07.09.2007

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s Research and Development Office recently completed a rule of law assessment of East Timor’s justice sector. Mary Adele Greer, senior advisor for the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Criminal Law Program, partnered with Alexander Gupman, senior program manager for Freedom House, to lead the comprehensive evaluation of the justice system in East Timor.  The assessment team included international and Timorese representatives from the Washington, DC and East Timor offices of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australian Agency for International Development.  Representatives from the Asia Foundation and Management Sciences for Development, Inc. also participated in the assessment.

The team spent three weeks meeting with over 100 individuals from formal and informal channels in the Timorese justice sector, including human rights defenders, village elders and arbiters, and representatives from media outlets, international and national organizations, and the East Timor Government. The team plans to analyze the information and make recommendations to USAID regarding the progress of rule of law efforts following the country’s 1999 vote for independence and the subsequent violence surrounding democratization efforts.  The assessment was funded by USAID, through the Rights Consortium. 

View the complete assessment report - Rule of Law in Timor Leste (June 2007).

For more information contact Mary Adele Greer, Senior Criminal Law Advisor <MGreer@staff.abanet.org>.