NEW YORK, 15 OCTOBER 2003
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. GONÇALO SANTA CLARA GOMES, AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF PORTUGAL TO THE UNITED NATIONS, TO THE UN'S SECURITY COUNCIL (Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission of Support in Timor-Leste)

Mr. President,

I thank the Secretary-General for his report and Ambassador Sharma for his excellent presentation.

Portugal subscribes entirely to the statement that will be made by Italy on behalf of the European Union. I will only add a few remarks.

First of all I will take this opportunity to pay tribute again to the remarkable contribution that was made to Timor-Leste by the former Special Representative Sérgio Vieira de Mello.

I would also like to recognise the dedicated efforts of the civilian, military and police components of UNMISET, and congratulate them in their many achievements in Timor-Leste.

Mr. President,

Timor-Leste has made outstanding progress in many fields and can justifiably be called a success of the United Nations.

I would particularly note the progress made in laying the foundations for a functioning civil service and police force as they are assuming increasing levels of responsibility.

It is also with satisfaction that we note that there was no repetition during the reporting period of serious security-related incidents.

Another issue also to be highly commended is the steady and positive development in the relationship of Timor-Leste and its neighbour Indonesia , particularly regarding determination of their joint border, much as a result of a stated commitment by the leadership of both countries.

We must congratulate the UN and the SC for having contributed to the stability of Timor-Leste however, Mr. President, the report of the SG also describes comprehensively the work that remains to be done by UNMISET, which can only be completed well after May 2004.

Timor-Leste is in a critical period of its peace-building process and the report of the SG clearly outlines a number of areas that remain in need of international assistance beyond the mandate of UNMISET. In the area of police training much work remains to be done, namely in the management of the border, which remains porous and therefore a source of illegal incursions and illegal trade, but also in other areas such as professional ethics and respect for human rights. Security is clearly a key factor for the political and social stability of any country, and Timor-Leste is no exception.

In terms of the public administration, regardless of the progress already achieved, it will continue to require support to remedy a shortage of qualified personnel and much help will still be needed in areas such as justice and internal administration. Institution building, Mr. President is an area where remarkable success attended international assistance but it was only to be expected that the task needs to be continued and consolidated in the near future.

It is with concern that we note that not enough success was reported in terms of economic and social development of Timor-Leste. We note the drop of the GNP for last year and that a further drop is expected for the current year. In this regard, Portugal believes that the international financial institutions and bilateral donors should further support the National Development Plan, allowing for more investment in capacity building and incentives and opportunities for job creation.

Mr. President,

Much was achieved, more needs to be done. We have gone very far and invested much in Timor-Leste, and we need to preserve and consolidate the results already obtained. Portugal believes ever more in the need for a continuing presence of the UN after the end of the current Mission . We believe that in order for this presence to have the indispensable credibility, internally and externally, it should have a clear mandate of the SC and should be led in the field by a Special Representative of the SG. We must pursue, for a further period, a concerted effort to allow East-Timor to achieve three interrelated goals: security, institution and State building, sustainable development. Fortunately, our efforts need only to be in a much reduced level compared to the ones in the past.

Thank you, Mr. President.