Int'l NGOs write SG on Commission of Experts report
His Excellency Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017-3515
July 11, 2005
We write to encourage you to support the recommendations made by
the Commission of
Experts on East Timor that you established in February of this
year and whose work concluded on May 26. We also urge you to publish
the report of this Commission as soon as possible and to encourage
the Security Council to meet soon to discuss its findings and
recommendations.
The work of the experts has been faithful to the objectives you
set for them, and will allow you to report back to the Security
Council about the results of the accountability mechanisms
established in Jakarta and Dili. At the same time, they have
provided you with reliable analysis about the terms of reference of
the Commission of Truth and Friendship proposed by the governments
of Indonesia and East Timor.
Based on the experts’ report and on our own experience, it is
impossible not to conclude that the main factor behind the limited
progress in bringing to justice those most responsible for the
atrocities committed in East Timor in 1999 is the intransigence of
the Indonesian authorities in the face of their international legal
obligations.
The United Nations decided in 2000 not to establish an
international tribunal to try the crimes committed because it hoped
that Indonesia would comply with its obligation to punish those
responsible. That hope was betrayed and in fact Indonesia’s lack of
cooperation undermined the ability of the Serious Crimes Unit to
secure the custody of more than 75% of the persons it indicted,
including those most responsible for orchestrating the international
crimes that took place in 1999. The sham trials conducted in Jakarta
before the ad hoc Court of Human Rights have not resulted in a
single perpetrator serving a sentence.
The solution to this pattern of impunity will not come from a
non-judicial investigation, such as the proposed Commission of Truth
and Friendship, a body whose explicit rationale—as noted by the
UN-appointed experts—is to bring “definitive closure” while
apparently excluding criminal justice processes, and whose process
of establishment has been deeply politicized.
In fact, the proposed Commission of Truth and Friendship runs
against every lesson identified by your Report on the Rule of Law
and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies,
issued in August 2004: it has been rushed through without
appropriate consultation; it lacks public support in both countries;
it does not have a transparent nominating process; and it lacks
guarantees of independence. The proposed Commission’s mandate to
recommend amnesties for those who have committed crimes against
humanity is offensive to the victims and to every principle of
international human rights law.
We have witnessed over the years how the victims of the
atrocities committed in East Timor have looked to the United Nations
to establish an international tribunal. We have seen their right to
justice mocked by the Jakarta trials, and their hopes diminished by
the premature closing of the Serious Crimes Unit in Dili. We have
seen their dismay when political deals weakened their chances of
achieving justice. Their legitimate expectations have been
frustrated for long enough. Only decisive action from the
international community can vindicate their rights.
We respectfully call on you to endorse the findings of the
Commission of Experts before the Security Council and to actively
support their recommendations. The experts recommend that Indonesia
be given a final opportunity to comply with its obligations: to
strengthen its judicial system; reopen the trials before the ad hoc
court; and consider the evidence compiled by the Serious Crimes Unit
against General Wiranto and other high-level officials.
Although we have serious reservations about Indonesia’s
willingness to ensure that justice is done, we think that the
experts’ proposals could be feasible if your office and the Security
Council are prepared to establish a credible system to monitor
compliance within the time frame proposed. Given the weaknesses
identified by the Commission of Experts, such monitoring should
include, inter alia, clear standards for the drafting of
indictments, the conduct of the prosecution and witness protection
processes, and judicial training and independence. Further, in the
absence of substantive progress, such a system should include steps
towards the establishment of an international tribunal.
We believe that only signals of strong resolve will persuade
Indonesia to punish the perpetrators, and that bringing justice will
in turn strengthen Indonesian democracy, cement genuine
reconciliation with East Timor, and build lasting security in the
region.
Sincerely,
Nina Bang-Jensen
Executive Director
Coalition for International Justice
John M. Miller
Coordinator
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
Amado Hei
Head of Policy Advocacy
The Hak Association- East Timor Association for Law, Human Right and
Justice
Michael Posner
Executive Director
Human Rights First
Brad Adams
Asia Division Director
Human Rights Watch
Choirul Anam
Coordinator
Human Rights Working Group (Indonesia)
Juan E. Méndez
President
International Center for Transitional Justice
Charles A. Scheiner
Secretariat
International Federation for East Timor (IFET)
Tiago Amaral Sarmento
Director
Judicial System Monitoring Programme
Jim Goldston
Executive Director
Open Society Justice Initiative
Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
Alex Flor
Executive Director
Watch Indonesia!
See also -
Please note: the COE report has now
(July 27) been officially released by the UN.
Click here for full
report.
For more information see
http://www.etan.org/issues/h-rights.htm.
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