AS DELIVERED

Statement by Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, United States Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs, East Timor, Security Council, January 26, 2000

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

First, let me commend you for holding this meeting and thank Sergio Vieira de Mello for coming all this way. It's a long way to come, and I think it symbolizes his own commitment to working closely with the Council, but also his own personal stamina, having to travel so far then to sit all day long. We appreciate it, and I think this is a very useful dialogue. Similarly with Mr. Horta, I think it's a pleasure to have you here, and you've become a well-known figure to us all. I hope it will stay that way.

The Council, this meeting and the wide range of participants -- which is unusual for a meeting of this sort -- the various troop contributors meetings, which was, thanks to the leadership of our president, some of the highest level discussions and very frank discussions that we've had with the troop contributors -- underscores the commitment of the UN as a family to support East Timor and the people of East Timor as they move towards independence and a secure, stable environment. The fact that UNDP, the international financial institutions, and particularly, the General Assembly, with the President of the General Assembly having been out to the region, this is a sign of encouragement that we all realize that we have to work together for East Timor's future. Both Mr. Vieira de Mello and Mr. Horta can take a clear message back to the people of East Timor that the international community's attention to East Timor will not end with UNTAET's mandate when it closes down towards the end of this year. And I think one of the hardest problems that you'll face is to keep the international community engaged in East Timor. Once they have an impression that the crisis is over, attention tends to go elsewhere. Everyone who has spoken today is committed to making sure that does not happen. I hope that message will be strongly conveyed to the people of East Timor.

Obviously any plan that is developed would have to be developed in close consultation with the people of East Timor, in the first elected government and the UN. And, we certainly take notice of the Secretary-General's view recommending an integrated mission under a special representative mandated by the Council and funded from assessed contributions. That's something that we'll have to discuss in depth over the next month, and hopefully, you'll stay very engaged in that issue. But it's one that we'll take under advisement.

The United States, for our part, we have our own troops who are there assisting in the efforts, and we'll continue to strongly support UNTAET and the people of East Timor. And, as you go through a really fascinating transition, I think you're pursuing a very ambitious calendar that, together, you have defined, which the United States will certainly remain quite focused on. To actually engage in the creation of a nation and to watch that occur is a rare privilege for all of us, and I think it's one that we'll work on side by side with you. I found the trip we went on, as part of the Security Council's second mission out there, just fascinating. To watch this country being rebuilt from the ground up. And I would certainly hope that the Council and the various agencies of the UN stay very much engaged.

There are going to be some key benchmarks as you go through that. We've just put them out for your consideration and discussion over the next year. They're mostly for, and I think both of you are very well aware of it, the first is the progress that you've made to incorporate East Timorese into the transitional government. It's always cautious when you actually coin a new word, but the "Timorization" process is well under way. And the Council is strongly supportive of the authority that Mr. Vieira de Mello has transferred to the day-to-day governance of the East Timorese government as well as the involvement of the people of East Timor in that effort, which is a very difficult one. And I don't think that people pay enough attention to how much has been done on that and the priority that has been put by you all on that.

Second is the whole thing of the free and fair elections, which would be open to a wide range of parties and candidates in East Timor's successful transition to independence. I would anticipate you requesting a large involvement of the international community in there. And we would want to play a role in that and to make sure that you have as broad participation in that process as possible so that you have stronger support among the people for the outcome of that.

Third would be continued threat of militia incursions and the potential for internal instability between now and the foreseeable future, but particularly up to the elections. And for that reason I think we would support maintaining the current ceiling on the troop numbers for UNTAET and the mandate and remind everyone that it does include the robust Chapter 7 authority. I commend Mr. Vieira de Mello and the UN leadership for their interpretation of the authorities there and the use of forceful action by UNTAET in protecting itself. I think it has saved enormous amounts of lives and took some courage to do. I hope that will become the norm for peacekeeping operations in the future -- that they will not tolerate threats against their personnel -- and I think that you've managed to protect lives by taking that forceful stand, which we have been strongly supporting.

Lastly, the coordination of the bilateral programs assisting the creation of the East Timor defense force is one that's going to be key toward maintaining stability after the UN presence is ended there and throughout the process of building an independent country. And your comments on how to move forward with that program, I think we all took to heart, and I think it's one of the things that the international community will be very much looking forward to working with you.

Just a few other quick points. Jose Ramos-Horta made an interesting recommendation on the reconfiguration of civilian police as the peacekeeping forces are now. And while civilian police officers are currently assigned to multi-national contingents, switching to national contingents is one that I think needs further study, but it could well move towards effective policing and any other comments that either of you would have on that I think would be useful. Certainly one of the major emphases that the Security Council mission in which I participated came back with was the need for an independent objective judiciary and its link to the issue of reconciliation. You need justice and vice versa. Any feedback that you could give on what happens with the serious crime investigations and the prosecution post independence. I think it's something we should begin to prepare for now and anything else we should do to prepare for that issue. Certainly establishing the rule of law is going to be key towards the transition of democracy, and certainly the message that we got that as long as there is a fair process the chances for reconciliation are much, much higher.

I think it's also important to note the importance of cooperation with Indonesia on this front. The American delegation over the last several months has been pushing very hard for the government of Indonesia to deepen its cooperation with UNTAET on this as well as move forward on some of the high-profile cases. I think it is worth noting that there are some important trials going on right now in Indonesia, particularly that of Erico Guetterez and I think that the international community will be watching that very closely, as well as six of those who were responsible for the deaths of the UNHCR workers that this body has dealt with in the past. This is a very significant step forward on that front and, hopefully, will help move forward the whole process of reconciliation.

With respect to the commitment of the international community, I think the presence here of the IFIs underscores the need for those agencies to continue medium term planning for the development of the East Timor society. And, as our French colleagues have underscored, encouraging the IFIs in the UN funds and other concerned countries to increase their activities there will be key towards ensuring that the resources are there to help the East Timorese create the society that they need and I welcome any comments on what we could do on that front. Anything more we could do in taking advantage of the expertise of the various entities involved in capacity building development and nation building. That is going to be key towards making sure the international community does its part.

When we were in Dili in the fall, Mr. Vieira de Mello made it very clear that he needed some additional flexibility in how you use the assessed funds. The General Assembly president Holkeri's comments about our recommendations that the Council, the GA and the UN bodies look at ways to increase that flexibility I believe we owe to Mr. de Mello. We've given him a very difficult mandate and I think we have to try and work with you to get the flexibility that we need.

Just in closing, I think it's important to step back and look at how much has been done in East Timor. A year ago there was a real humanitarian crisis going on in East Timor and it has now moved from the humanitarian process into the more political arena of trying to build an institution and a government. It's largely to the UN and international community's credit that has happened, not to mention the people of East Timor. But if you step back and look at what has happened in the last year, it is really stunning. I was lucky enough to see it on the ground. It's important for the international community to know what is happening there. Your leadership has been key in showcasing what the UN can do when it is done right. And you deserve great credit for doing it right. There are still problems that remain such as refugees in West Timor. When we were there before you talked about the need to have a ship to be able to transport refugees back and forth. And know there were some meetings with some of the signatories of the letter to the UN Security Council. If there is any insight on that or anything we can do to move the refugees back on that front.

But let me just say in closing that I think the year ahead is going to be an exciting one. Even though it's difficult to get back here to be a regular visitor, I commend you for your tireless efforts.

Thank you.