30 January 2001 -- A large group of United Nations Volunteers arrived this morning in Dili, East Timor, to take up their duties as registration officers in preparation for the territory's first national elections later this year.

The arrival of 81 volunteers follows the advance deployment of a group of 50 in December 2000, and completes the Civil Registration Team of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The initial registration will begin in February and will be completed by 20 June.

"The deployment of these UN Volunteers is very important for UNTAET and for this transition period which will lead to the elections due to take place later this year," said Kevin Gilroy, the UNV Coordinator in East Timor. UN Volunteers also prepared the balloting process in which the vast majority of East Timorese people voted for independence from Indonesia in September 1999.

In other news, the Joint Border Committee - established last autumn to deal with cross border issues and problems - is holding its first formal meetings today and tomorrow in Denpasar, Indonesia, UNTAET said.

Today the talks focused on general issues such as the border regime, police cooperation and security, while bilateral talks tomorrow will be held on such issues as assets and claims, pensions, archives and the situation of East Timorese students in Indonesia.

The UNTAET delegation is led by the Cabinet Member for Political Affairs, Peter Galbraith, and consists of representatives from different UNTAET departments, including East Timorese staff from the Foreign Affairs Office and the Border Service. The Indonesian delegation is led by Hasan Wirayuda, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director-general for political affairs.

 

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Not an official document of the United Nations. Maintained by the Peace and Security Section of the Department of Public Information in cooperation with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. (c) United Nations 2001