10:32 AM |
Human rights activist appointed East Timor's first anti-corruption commissioner
Pacific Scoop:
By a special correspondent in Dili
East Timor said Wednesday it had appointed a respected academic and human rights activist as the country's first anti- corruption commissioner.
Aderito de Jesus was confirmed as Anti-Corruption Commission chief
after winning unanimous approval in a parliamentary vote, government spokesman Agio Pereira said in a statement.
He is now expected to lead the process of selecting other members to
the commission, which has yet to be established.
Alleged corruption has become a burning issue in East Timor as it finds its feet as a democracy following independence from Indonesia in 2002, and Pereira congratulated lawmakers for their handling of "such a sensitive decision."
De Jesus heads La'o Hamutuk, a respected non-governmental organisation that monitors the performance of the government and international institutions operating in the fledgling state.
He was a drafter of the former Portuguese colony's constitution and is currently doing a doctorate in international human rights law in Australia.
De Jesus has turned down several high-profile official appointments in the past and his decision to lead the anti-corruption commission will give credibility to the new body.
President Jose Ramos-Horta in November urged the government to move quickly to establish the commission, warning that trust in the performance of public officials was "fragile".
Source: Tapol | Agence France-Presse
1 comment:
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pacific islands media association
pima.nius@gmail.com
aotearoa, new zealand
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This AFP article contains errors. Firstly, Aderito de Jesus Soares was not elected unanimously, but with the votes of 40 of the 65 members of Parliament.
Secondly, although Aderito has been a member of La'o Hamutuk's Advisory Board since it was started in 2000, he doesn't "head" the organization, and has never been a staff member. La'o Hamutuk is a staff collective, and has never been "headed" by anyone, with major decisions jointly taken by all full-time staff.
We have missed Maun Ade's active involvement with LH's Board while he has been studying in Canberra, and are glad he'll soon be back in Dili. We also wish him luck with the challenges of the Anti-Corruption Commission, whose structure and powers are so limited that it may not be effective (see
http://www.laohamutuk.org/Bulletin/2009/Jun/bulletinv10n1.htm#editorial ).
In any event, the Government's press release announcing Aderito's appointment was more accurate than AFP about his role with La'o Hamutuk:
"Mr. Adérito de Jesus is highly respected, a founder and board member of La'o Hamutuk, a key NGO in Timor-Leste that monitors and reports on the activities of the Government and the principal international institutions present in Timor-Leste."
– Charlie Scheiner, for La'o Hamutuk