Timor-Leste, 2012

It is a great

pleasure for me to address this great General Assembly

for the second year in a row. Last September, I tried to convey to the Assembly

a message of progress and hope. Today I bring from

the people of Timor-Leste a message of both joy and

thankfulness.

The United Nations has been in Timor-Leste

since the difficult times of our emancipation, having

led the popular consultation of 1999. Since then,

it has been enormously challenging to build from

scratch the foundations of a new State under the rule

of law, based on democratic governance and respect

for human rights. As such, after the United Nations

Mission in East Timor, we had missions such as the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East

Timor, the United Nations Mission of Support in East

Timor, the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste and

the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste

(UNMIT) accompanying us in this crucial journey

of State-building, as well as in the creation of an

atmosphere of reconciliation and harmony, with a view

to achieving peace and stability.

In our still-brief existence as a State, we have been

trying to learn from the errors of the past. Today I

can say that we have decisively moved away from the

difficult circumstances that characterize post-conflict

countries or, in other words, countries with recent

histories of conflict and violence.

We have come to understand — along with several

countries — that peace and stability are essential

prerequisites for State-building. This year, 2012,

therefore marks not exactly the end of a chapter in our

history of peacebuilding but, more particularly, the

start of a new one — a chapter of ongoing institutional

strengthening with the goal of boosting national

development.

After two rounds of presidential elections, in March

and April, our people elected as the third President

of the Republic Major-General Taur Matan Ruak, a

historic figure in the struggle for liberation, who has

been serving the motherland since 1975. Taur Matan

Ruak led the armed resistance and became Chief of

Defence Forces in 1999.

In May, we had the pleasure of hosting five heads

of State and many delegations from friendly countries

to celebrate with us the tenth anniversary of the

restoration of our independence. That took place within

an atmosphere of peace, stability and confidence in the

future. The landmark moment of the celebrations was the

constitutional transfer of power from the then President

of the Republic, Mr. José Ramos-Horta, to the new head

of State, in a highly dignified manner for our young

democracy.

On 7 July, the Timorese people were called to vote

once again, and on 30 July, the new Parliament took

office. As a result of those elections, three parties

were chosen to ensure the governance of Timor-Leste

from 2012 to 2017. Consequently, on 8 August the

Fifth Constitutional Government was sworn in and

given the mission of continuing to consolidate the vital

institutions of a peaceful and democratic nation. In that

way, we will also be continuing the work done by the

previous Government, which consisted of a five-party

coalition and undoubtedly sowed the seeds for national

peace and stability, in addition to boosting our economy.

During the course of this year, we have also been

honoured with visits by several eminent personalities,

including two high-level dignitaries: in August, the

Secretary-General, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon,

decided to see for himself the changes that had taken

place in our country since his last visit five years ago.

His visit was a magnificent gesture of support by a man

with a broad vision of peace and development, a vision

that is shared by the Timorese people. The Secretary-

General acknowledged the progress made and spoke

words of encouragement regarding the strengthening of

the ties of cooperation between the United Nations and

Timor-Leste in an important undertaking, Education

First, which is part of his global education initiative.

More recently, we also had the pleasure of hosting the

United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton.

That was the first time that a senior representative of

the United States Government had visited our young

country. Mrs. Clinton also conveyed an important

message of confidence and solidarity, praising the

strong commitment by Timor-Leste to the values and

principles of democracy and good governance. Those

events are even more important given that UNMIT and

the International Stabilization Force will withdraw by

the end of 2012. That will mark the end of peacekeeping

operations in Timor-Leste.

All this has instilled in the hearts of the Timorese

people a very special feeling of accomplishment and

national pride. I would like to convey that feeling of joy

and thankfulness to all countries Members of the United

Nations and to the various international organizations that have provided us with ongoing support in terms of

consolidating peace, democracy and human rights.

The President of the Republic, Taur Matan Ruak,

has asked me to make public that on 20 May 2013 the

Timorese State will be honouring, with the highest

insignia of Timor-Leste, all countries and parties

that have taken part in missions in Timor-Leste,

starting with the General Assembly and the Security

Council. For our people, that will be an act of profound

recognition, expressing the wish that from now on the

United Nations will pay more attention to our brothers

and sisters in need. The success of Timor-Leste belongs

to everyone — to the international community for their

dedicated support and solidarity, and to the Timorese

people for the courage to acknowledge their mistakes

and for their firmness and determination in correcting

them.

Throughout the past four years, our people have

clearly said no to conflict in order to fully embrace the

aspirations of their own development. The Timorese

people were also able to display a high degree of political

maturity by expressing, in a peaceful and constructive

manner, renewed confidence in their elected leaders

and in State institutions. All of this is essential for

reaffirming that, today more than ever, we are ready

to continue leading the national development process,

including the full establishment of our democratic State

under the rule of law and the gradual implementation of

the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030.

However, we want to maintain strong ties with

the United Nations and other partners under a new

cooperation framework, taking as a starting point

the current needs of the country in both institutional

strengthening and in the development sector. Based on

the principles of the New Deal, which are advocated

by the group of seven plus (g7+), we hope to see

relationships of cooperation being established in an

innovative, dynamic and effective manner.

After overcoming the main obstacles in terms of

State-building, Timor-Leste is now looking to the

future with optimism. Consequently, the Government’s

programme for the 2012-2017 mandate, which has

already been endorsed by Parliament, establishes short-

term — five years — activities, lists sectors where

activities can be started in order to have impacts in the

medium term of 5 to 10 years, and includes objectives

for the long term of 10 to 20 years , to be implemented

according to priorities and execution time.

We will continue to invest in social capital with the

aim of building capacity and of dignifying Timorese

citizens by maximizing the quality of and access to

health, education, professional training, information,

social justice and culture. We will invest in basic

infrastructures, which will be the driving force of the

country’s development. We will develop the economic

sector to make better use of our potential and to create

employment. We will encourage the growth of the

private sector, both local and foreign. We will continue

our efforts to consolidate the institutional framework

so as to improve the functioning, management and

implementation of programmes. That includes a strong

public sector, good governance and a credible system

of justice.

Meanwhile, we will improve the social programmes

that cater to our most vulnerable citizens, including the

disabled, the elderly, and women and children at risk, in

order to ensure that no Timorese citizen is marginalized

or socially excluded. We will also continue to dignify

our veterans.

Today we have a plan, a vision and a goal: to

transform Timor-Leste from a low-income country to

a medium-high-income one by 2030. We want to be a

prosperous and safe nation with a healthy and educated

population, a country that provides skilled employment

for all.

However, in the short term, by 2015, Timor-Leste

will not meet the Millennium Development Goals.

The current major challenge for Timor-Leste is the

fight against poverty — a challenge that we share

with over one billion people in our planet. Regrettably,

around 20 per cent of the world’s population live in

conditions of extreme poverty. Hunger and the lack of

access to water sources will remain insurmountable

challenges. Mothers and children throughout the world

will continue to die tragically due to lack of access to

services to meet the most basic needs.

Unfortunately, those are the current projections for

2015. For that reason, it was very timely of the Secretary-

General to create a high-level panel to help establish

new guidelines for beyond 2015. Here, I must confess

that we were proud to see a Timorese woman — our

Minister of Finance, Emilia Pires — deservingly chosen

as a panel member. Timor-Leste wants to contribute

to the debate on that issue in a clear and constructive

manner. It is urgent to address the structural factors that have hindered the efforts that so many people of

goodwill have made without obtaining tangible results.

We have a historical opportunity to change things.

We can learn from the lessons of the Millennium

Development Goals process, analysing what worked

and what did not, in order to do better in the future.

Strengthening the role of the United Nations is essential.

However, it will require the courage to break with

the old way of handling things. We need new action

paradigms and new coordination mechanisms so that

programmes may truly benefit the people of the more

affected countries.

The g7+ was created in April 2010 in Dili, during

the preparation for the International Dialogue on

Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, which took place in

Timor-Leste. Prior to the creation of the g7+, there was

no mechanism whereby fragile States with common

concerns about peace and development could discuss

such matters in a less subservient way than in their

relationships with donors and development agencies.

It is quite common for recipient countries to

consider that the international assistance they receive

is not the most appropriate to meet their real needs.

Countries complain of the lack of an accountability

system in relation to the money that is actually spent

on the poor, compared to the amounts spent to improve

the well-being of those who manage the projects and

those who manage the reports on the projects, long

documents that are irrelevant because they are out of

touch with the reality on the ground. For those reasons,

in a true spirit of openness and sharing, with a common

desire to improve the living conditions of their people

and to contribute to sustainable peace and development,

fragile countries created the g7+ as an international

group through which they could speak with one voice.

Yes, we say one voice. Speaking as one, we will be able

to demand responsibility from the leaders of beneficiary

countries and also accountability to the taxpayers of the

donor countries.

Those are the same reasons why we are advocating

the New Deal, which seeks to ensure better coordination

and ownership of international assistance by recipient

countries. We want assistance to have genuine impacts

on the people and to correspond better to the true needs

of the beneficiary populations.

Timor-Leste is fully committed to leading the g7+,

bringing the same commitment it showed when moving

from a situation of conflict and fragility to a situation of social and political peace and stability. We want to

contribute in a way that is sound and based on actual

experiences in the g7+ itself. We are a small country

that is still fragile in some aspects, but we share the

same huge concerns of the 17 nations that make up our

group, with a total population of more than 300 million

people.

We have seen how intolerance causes irreparable

destruction in several parts of the world, particularly

in the daily lives of innocent people. The brunt of the

impact is borne by women, mothers, children and the

elderly, making them even more vulnerable. Intolerance

breeds hatred and the desire for vengeance. The world

is not changing so much as it is destroying itself.

Consolidating the gains of the Arab Spring is

proving to be difficult. Syria is a terrible example of

internal conflict. Iraq and Afghanistan do not present

better perspectives of being able to solve their internal

differences, which are becoming deeper.

My good friend Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,

the President of the Republic of Indonesia, has been

hosting the Bali Democracy Forum, which has been

attracting greater interest each year, along with an

increasing number of participating countries. We

have always maintained in that Forum that democracy

cannot be imposed upon people, for the same reasons

that solar panels cannot be imposed on homes without

food, which therefore have no prospect of sustainability.

Democracy must be an internal process. The process is

sometimes long, but it is vital for a lasting solution.

The most recent, dynamic and inspirational example

comes from Myanmar. I commend Aung San Suu Kyi, a

woman with an unshakeable character, a born leader, a

resolute democrat and a defender of peaceful solutions,

who is today an advocate for internal reconciliation.

I also commend the leaders of Myanmar for their

courage in making changes in the country. On behalf

of the people of Timor-Leste, I also salute the people

of Myanmar and wish them prosperity, and I appeal for

dialogue, reconciliation and tolerance.

Today’s world faces very serious problems and

is sliding towards an increasingly dangerous lack of

control. In addition to a recent atmosphere of regional

instability, environmental threats continue to grow,

hindering the legitimate aspirations of emerging and

developing countries to benefit from their natural

resources. In the Pacific region, some island States see

their very survival at risk.

Food security concerns are also coming to the

foreground as a further result of climate changes,

requiring careful thought and an immediate and broad

strategy. In several parts of the world we see an immoral

increase in inequality, with a rich and powerful elite

dominating the globe with impunity while the poor

become even poorer and eternally dependent on

wasteful assistance. What is more, it is difficult to

know from where that assistance will come.

In order to meet these challenges, we need a strong

and efficient United Nations that cooperates more

effectively with international and regional organizations

and that operates with great respect for the sovereignty

of each State. The United Nations, which consists of

all of us here today, has a duty to humanity. We should

all acknowledge that we are the privileged agents of

the necessary collective change to a better and safer

world. Our collective efforts to preserve peace, security

and human dignity must be translated from altruistic

idealism to a more interventionist plan. That in turn

means replacing a reactive agenda with a proactive one.

It also means reducing the dominance of political and

economic interests in favour of social and humanitarian

interests. That requires the mobilization of public

opinion around the world through dialogue about the

values of peace and harmony among civilizations and

cultures, mutual respect among societies, and tolerance

among groups.

We can also start with the reform of the Security

Council, which should be more representative. There

is an imperative need to renew mindsets by the

incorporation of new members, so as to energize new

commitments and responsibilities reflecting the current

situations in today’s world.

Timor-Leste has been walking the corridors of

the United Nations for 38 years. In the beginning, we

wanted to mobilize public opinion in favour of our

cause and to warn the world that our fundamental

rights were being violated. Today, we are informing

the international community of our setbacks and

achievements in the construction of a sovereign State.

When we were guerrilla fighters in the mountains, we

heard about a new world order. Today, many people

are still oppressed because they suffer in one way or

another. We are here to speak in favour of dialogue and

fair decision-making. Human dignity must be at the

core of decisions on problems affecting our planet. We

must have an overall sense of the existence, the fears,

the suffering, the despair and the fight for survival of

men and women around the world.

Today we are here to ask for honest, constructive

and unceasing dialogue to solve the problems that

trouble the world — a dialogue encompassing problems

large and small, conflicts large and small and nations

large and small.