UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VOICES CONCERNS FOLLOWING VERDICT IN INDONESIA TRIBUNAL

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VOICES CONCERNS

FOLLOWING VERDICT IN INDONESIA TRIBUNAL

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued the following statement today:

Today, the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal in Indonesia delivered its first verdict in the trial against the former East Timor Governor Abilio Soares for crimes against humanity that took place in East Timor in 1999.  The accused was found guilty of the charge and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, which is below the statutory minimum of 10 years.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson has been closely observing the trial proceedings in Jakarta and recognizes efforts made by the Indonesian Government to bring to justice, as required by the Security Council in resolution 1264 (1999), some of the individuals suspected of committing crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999.

The United Nations is concerned, however, that the prosecution has not put before the court evidence that portrays the killings and other human rights violations as part of a widespread or systematic pattern of violence.  Rather, the indictments present the killings and other abuses as the result of spontaneous conflict between armed factions within East Timorese society.  This seriously undermines the strength of the prosecution’s case and jeopardizes the integrity and credibility of the process. This approach contradicts the conclusions of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor of 31 January 2000.  That Inquiry concluded that “there were patterns of gross violations of human rights and breaches of humanitarian law which varied over time and took the form of systematic and widespread intimidation, humiliation and terror, destruction of property, violence against women and displacement of people.  Patterns were also found relating to the destruction of evidence and the involvement of the Indonesian Army and the militias in the violations”.

The prosecution’s approach also conflicts with the judgments of the United Nations-sponsored Serious Crimes Court in Dili, which has handed down a number of convictions for crimes against humanity based upon the Court’s conclusion that members of the Indonesian Army planned, carried out and directed militia to participate in widespread and systematic attacks on the East Timorese civilian population in 1999. 

The United Nations also notes with concern that in the indictments before the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal all of the defendants are accused of crimes of omission, based on failure to take action to prevent, repress or investigate and

punish acts committed by others.  None of the defendants is accused of personally committing, commanding, or assisting in the commission of crimes against humanity.

A further concern of the United Nations is that the prosecutions to date have involved presentation to court of only a very small percentage of the available testimony and evidence of victims and eyewitnesses to the 1999 violence, despite ongoing offers of cooperation and assistance by UNAMET/UNTAET/UNMISET officials.  Those few East Timorese witnesses who have traveled to Jakarta to give evidence have complained of intimidation, inside and outside the courtroom.  That intimidation has been substantiated by observers.  Additional concerns in respect of witnesses include the failure to provide adequate interpretation, the absence of an effective witness protection programme and the general atmosphere prevailing in court proceedings.

The Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal has limited jurisdiction, extending only to crimes committed in the districts of Covalima, Liquica and Dili during the months of April and September 1999.  The United Nations has earlier expressed its reservations that this limited jurisdiction prevents a full airing of all crimes committed in East Timor, from January to October 1999.

The United Nations urges the Indonesian authorities to urgently take all possible measures to ensure that they investigate fully the violations of human rights and international and humanitarian law perpetrated in East Timor in the period leading up to and immediately following the popular consultation held in August 1999 and that the ad hoc human rights tribunal’s function in full respect of international human rights standards. 

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