the two countries are fundamental prerequisites. In this regard, we warmly welcome the contacts which have already been established at the political level. In conclusion, as stated in the Secretary-General’s report, East Timor will also be in need of substantial international assistance after independence. In this regard, Norway is committed to continue to contribute its share. As a means to fully assist and complement the United Nations peace operation, it is of crucial importance that we move towards a long-term development assistance framework as quickly as possible. My delegation valued the in-depth discussions in this regard during the Canberra donors’ meeting in June, and we hope that these discussions will continue in a fruitful manner during the December donors’ meeting in Oslo hosted by my Government.

I would like to welcome you here, Mr. Minister, and thank you for participating in this meeting. Through you, I would also like to commend the Irish Mission, particularly Ambassador Ryan, for their dedication and the very efficient way in which they have organized our meetings during the month of October. I would also like to welcome the participation in this meeting of Mr. Alkatiri, Chief Minister of the Second Transitional Government, and the representatives of the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). I would like once more to welcome Sergio Vieira de Mello, and reiterate our appreciation for his successful leadership. Without a doubt, the work of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) allows us to speak of a success story of the United Nations, which contributed to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. This success should be confirmed by our commitment to the culmination of the United Nations presence in East Timor. I would like to thank you, Mr. Vieira de Mello, for your statement, and I would like to highlight a few points. First, the elections marked the crucial moment in the process of the East Timorese really taking charge of their own future. This fills us with genuine democratic pride, if I may put it that way. Secondly, we are now entering a very important stage — the next 200 days before the date set for independence. This period will make many demands on the United Nations and will call for painstaking work by the multilateral bodies. But, above all, it will place greater obligations on the East Timorese before they take full responsibility for their governing institutions. It is therefore essential to ensure that all these efforts are coordinated, which UNTAET will continue to do. Another point that Mr. Vieira de Mello made relates to the need for proper justice for crimes committed, particularly the most serious offences. We have all recently heard many calls for ad hoc courts or mechanisms to ensure that perpetrators of such crimes are held responsible. This campaign and this activism confirm how important it is to do away with impunity. However, in our opinion, we must focus our efforts on the functioning and strengthening of existing institutions and those that are to be created. In our view, justice and reconciliation should be fully compatible. Without proper justice being done, we cannot set out on the road to true coexistence. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation commissions is very useful. We also agree on having systems that work well and speedily — for example, plea-bargaining systems for certain offences. This is an exceptional situation in which investigations should be carried out and sentences handed down as quickly as possible. But for the most serious crimes, the work of the Transitional Administration and the future Government is extremely important, as the Secretary-General’s report states. Progress has been made in this area, including the remarkable action on the crime of extermination, which is truly novel. Much more needs to be done. We need a high level of international cooperation, with emphasis on what the authorities of Indonesia have done and should continue to do. My delegation endorses the recommendations in the report now before us, in particular those on the establishment of the successor peacekeeping mission, headed by a special representative of the Secretary- General and consisting of a military component, a civilian police component and a civilian component. We agree that the civilian component will be essential to ensure the proper functioning of the Government in the period immediately after independence. It is clear to my delegation that the financing of the civilian component should not be based on voluntary contributions, which, as the report indicates, are fewer and fewer. We have noted that UNTAET will do whatever is necessary to adapt its size and shape to existing needs and to be able to carry out a smooth, harmonious transition to a post-independence United Nations presence. It is clear that the mandate of UNTAET will have to be extended until East Timor’s independence is declared. Finally, we are convinced that a hasty, premature winding down of the international presence could have destabilizing effects on the future of this new country. We do not want to have a bad beginning. East Timor must receive the support it needs in order to come together as a new State fully capable of participating in the community of nations.

A number of speakers remain on the list. With the concurrence of the members of the Council, I will suspend the meeting now. The Council will resume the discussion of this item at 3 p.m.