The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers and

Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

 

Díli, February 2, 2010

 

Mr. Adérito de Jesus confirmed as Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission

 

Lawyer, academic and human rights activist Mr. Adérito de Jesus has become Timor-Leste’s first Anti-Corruption Commissioner for the Xanana Gusmão Governments’ initiative; the Anti-Corruption Commission.

National Parliament reached quorum yesterday where an absolute majority voted for the candidacy of Adérito de Jesus.

Mr. Adérito de Jesus is highly respected, a founder and board member of La’o Hamutuk, a key NGO in Timor-Leste that monitors and reports on the activities of the Government and the principal international institutions present in Timor-Leste.

De Jesus was on the board of the Justice System Monitoring Project in Timor-Leste and NGO Forum upon its establishment in 2000. As a lawyer, he worked in tandem with UNMIT-Human Rights Unit and the UNDP to deliver human rights training to all Timor-Leste’s National Parliamentarians in 2004 and served as a defense lawyer in several political cases in Indonesia as the advocacy coordinator for human rights at the Institute of Policy, Research and Advocacy in Jakarta.

De Jesus is credited for being a key actor in drafting the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. He is currently undergoing his PhD in International Human Rights Law in Canberra, Australia.

Since independence, Mr. Adérito de Jesus has been nominated for several key positions including Provedor (Ombudsman) and a Commissioner for the Truth and Friendship Commission. The nomination and appointment as Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission is the first position he has accepted.

Secretary of State Ágio Pereira noted that Mr. Adérito de Jesus was a man of principle who would act independently and in the best interest of the people of Timor-Leste and congratulates all Members of Parliament for handling such a sensitive decision with a profound sense of dignity to safeguard the national interest. Pereira added “This demonstration of leadership by all MPs of Timor-Leste, once again, testifies to the maturity and resilience of the Timorese democratic processes.”

“This is the first anti-corruption initiative ever to be implemented in Timor-Leste and it was made possible by the uncompromising leadership of Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão who believes that Timor-Leste can succeed in meeting the most serious challenges of national independence by resolutely adopting anti-corruption policies such as the establishment of this Anti-Corruption Commission.”