United Nations Security Council Resolution 1599 – Timor-Leste

Resolution 1599 (2005)

The Security Council,

Reaffirming its previous resolutions on the situation in Timor-Leste, inparticular its resolutions 1543 (2004) of 14 May 2004 and 1573 (2004) of16 November 2004,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 18 February 2005(S/2005/99),

Commending the people and the Government of Timor-Leste for the peace andstability they have achieved in the country, as well as for their continuing efforts towards consolidating democracy and strengthening State institutions,

Further commending the United Nations Mission of Support in Timor-Leste(UNMISET), under the leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and welcoming the continuing progress made towards the completion of key tasks inscribed in its mandate, particularly during its consolidation phase, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 1543 (2004) and 1573 (2004),

Paying tribute to Timor-Leste’s bilateral and multilateral partners for theirinvaluable assistance, particularly with regard to institutional capacity-building andsocial and economic development,

Expressing its appreciation to those Member States which have providedsupport to UNMISET,

Having considered the letter dated 20 January 2005, from the Prime Ministerof Timor-Leste to the Secretary-General (S/2005/103),

Noting the Secretary-General’s analysis of the need for a United Nations presence to remain in Timor-Leste after 20 May 2005, although at a reduced level,

Noting also that the emerging institutions in Timor-Leste are still in the process of consolidation and that further assistance is required to ensure sustained development and strengthening of key sectors, mainly rule of law, including justice,human rights, and support for the Timor-Leste police, and other publicadministration,

Acknowledging the excellent communication and good will that havecharacterized relations between Timor-Leste and Indonesia including the decision toestablish a Truth and Friendship Commission, and their land border agreementsigned in Dili 8 April 2005, which covers approximately 96 per cent of the landborder, and encouraging continued efforts by both Governments towards resolvingthis and all pending bilateral issues,

Acknowledging the Secretary-General’s decision outlined in his letter to theSecurity Council dated 11 January 2005 (S/2005/96) to send a Commission Of Experts to Timor-Leste and Indonesia to review the serious crimes accountability processes, and recommend further measures as appropriate,

Remaining fully committed to the promotion of long-lasting stability in Timor-Leste,

1. Decides to establish a one-year follow-on special political mission in Timor-Leste, the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), which will remain in Timor-Leste until 20 May 2006;

2. Decides further that UNOTIL will have the following mandate:

(i) to support the development of critical State institutions through provisionof up to 45 civilian advisers;

(ii) to support further development of the police through provision of up to40 police advisers, and support for development of the Border Patrol Unit(BPU), through provision of up to 35 additional advisers, 15 of whom may bemilitary advisers;

(iii) to provide training in observance of democratic governance and humanrights through provision of up to 10 human rights officers; and

3. Requests that, when implementing its mandate, UNOTIL emphasize proper transfer of skills and knowledge in order to build the capacity of the public institutions of Timor-Leste to deliver their services in accordance with international principles of rule of law, justice, human rights, democratic governance,transparency, accountability and professionalism;

4. Requests further that UNOTIL be led by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who will direct the operations of the mission and coordinate all United Nations activities in Timor-Leste through his office, with due attention to safety of personnel, and facilitated by appropriate levels of logistics support,including transportation assets, such as air transport when necessary;

5. Requests that the Secretary-General deploy some of the advisers,authorized in paragraph 2 (ii) above, to assist the National Police of Timor-Leste in developing procedures for and in training the Border Patrol Unit (BPU) and to assistthe Timor-Leste Government in coordinating contacts with the Indonesian military,with the objective of transferring skills to the BPU to assume full responsibility forsuch coordination as soon as possible;

6. Underlines that United Nations assistance to Timor-Leste should becoordinated with the efforts of bilateral and multilateral donors, regionalmechanisms, non-governmental organizations, private sector organizations and other actors from within the international community, and encourages the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to establish and chair a consultative group,made up of these stakeholders in Timor-Leste, that will meet regularly for that purpose;

7. Urges the donor community as well as the United Nations agencies and multilateral financial institutions to continue providing resources and assistance forthe implementation of projects towards sustainable and long-term development in Timor-Leste, and urges the donor community to actively participate in the donor’sconference scheduled to be held in April 2005;

8. Encourages, in particular, the Government of Timor-Leste, UNOTIL, theUnited Nations Secretariat, United Nations development and humanitarian agencies,and multilateral financial institutions to start immediately planning for a smooth andrapid transition, in Timor-Leste, from a special political mission to a sustainable development assistance framework;

9. Reaffirms the need for credible accountability for the serious humanrights violations committed in East Timor in 1999, and, in this regard, underlines theneed for the United Nations Secretariat, in agreement with Timor-Leste authorities,to preserve a complete copy of all the records compiled by the Serious Crimes Unit,calls on all parties to cooperate fully with the work of the Secretary-General’sCommission of Experts, and looks forward to the Commission’s upcoming reportexploring possible ways to address this issue, including ways of assisting the Truthand Friendship Commission, which Indonesia and Timor-Leste have agreed to establish;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council closely and regularly informed of developments on the ground and of the implementation of the mandate of UNOTIL, and the planning for a transition to a sustainable development assistance framework, and to submit a report within four months of the date of adoption of the present resolution and every four months thereafter, with recommendations for any modifications such progress might allow to size,composition, mandate and duration of the UNOTIL presence;

11. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 5171st meeting,on 28 April 2005.