Timor-Leste

In December 1975, as the Portuguese colonial administration in Timor weakened, the Indonesian government launched a massive invasion of the eastern part of the small, divided island. The resulting Indonesian occupation of Timor resulted in a series of abuses against the local resistance movement and the broader civilian population, which lasted until the post-referendum violence of August-September 1999. Disappearances, torture, forced displacement and extra-judicial killings were documented. Furthermore, the Timorese people suffered a severe famine between 1978 and 1983. Qualitative historical accounts have estimated the total death toll during the Indonesian occupation from a conservative 50,000 deaths to more than 200,000 deaths.

In July 2001, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) was established by the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor, through collaboration with the National Council and Cabinet after public consultation. CAVR is an independent statutory authority, mandated to inquire into human rights abuses committed by all sides between April 1974 and December 1999, in addition to facilitating reconciliation and justice for less serious offences.

Soon after the inception of CAVR, HRDAG began advising the CAVR on its information management processes and guided the development of the commission's statistical findings. Whereas other truth commissions have benefited from large amounts of existing data on past human rights atrocities, the CAVR did not have existing data at its disposal. The CAVR-HRDAG partnership resulted in the establishment of three datasets that integrated quantitative methods into CAVR's broader truth seeking activities. These datasets included:

• The commission's statement-taking process, which collected almost 8,000 narrative testimonies from people in every sub-district;
• A census (or complete enumeration) of all public graveyards in the country (encompassing approximately 319,000 gravestones);
• A retrospective mortality survey drawing on a probability sample of approximately 1,400 households throughout the thirteen districts of Timor-Leste.

In establishing these data, CAVR and HRDAG pioneered a number of new techniques and methods. No other truth commission has ever undertaken a retrospective mortality survey. While gravestone information for mortality estimation has been used by historical demographers for mortality estimations, this is the first time that a human rights project has employed such methods. These projects were so large that HRDAG developed automated techniques to link multiple reports of the same death - a key component of multiple systems estimation.

Each of the datasets independently produced valuable empirical results. Comparative analysis among the datasets has corroborated the findings of each. After matching deaths reported across all three systems, HRDAG conducted multiple systems estimation to estimate the pattern and extent of conflict-related mortality and ultimately create a substantial body of documentary evidence to support the human rights findings of the CAVR. In addition, HRDAG developed survey-based estimates of the extent and pattern of total conflict-related displacement between 1974 and 1999. The combined analysis of mortality and displacement complemented the commission's historical, legal and qualitative findings on famine and displacement. Lastly, HRDAG also developed a diverse array of descriptive statistical analyses profiling the form, pattern and structure of torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and sexually-based violations which were reported to the CAVR.

The statistical and demographic findings, developed jointly by the CAVR and HRDAG, are presented in CAVR's 2,500-page final report titled "Chega!" (Portuguese for 'no more, that's enough'). In particular, the quantitative findings are independently presented in the chapter "The Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974-1999" chapter. Specific statistical findings are integrated into the respective chapters on particular human rights phenomena (such as "Killings and Disappearances", "Famine and Displacement," "Sexually-based Violations" and "Torture and Ill-Treatment") as well as thematic chapters (such as "Accountability and Responsibility," "Children in Armed Conflict" and "Women in Armed Conflict").

The final report of the CAVR was handed over to the President of Timor-Leste on 31 October 2005. The President of Timor-Leste then tabled the report at a special sitting of Timor-Leste's National Parliament on 28 November, 2005 - which coincided with the 30th anniversary celebrations of Timor's Proclamation of Independence. As per CAVR's mandate, codified in UNTAET Regulation UNTAET/REG/2001/10, the President of Timor-Leste will hand over the CAVR Final Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations in early December 2005. When the CAVR final report is made public, HRDAG will co-publish the "Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974-1999" chapter and mortality data at http://www.hrdag.org/timor, per its agreement with the CAVR.

Benetech's HRDAG is grateful for the generous support of the European Union, United Nations Development Programme, the Oak Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, without which this work would not have been possible.

Originally based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), HRDAG has provided technical assistance in the following countries:

Africa

• Chad
• Ghana
• Liberia
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa

Asia

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• India
• Timor-Leste
• Sri Lanka

Europe

• Kosovo

Middle East

• Iran

Central America and Caribbean

• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• México

South America

• Colombia
• Perú

Consulting Services | About HRDAG | Resources | Home

© Copyright © 2002-2009 Beneficent Technology, Inc. (The Benetech® Initiative)
Benetech is a California nonprofit organization.

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) applies information technology solutions and statistical techniques to help human rights advocates build evidence-based arguments.