TIMOR LESTE

Timor-Leste's most recent NAP ran from 2016-2020.  There does not appear to be a later NAP, nor does there appear to be a later one in progress.

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Objectives/Aims of the 2016-2020 NAP:

Participation:

∙ increasing representation of women in decision-making positions in the security and justice sectors,

∙ developing laws and policies about peace and security with participation of civil society groups with a focus on equal representation,

∙ promoting and recruiting women in national institutions for security and defence,

∙ providing opportunities for women to participate in community conflict resolution mechanisms as mediators and focal points.

Prevention:

∙ the goals of the prevention pillar are to integrate gender (including human rights and HIV/AIDS awareness) into training modules of the defense, security and justice sectors,

∙ include a gender perspective in conflict prevention mechanisms,

∙ promote a culture of peaceful conflict resolution,

∙ ensure laws regarding conflict resolution are gender sensitive,

∙ use the media to strengthen public awareness of gender-sensitive conflict prevention.

Protection:

∙ increase the gender-sensitivity of the formal justice system,

∙ expand awareness and access to reproductive and mental health services in the municipalities.

Peace-building:

∙ ensure that women have access to natural resources and economic opportunity,

∙ to promote their role in peace-building at a community level,

∙ to ensure justice and recognition for former women combatants and veterans.

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Commentary:

The Timor-Leste NAP is very thorough and attentive to contributions that women have already made to their peace-building process. Aware of Timor-Leste’s own conflict history, the NAP is effective at empowering women through promotion of non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms without gender-essentializing or assuming that women are naturally more peaceful. Importantly, this NAP recognizes female ex-combatants and veterans as a key population who deserve “justice and recognition for their contributions to peace”.

The NAP also includes many references to promoting women in decision-making roles in the security and justice sectors, two interrelated sectors necessary for effective post-conflict recovery. With specific goals for how to ensure gender-mainstreaming in government policies at a national and local level in all different aspects of peace-building, including reproductive health, this comprehensive NAP is a thorough and positive step in the direction of realizing the WPS agenda.

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Civil Society’s engagement in development of the 2016-2020 NAP:

Civil society groups were consulted extensively in the drafting of this document, a process that is detailed at the beginning of the NAP. Through this consultation process, the civil society voices were able to push for a document that recognized the extensive peace-building role that women’s organisations were already playing in the country, and to help identify synergies where their work could be supported by the national government. Civil society organizations are stated as having an important role in supporting implementation and monitoring of the NAP, advocating resource allocation and developing shadow reporting on progress.

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UN Peacekeeping Statistics:

As ofMay 2023 Timor-Leste was contributing two Experts to UN peacekeeping missions, both male.

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Women’s role in peacekeeping:

With specific goals for how to ensure gender-mainstreaming in government policies at a national and local level in all different aspects of peace-building, including reproductive health, this comprehensive NAP is a thorough and positive step in the direction of realizing the WPS agenda.  

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References:

Timor-Leste-NAP-2016-2020.pdf (lse.ac.uk)

05-Missions Detailed By Country (May 2023) – Contribution of Uniformed Personnel to UN Missions by Country and Personnel Type