Dili, 6 November 2001

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY SETS DEADLINE FOR FIRST DRAFT The Constituent Assembly President Francisco “Lú Olo” Guterres today declared the official beginning of the “Systematization and Harmonization” Commission’s work and set a 19 November deadline for the commission to finish the first draft of the Constitution.

The draft will be presented to the plenary of the Constituent Assembly and discussed by its 88 members. The Assembly is aiming at completing the writing of the first democratic and independent East Timor Constitution by mid-December.

Two of the four thematic committees preparing the first draft set of articles are expected to finish their final reports within days.

The “Systematization and Harmonization” Commission is tasked with molding the reports from the four thematic committees into a draft Constitution.

This commission has already approved an overall structure that divides the Constitution into six parts. Part one includes “Fundamental Principles”; part two is devoted to “Fundamental Rights and Duties”; part three is related to the “Organization of Political Power”; part four covers provisions regarding “Economic and Financial Organization”; part five refers to “National Defense and Security”, and part six considers “Constitutional guarantees and Amendment to the Constitution”. This structure is being used to guide the work of the thematic committees.

NEW PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISISON MEMBERS SWORN-IN

Two new East Timorese Public Service Commission members were sworn-in today by Acting SRSG Dennis McNamara in Dili. The appointees are Manuel Abrantes, Director of Justice and Peace Commission of Dili Diocese and a member of Steering Committee for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, and Maria do Carmo Quintão, former member of local Parliament before 1999.

Abrantes replaces César Moreira, who is now the Minister of Water and Public Works, and Maria Quintão replaces Maria Olandina Caeiro, until now the head of Public Service Commission.

The Public Service Commission consists of seven members – two internationals and five Timorese – and is tasked with setting up the framework of the East Timorese Civil Service, including selecting suitable employees, defining salary scales, establishing public holidays, among other things.