Source: ACFOA

CNRT NATIONAL CONGRESS

Draft resolution on human rights

Acknowledging that while these abuses were inflicted by individuals, they were essentially the outcome of an oppressive system and policies which legitimised and institutionalised the violation of human rights and fostered impunity and the abuse of power;

Recognising the necessity to ensure that such violations are never repeated in an independent East Timor and that it is therefore our duty to build a new society which embraces human rights as the basis of democracy, good governance, the rule of law and sustainable economic and social development for all the citizens of East Timor, especially the disadvantaged and minorities;

Endorsing the principles and undertakings of the CNRT Magna Carta Concerning Freedoms, Rights, Duties and Guarantees for the People of East Timor adopted in 1998;

Re-affirming our acceptance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Civil, Political and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other human rights instruments endorsed in the CNRT Magna Carta;

Declaring our support for the newly established International Criminal Court and the Rome Statutes which govern it;

This CNRT Congress

Endorses the recommendations from the 'Human Rights and the Future of East Timor' Workshop held by the East Timor Jurists Association-UNTAET Human Rights Unit in Dili 7-8 August 2000.

Commits to the principles elaborated in the Workshop recommendations, namely non-discrimination and equality before the law, freedom of expression, association and assembly, economic, social, and cultural rights, the protection of human rights within the legal system, and the imperative need for justice, truth and reconciliation in East Timor.

Supports the on-going efforts to develop concrete measures to act on these principles.

1. To ensure that fundamental human rights principles - civil, political, economic, social and cultural - are enshrined as an integral part of East Timor's new Constitution and that the Constitution includes guarantees for the protection of these rights for all the citizens of East Timor;
2. To endorse and participate in the development of a national action plan for human rights which will provide a coordinated and systematic program and timetable to ensure the concrete implementation of human rights in East Timor;
3. To ensure that adequate resources and mechanisms are provided both during the transition period and following independence for the protection and promotion of human rights in East Timor, for human rights training including for the police, and for the development of a national action plan;

1. To develop policies on human rights, including economic and social rights, as part of their political platform;
2. To support the development of a national human rights action plan for East Timor;
3. To commit to a culture of political tolerance by respecting the right to hold different political opinions, by conducting the future election campaign in a non-violent way and by respecting the outcome of the people's freely expressed wishes.

See also:
BD: National Council of Timorese Resistance / Conselho Nacional de Resistencia Timorense (CNRT) - A collection of recent speeches, statements, news and reports