Dili, 12 February 2001
RECONCILIATION SEMINAR OPENS

More than 130 people from all walks of East Timorese life congregated today for the first large-scale debate on human rights, reconciliation and elections held in the country. The overall goal of the symposium is to promote and encourage discussions at all levels of East Timorese society on the reconciliation and electoral processes, and their link to human rights. “Why should we ask East Timorese to re-open wounds, when many are simply trying to start a new future? Reconciliation is necessary in East Timor to cure the infection so the wounds will not fester,” SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello said at the opening ceremony. The UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, who left East Timor this afternoon after a two-day visit, underlined that rights should be at the center of building a democratic society. “The biggest threat to a nation is poverty,” he said. “That is why UNDP promotes the rights-based approach to development.” The symposium, which closes tomorrow, is organised by the UNDP in conjunction with UNTAET and the NGO Forum. Other speakers and panelists include CNRT President Xanana Gusmão, Peter Galbraith, Cabinet Member for Political Affairs, Carina Perelli, Director of the Electoral Assistance Division at UN Headquarters, Aniceto Guterres, Executive Director of Yayasan Hak and Finn Reske-Nielsen, UNDP Representative and UN Development Coordinator.

AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT EAST TIMOR

An Australian parliamentarian delegation led by Senator Alan Ferguson, chairman of the Defense Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade arrived in Dili today for a two-day visit. The eight-member delegation went to Suai District and Batugade, Maliana district, today to visit the Australian Battalion of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Tomorrow, the delegation will inspect a water infrastructure project funded by AusAID, followed by meetings with the Deputy of the Special Representative of Secretary-General, Jean-Christian Cady, UNTAET’s Human Rights Unit, the budget team of the East Timor Transitional Administration and UNHCR representatives.