Dili, 29 January 2025 – The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice, Virgílio da Silva Guterres Lamukan, met today with the Ambassador of Switzerland to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Olivier Zehnder, at the Ombudsman’s office in Dili.
The meeting focused on exchanging information regarding the work of the Ombudsman and the Swiss Embassy, particularly in the areas of human rights, good governance, and democracy.
During the discussion, the Ombudsman highlighted the constitutional mandate of the Office for the Protection of Human Rights and the Promotion of Good Governance. He elaborated on the institution’s work with public entities to ensure adherence to governance standards and respect for human rights. Additionally, he outlined PDHJ’s international cooperation efforts with organizations such as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF), the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), and the Asia Pacific Forum (APF), emphasizing regional and international collaboration on human rights issues.
Virgílio also addressed the Ombudsman’s role in conducting judicial reviews of laws that potentially violate fundamental rights. He noted that in the past year alone, PDHJ submitted ten judicial review cases to the Supreme Court for evaluation.
Furthermore, the meeting covered various social, economic, cultural, and educational matters within the framework of human rights.
A key topic of discussion was the trilateral cooperation between the Ministry of Justice of Timor-Leste, the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) in efforts to prevent torture in Timor-Leste. Specifically, the initiative focuses on developing training modules for prison guards.
The Ombudsman shared positive results from this collaboration, highlighting that last year’s report indicated zero human rights violations related to prison guard conduct. He expressed optimism about continuing the partnership, not only in the area of prison guard training but also extending it to the police force, where concerns over human rights violations remain significant.
Ambassador Olivier Zehnder commended Timor-Leste for its strong commitment to democracy and human rights in the region. He also praised the Ombudsman’s work and expressed Switzerland’s interest in further cooperation in the future.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Ombudsman for Human Rights, Maria Marilia da Costa; the Deputy Head of the Political, Economic, and Cultural Division and First Secretary of the Swiss Embassy, Tessa Nerini; as well as Filomena, Head of the Legal Department, and Olga Sequeira, Public Relations Officer.
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