Jakarta, Indonesia, 18-20 November 2025 – The Provedoria for Human Rights and Justice of Timor-Leste (PDHJ) participated in the 22nd Annual Conference of the South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF), held in Jakarta from 18 to 20 November 2025. The PDHJ delegation was led by the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, Virgílio da Silva Guterres, and included the Deputy Provedor for Human Rights, Maria Marilia da Costa, the Executive Secretary, Ambrosio Graciano Soares, the Head of Cabinet, Aureo José António Sávio, and the Media and Public Relations Specialist, Antoninho Bernardino.
The conference, hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia (Komnas HAM) as the 2025 SEANF Chair, brought together the six national human rights institutions from the region: Indonesia’s Komnas HAM, Malaysia’s SUHAKAM, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC), the Philippines’ Commission on Human Rights (CHRP), Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRCT), and Timor-Leste’s Provedoria dos Direitos Humanos e Justiça (PDHJ). The forum served as a platform for these institutions to share experiences, coordinate actions, and strengthen regional cooperation.
During the session, PDHJ reported progress across its four pillars: strengthening constitutional oversight with 13 petitions and two landmark rulings; expanding human rights education nationwide; conducting extensive monitoring and resolving 154 complaints; and advancing policy work through disability action plan data collection and international reporting, reinforcing Timor-Leste’s ASEAN role.
A notable contribution from the PDHJ was the full endorsement of its proposal to reactivate the SEANF Strategic Communication Working Group. This initiative, which gained unanimous support from all members, paves the way for improved collective messaging, shared content responsibilities, and the nomination of focal points, with formal guidelines to be adopted after submissions in December 2025.
The conference concluded with the handover of the SEANF Chairpersonship for 2026 to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). Forum members reinforced their collective commitment to strengthening SEANF as a credible, independent, and effective institution, adopting a new decision-making framework that uses consensus as a primary principle but allows for a two-third majority vote on specific key areas.
PDHJ’s participation in this regional forum underscores PDHJ’s ongoing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, both nationally and within the wider Southeast Asian community.
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