SRSG MEETS GENDER AND CONSTITUTIONAL GROUP
The SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello today received a report on women's rights in East Timor from the East Timorese Gender and Constitutional Working Group.
The report, which will be presented to the Constituent Assembly for its consideration when drafting the Constitution, reflects the aspirations and desires of women from all 13 districts, based on meetings, congresses and interviews conducted in 2000-2001.
The Gender and Constitutional Working Group will meet the 23 female members of the 88-member Constituent Assembly on Saturday to garner support for the report's 10 principles and their incorporation in the Constitution. The report, which will be presented along with over 8,000 signatures backing it, spells out the political and social rights of women in East Timor, among other things.
On 21 August, the SRSG opened a "Support Women in the Constitution" seminar held by the Working Group. The Gender and Constitution Working Group forms part of the Constitutional Working Group, a coalition of national and international organizations working to promote a participatory constitution-making process.
OUTBREAK OF DIARRHEA KILLS OVER 20 CHILDREN
The Vice-Minister of Health Dr. João Soares Martins left for Oecussi enclave yesterday to evaluate a recent outbreak of diarrhea that has killed at least 24 children in the enclave.
Officials from East Timor's Department of Health Services believe that the death could have been caused by Shigellosis, also known as bacillary dysentery, an infectious disease caused by the Shigella bacteria. A number of tests have been made to try to establish the type of disease and how it has been spread.
"We are still waiting for results from the laboratory, and in the meantime we have brought extra stocks of antibiotics to Oecussi," Dr. João Martins said today after returning to Dili. "At the moment medical teams from the Peacekeeping Force are collecting water samples to find out where the source of the disease could be."
Most people who are infected with Shigella develop often-bloody diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after exposure.
An extensive campaign has been launched in Oecussi, in which health officials urge the population to boil water and pay extra attention to personal hygiene. The information has been disseminated through local health staff, the Church and Radio UNTAET.
A team from the Department of Health Services and the World Health Organization in Dili was dispatched to Oecussi on Saturday to help alleviate the crisis.
RAMOS-HORTA LEAVES FOR THE UNITED STATES
Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Ramos-Horta left this morning for Brisbane, Australia, where he will be giving a keynote speech to the annual meeting of Oxfam and Community Aid Abroad.
Ramos-Horta will then proceed to the United States for an official visit in Washington D.C., where he will meet up with Deputy SRSG Dennis McNamara. The two will then meet with the representatives from the Bush Administration and the United States Congress. The Senior Minister returns to East Timor on 21 October.
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs for Regional Issues Fernando de Araújo will serve as the Acting Minister in Ramos-Horta's absence.
Chief Minister and Minister of Economy and Development Marí Alkatiri left East Timor yesterday for Sydney, Australia, for talks with the steering Committee of the Timor Sea Joint Authority. Employment of East Timorese and funding of the Joint Authority are items on the agenda. Marí Alkatiri returns on 30 September.