INSTRUCTIONS FOR TIMOR-LESTE CORE GROUP MEETING

UNCLAS STATE 068503 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC TT SUBJECT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR TIMOR-LESTE CORE GROUP MEETING ¶1. ACTION REQUEST: USUN is instructed to draw from points in para 3 at the meeting of the UN Core Group for Timor Leste, scheduled for Thursday, June 26 at 3:30 PM. End Action request. ¶2. BACKGROUND: The security situation in Timor-Leste has been comparatively quiet since the death of renegade Major Alfredo Reinado in an unsuccessful assassination attempt on President Ramos-Horta February 11. During the report of UN Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes on April 22, Security Council members expressed more concerns about the state of the police retraining effort than about general security. Nonetheless, political instability and institutional weaknesses in the security and judicial sectors still pose severe threats to the people of Timor-Leste and could again spark unrest, especially if the UN police begin to withdraw before a trained and effective local police force is able to take over. ¶3. Begin points: -- We appreciate Mr. Weisbrod-Weber's briefing on the situation in Timor-Leste and the current status of the UNMIT mission. -- With the expansion of a UN presence in the country since 2006, one of the highest priorities for UNMIT is continuing to develop an efficient, professional and fully autonomous police force. -- Any drawdown in UN Police (UNPOL) presence in Timor-Leste should be based on a credible assessment of the ability of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) to function without UNPOL oversight and be synchronized with bilateral donors, plans to step up assistance to the PNTL. A functional and effective PNTL is indispensable to maintaining security and the rule of law in Timor-Leste. -- Government of Timor-Leste (GOTL) ownership of the PNTL development process is also essential to assuring its success. -- What are the specific benchmarks developed for assessing whether criteria for handover of police executive authority from UNPOL to PNTL have been met? What is the timeline for the UNPOL transition envisioned by DPKO and UNMIT? -- Which elements of its mandate does UNMIT plan to concentrate on implementing between now and February 2009? RICE