UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD
In 2018, OHCHR helped the HRCSL to
strengthen its screening tools. OHCHR
also contributed to the development of
standard operating procedures for the
screening of peacekeepers that would be
applied by the UN, the HRCSL and the Sri
Lankan Government, including the military
and the police.
Participation (P)
P6 – New laws establish transitional justice mechanisms and take into account the
results of consultations in 2016. Wherever
necessary, victims of violations, women,
and groups with specific needs are consulted in more detail about each element
of the transitional justice agenda.
OHCHR advocated for the increased participation of rights-holders, especially
women and discriminated groups, in selected public processes.
The Office on Missing Persons was the
first transitional justice mechanism established in the country. To date, six
consultations have been conducted with
stakeholders. When producing its first
Interim Report with a set of priorities, the
Office on Missing Persons took into account the report of the Consultations Task
Force (CTF). OHCHR provided assistance
with the archiving of the CTF’s materials
and linking the archiving process to the
work of the Office on Missing Persons.
OHCHR also worked towards supporting the establishment of a National
Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-up
under the Mechanisms pillar.
276 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018
Spotlights:
UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD
TIMOR-LESTE
1
1
Population size Surface area
1.32 million
15,000 km²
2
3
Human Development Index NHRI (if applicable)
0.625 (rank: 130/188 in 2016) Status A, 2018
Type of engagement
Human Rights Adviser
Year established
2013
Field office(s)
Dili
UN partnership framework
United Nations Development Assistance
Framework 2015-2019
Staff as of 31 December 2018
4
XB requirements 2018
US$618,600
Key OMP pillars in 2018
123
human rights norms and standards in the
course of their work. The NHRI, OHCHR
and the police jointly developed the training materials.
Two evaluations of the trainings were conducted in 2018. Six months after the police
trainings had been delivered in two municipalities (Bobonaro and Oecusse), trainees
and their commanders reported positive
changes in behaviour, including a reduction
in the use of force and more professional
conduct when intervening in law enforcement situations. This in turn led to a reduced
number of complaints against the police by
members of the community. OHCHR led the
one-day evaluation sessions that were conducted with the NHRI and police trainers.
Please refer to Data sources and notes on p.191.
Participation (P)
P6 – Youth, women and discriminated
groups, and those who represent them,
regularly advocate for human rights.
KEY PILLAR RESULTS:
Accountability (A)
A1 – The police and army comply with human rights standards that prohibit torture
and ill-treatment.
The police and armed forces demonstrated improvement in their compliance with
international human rights norms and standards as a result of human rights training
programmes that were designed, delivered
and evaluated with the support of the Office.
In February, a standardized programme
of human rights training was initiated for
mid-level ranking officers in the armed
forces. During 2018, four five-day training
modules were delivered to a total of 120
officers (21 women, 99 men). The training
was based on a manual that had been prepared with support from OHCHR and was
delivered by trainers from the NHRI, the
Ministry of Defence and army officers who
Youth
Disabilities
had previously completed an OHCHR training of trainers’ programme in mid-2017. The
programme focused on the role of the army
in respecting and protecting human rights
in times of peace and crisis, including during
searches, arrests and the use of force. An
extracurricular session was also held on the
rights of LGBTI persons during each training
programme, which was facilitated by members of the NHRI and the LGBTI community
in Timor-Leste.
Human rights training for the police continued during the year. The training was
conducted by two inspectors from the police force who had served as part of a team
of trainers that provided training to the police from 2015 to 2017 and was composed of
representatives from the NHRI and the national police. The two inspectors enhanced
the training by delivering a condensed
version that enabled 1,165 police officers
(150 women, 1,015 men) to learn about
The Office made a significant contribution
to enhancing the meaningful participation of
youth, LGBTI persons and women in selected public processes by providing technical
expertise, funding and support for advocacy
campaigns.
In 2018, a group of young volunteers with
HATUTAN, a community organization, advocated for the equal rights of LGBTI persons
across Timor-Leste. The group produced
a campaign video entitled “The Road to
Acceptance.” While it featured stories of
violence and rejection, it also showed families embracing their daughters, sons and
siblings who identify as LGBTI. The video
formed the basis for discussions on how
to increase respect for the equal rights of
LGBTI persons in Dili and throughout the
countryside, particularly among youth,
students, adults, officials and civil society.
OHCHR provided technical support to
Shifts:
HATUTAN about human rights advocacy and assisted the group in reinforcing
messages about equal rights and inclusion. Based on HATUTAN’s advocacy with
the private sector, six companies that are
based in Timor-Leste signed the Standards
of Conduct for Business to tackle discrimination against LGBTI persons that was
launched by OHCHR in 2017. At the request
of HATUTAN, the Office provided training
on the Standards of Conduct to these six
companies and other interested companies.
In October, two Timorese youth, one young
man from the LGBTI community and one
woman with a visual disability, increased
their knowledge about human rights and
effective advocacy by taking part in the twoweek “Diplomacy Training Programme,”
which was facilitated by the University of
New South Wales. They joined 21 human
rights defenders from the region to learn
about international human rights law and
the UN human rights mechanisms. OHCHR
funded the participation of these two young
persons and conducted sessions on the UN
human rights mechanisms. The four young
people who were supported by OHCHR to
participate in the programme in 2017 and
2018 have continued to advocate on a range
of human rights issues, including disability
and LGBTI rights, violence against women,
the excessive use of force by security forces
and effective human rights budgeting.
During the reporting period, the Human
Rights Defenders Network conducted regular advocacy on key human rights issues
with decision-makers. This network of 11
NGOs, including those working on the rights
of women, persons with disabilities and the
LGBTI community, was established in 2015
with the technical support and funds from
OHCHR. The network held three press conferences in 2018, led the drafting of a human
rights agenda, which was submitted to the
new government, and supported victims in
accessing justice.
Prevention
Civic Space
Inequalities
Non-Discrimination (ND)
ND1 – Laws, policies and practices more effectively combat discrimination in all forms,
and responsible authorities actively work to
“leave no one behind”, including by addressing the root causes of inequality.
The Office contributed to improving the
compliance of legislation, policy and planning with international human rights norms
and standards on the rights of persons with
disabilities by supporting the development
of guidelines to this effect.
Guidelines on integrating disability into
legislation, policy and planning were prepared in a highly participatory process that
included consultations with persons with
disabilities, disabled persons organizations
(DPOs), civil society, various State institutions, UN agencies and interested donors.
The CRPD was used to formulate the overall
framework for the guidelines, which were
also informed by the recommendations
and general comments issued by the UN
human rights mechanisms, in particular the
CRPD and the Special Rapporteur on the
rights of persons with disabilities. The guidelines also called for gender analysis when
drafting laws, policies and plans. OHCHR
provided technical expertise throughout
the drafting process. By the end of the year,
the final version had been shared with various institutions and DPOs.
ND7 – The public supports a human rights
approach to disability; the public opposes
discrimination based on sexual orientation
or gender identity.
The Office contributed to improving the
narrative on the rights of persons with disabilities and LGBTI persons in Timor-Leste
Global Constituency
UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 277
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