LIAN SOCIEDADE CIVIL BA
DOADORES
(The voice of Civil Society
calls the Donors)
Forum
Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e
The
East Timor National NGO Forum
GENERAL STATEMENT FOR DONORS CONFERENCE
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
13-16 JUNE 2001
The NGO
Forum represents national and international non government organizations
and a broad spectrum of civil society in East Timor, which continues to
be active across all sectors and in all districts throughout the country.
Following consultation amongst the NGOs in East Timor, the following are
the key issues that national and international NGO’s wish to draw to the
attention of international donors:
1. TIMEFRAME FOR TRANSITION
NGOs recognise the enormous task at hand in East Timor both in the reconstruction and development efforts and in establishing the foundations for an emerging nation. NGOs are therefore concerned to ensure that the pace for transition in all areas is realistic.
The timeframe for political transition should allow for adequate consultation and civic education with the women and men of East Timor, to ensure that the political will of the people can be genuinely exercised. NGOs believe that the rapid pace of the “consultation” adopted by United Nations in East Timor does not allow for a genuine process of popular debate regarding the election processes or the development of the constitution.
The current timeframe allows only one and a half months for popular consultation on the constitution leading to the elections and then a further 3 months for drafting by the elected assembly. As a result the views of many East Timorese men and women will not be heard or taken into account.
NGOs request donors to morally support and financially commit to longer timeframes regarding the political process. We also request donors to provide more resourcing for an adequate consultation .
Apart from the political transition, NGOs
believe that the general pace set for nation wide transition and the resources
allocated towards it need to be more realistic. Donors should be
aware that communities are not yet engaged as equal partners in development
and implementation of projects in East Timor. Donor approaches should
involve setting up gender sensitive partnerships with communities, and
include commitments to the pace and the priorities set by East Timorese
people.
NGOs recommend that international donors financially support an international conference in East Timor to discuss the need for an international tribunal. This conference should be held as soon as can be practically arranged in order to assist the community to reach a common position on an international tribunal.
There can be no reconciliation without
justice. Therefore, the creation in East Timor of a functioning court
administration needs to be a priority for the international donor community.
NGOs recommend that funding for adequate and appropriate capacity building
within this sector be prioritised as a matter of urgency.
3. CAPACITY BUILDING AS A PRIORITY
There needs to be a long term strategy for development of human resources in East Timor. This strategy needs to be developed in consultation with all groups of East Timorese society. Lessons learnt from experiences to date need to be incorporated into the next phase.
Donors are asked to join with NGOs to insist that international staff working in East Timor work to objectives related to capacity building of national counterparts.
In order to ensure that East Timorese men
and women are actively involved in decision making, there must be a focus
on the recruitment of East Timorese at all levels in UN agencies and international
organisations. Donors should ensure the recruitment process should
have safeguards in place to ensure genuine capacity building is occurring.
4. INVOLVEMENT OF A BROAD SECTOR OF TIMORESE SOCIETY
There is a great need for increased district level consultations with young people, women, rural communities are essential in this next phase of transition. Administrative decentralisation in decision making and service provision will assist in this process .
We call upon the International Donor Community
to support the formation and strengthening of community groups and national
NGOs that are linked to local communities.
5. MONITORING AND TRANSPARENCY OF RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS.
We call upon the International Donor Community
to focus on strengthening the role of East Timorese civil society to monitor
and assist the reconstruction process and to ensure transparency during
and after the transition.
6. EAST TIMORESE MUST DIRECT THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT
There are concerns that some programs in East Timor are inappropriate and donor driven. Care must be taken, for example, not to jeopardise sustainable livelihoods through encouraging farmer dependence on cash crops such as coffee.
Health and education programs funded by the donors should ensure that attention is paid to issues of access in program design. Programs must be geared towards accessibility for men and women, particularly from marginalised groups.
Donors should ensure that all programs receiving funding are realistic, and sustainable in the long term. They must enhance the ability of the East Timorese people to carry out projects independently in the future.
East
Timor National NGO Forum / Forum Nacional ONG Timor Lorosa'e
Updated June 14
Umbrella agency for East Timorese Non-Government
Organisations (NGOs)
VISION: To contribute to the building
of a pluralist, democratic, just and sustainable East Timor through the
development of a strong, independent and responsible civil society committed
to upholding and making real in the daily life of the community, both village
and urban, the full range of human rights so that all East Timorese, particularly
the poor and disadvantaged, can enjoy the fruits of liberation and development
in an East Timor forever free.
MISSION: To realise its vision
by promoting a culture of learning, cooperation, partnership with the community
and respect for human rights and good practice amongst East Timorese NGOs
and between them and other development actors, both domestic and international,
and by serving as a collective, independent voice for the rights and needs
of the community.
VALUES AND PRINCIPLES: a rights
approach to development; inclusiveness, participation; accountability;
gender balance; respect for the environment; non-party political; non-sectarian;
good governance; volunteerism.
Kaikoli Street, Dili-East Timor
Telephone +670(390)322772
E-mail: etngocentre@hotmail.com
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/etngoforum/index.html
Jun 7 ETNGO Forum: Donors Meeting must
be for Rural People: http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood/01junrural.htm
See also:
May
14 LH: NGO Forum declines to join UNTAET Constitutional Process
Letter added May 16
"The NGO
Forum has chosen to coordinate with, but remain independent of, the
UNTAET Constitution building process because of strong concerns that UNTAET’s
process is rushed and highly inadequate." Lao
Hamutuk, East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis
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Apr
17 STL: Mario Carrascalao: UNTAET Does Not Have A Timorization Target
News from ETimor added Apr 19
“In order for Timor Lorosae to be fully
independent, it is necessary [for the transitional administration] to have
full capacity-building in order to create a definite level of Timorese
administrators till all the administrative positions in UNTAET are
filled by Timorese people,” Mario Carrascalao, vice-president of CNRT/CN
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Watching & Monitoring Reconstruction
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