Dili, 15 July 2026– In a powerful intervention at the International Conference on Truth, Memory, and Justice, Timor-Leste’s Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice, Virgílio da Silva Guterres “Lamukan,” delivered a stark warning: when truth commissions close, they risk leaving behind a “dangerous vacuum” of accountability that no single institution can fill alone .
Speaking on the opening day of the three-day conference in Dili, the Ombudsman drew on Timor-Leste’s two-decade experience with transitional justice to challenge the international community on a fundamental question: What happens to a commission’s mandate once the commission itself has closed?
Guterres, who serves as the head of Timor-Leste’s permanent constitutional human rights institution (PDHJ), declared that the responsibility for implementing the landmark Chega! report’s 204 recommendations does not belong to any single institution. “It belongs to every state institution and every political leader in Timor-Leste,” he emphasized.
The Ombudsman traced Timor-Leste’s institutional response to the closure of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) in 2005, which left behind its historic report and a legacy of unfulfilled promises. He identified two key mechanisms that have carried the mandate forward: the establishment of the Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC) in 2016, and the constitutional mandate of his own office, the PDHJ.
“The PDHJ is not a creature of Chega!,” Guterres clarified. “It was established by the Constitution. Its mandate is permanent. It does not depend on the goodwill of any single government. This is the essence of institutional continuity: permanent institutions that have the authority, the independence, and the courage to hold power to account—year after year, government after government.”
A Framework for Institutional Continuity
The Ombudsman’s address systematically addressed three interconnected challenges facing transitional justice processes worldwide: what happens when a truth commission closes; where accountability for follow-through actually resides; and how to sustain political commitment across successive governments.
“The structural challenge is this: every new administration has its own priorities,” Guterres observed. “And every new administration is tempted to say, ‘That was the previous government’s responsibility, not ours.'”
He noted that the CNC’s budget has fluctuated from $1.97 million in 2023 to $1.56 million in 2025, and that a comprehensive Reparation Law—which the CNC was meant to help develop—remains unpassed. “The CNC’s challenges reveal that even a well-designed institution depends on political will for its effectiveness,” he stated.
“Delay of Justice is Denial of Justice”
Addressing the four pillars of transitional justice—truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence—the Ombudsman identified reparations as “the most consistently under-delivered pillar.” While the CAVR called for comprehensive reparations for victims, and the CNC has provided support to some survivors through mental health assistance and “Memory Houses,” a comprehensive legal framework remains absent.
Guterres quoted the UN Committee against Torture’s 2017 finding that “delay of justice is tantamount to denial of justice” . He emphasized that the PDHJ has constitutional authority to oversee complaints against the National Police, the military, and prison guard services—addressing the Chega! call to end impunity across all branches of the state’s security apparatus.
Call to Action: Build Permanent Institutions First
Drawing lessons for the international community, the Ombudsman offered five pieces of institutional advice for any country closing a truth commission. “Do not rely on the commission alone,” he urged. “Build and empower permanent institutions before the commission closes.”
He called for constitutional mandates for oversight institutions, adequate resourcing, public visibility, shared responsibility across all state institutions, and sustained political will. “The Special Rapporteur has emphasized that the fate of recommendations depends largely on the leadership, advocacy and persistence of civil society organizations,” he noted. “This is equally true of permanent institutions—we can speak, but we need partners to amplify our voice.”
The International Conference on Truth, Memory, and Justice, co-organized by UNESCO and the CNC, brings together policymakers, academics, survivors, and truth commission experts from multiple countries to share experiences on peacebuilding and reconciliation. Timor-Leste’s transitional justice experience is widely recognized as among the most comprehensive globally, featuring both the CAVR’s community reconciliation processes and the Chega! archive preservation efforts now underway with UNESCO support .
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