ELECTION DATE FORMALLY ANNOUNCED BY UNTAET

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello on Saturday signed a notification setting the date for the election of the Constituent Assembly for 30 August 2001. The notification also states that the campaign period will commence on 15 July. Both dates conform to the timeframe mandated by UNTAET Regulation 2001/2.

CADY DUE TO LEAVE, McNAMARA TO TAKE OVER

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, has decided that Dennis McNamara, a New Zealander with 25 years experience with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is taking over as Deputy SRSG from Jean-Christian Cady, who will be leaving at the end of June. Mr. McNamara, currently United Nations Special Coordinator on Internal Displacement, previously served as a Deputy SRSG in Kosovo, heading the mission’s Humanitarian Pillar, an area for which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had the lead responsibility. In UNHCR he was Director of the Division of International Protection from 1994 to 1999. His years of service with UNHCR also included several assignments in Asia: as Director of the Human Rights Component of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, UNTAC; as Deputy SRSG for Humanitarian Assistance for Kampuchea based in Bangkok; as UNHCR Regional Legal Adviser in Hong Kong; and as UNHCR Deputy Regional Representative in Malaysia.

“It is with considerable sadness that we see Jean-Christian Cady leave the mission, having served with us since the inception of UNTAET. I am most grateful to him for having accepted twice to extend his mission as well as for his dedication and his remarkable willingness to assume additional demanding responsibilities, such as the supervision of all Civilian Police functions, including the creation of the new East Timor Police Service, as well as the development of the new East Timorese Defence Force. His departure will be a great loss for the mission and for me personally,” SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello said today. “Mr. Cady is a fine example of the renowned French Prefectoral service, the principles of which we are trying to emulate in East Timor: moral rigour, selflessness, integrity, impartiality and a high sense of loyalty to the nation and the state.”

“Mr. McNamara brings with him a long and widely acknowledged and respected international experience which in many ways matches Cady’s national record. His extensive experience in Asia is an asset. I have long admired McNamara for his principled courage in many field assignments. He brings pride to the international civil service and I am grateful to the Secretary-General for his choice. East Timor and the United Nations will be well served by his appointment.”

AGREEMENT ON THE RETURN OF RUPIAHS SIGNED

UNTAET and the Indonesian Central Bank, Bank Indonesia, signed an agreement last Friday on the repatriation of Indonesian rupiahs from East Timor to Indonesia. Under the Memorandum, UNTAET’s Central Payments Office and Bank Indonesia will spend six months working out the technicalities of collecting and transferring the money. It is estimated that around 200 billion rupiahs (US$20 million) are circulating in East Timor. A first shipment of approximately three billion rupiahs will be transported to Indonesia next Monday, 18 June.

REPORT OF POST-UNTAET WORKING GROUP FINISHED

The Working Group on Post-UNTAET Planning has finished its report on the needs for international civilian assistance to support an independent East Timorese administration after UNTAET’s mandate is completed in January 2002. The report makes 21 recommendations, among them that a significant reduction is necessary in the overall number of international staff starting from the post-election period onwards and that experienced advisors will be needed within most of the specialized areas of government. International staff in the districts should be limited to two or three advisors in each district and international personnel should preferably speak Portuguese or Bahasa Indonesia, the report further recommends. Arrangements should also be further investigated to encourage the return of skilled East Timorese expatriates to assume positions in government administration. The Working group, chaired by the Head of the National Planning and Development Agency Emília Pires, consists of eight representatives from the National Council, UNTAET and UNDP. Half of the team is East Timorese.

SRSG LEAVES FOR AUSTRALIA

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello departed for Sydney, Australia, today, where he will give a lecture at the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney. The SRSG flies to Canberra tomorrow afternoon for the Donors Conference. He returns to Dili on Saturday, 16 June.

OVER 706,000 EAST TIMORESE REGISTERED

Eighty-seven per cent – more than 706,000 people – of East Timor’s population have been registered by UNTAET’s Civil Registration Unit as of yesterday, 11 June. Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta registered today in Dili. In related news, SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello last Saturday appointed Peter Rimmele as Registrar General of the Central Registry of East Timor and Fernando Dias Gusmão as Deputy Registrar General. The appointments were made upon the recommendation of the Internal Administration.

EAST TIMORESE STUDENTS FARE POORLY IN TESTS

The Division of Education of the East Timor Transitional Administration has just concluded the analysis of the national mathematics and science benchmark test of 1,700 East Timorese elementary students. The results were poor when compared with international performance, which is linked to the inadequate training and preparation of primary teachers. Some students did, however, perform well on the tests, even by international standards. Male and female students displayed more or less equal results. In response to the poor performance, the Division of Education plans to review the curricula in mathematics and science in order to achieve comparable student learning outcomes across schools and districts. The Division also plans to train teachers at district level in good assessment practices and will continue to monitor standards in mathematics and science on an annual basis.