The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, April 12, 2012
Timor-Leste leads Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Agenda
Inclusive Politics, Security, Justice, Economic Foundations and Resource and Revenue Management: these are the Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs); five priority areas for conflict affected States. The PSGs have been endorsed by the 19 members countries of the g7+ and 20 power nations and organizations including the USA, Australia, the UK, Denmark, UN systems and the World Bank amongst others. Timor-Leste has played a key role in the development of these goals with Timor-Leste as both the chair of the g+7 and the home of the g7+ Secretariat.
Like the Millennium Development Goals, the PSGs will have targets and indicators to measure progress. Unlike the MDGs these will be developed by the countries themselves, will be directly related to the conditions of post conflict and conflict affected nations and are set to be trialed up to 2015 to get them right. Key stakeholders will be involved in the development of Timor-Leste’s indicators including the Government, civil society, the private sector, the church, donors and other interested participants.
Once each g7+ country has developed their indicators, all 19 countries will compare them and find commonalities to identify a set of global indictors. These will form part of a UN Resolution to be presented at the Unites Nations General Assembly in September 2012.
The most important part of this process is that g7+ countries are sharing their experiences for the first time in history and discovering their similarities in nation building despite their vast differences in region, culture, religion, historical context, and phases of peace and conflict. This marks the first time in history these nations have had a united voice, with Timor-Leste championing the cause.
Timor-Leste has been a vocal advocate for a shift in the way of doing business between recipient countries and their partners in development. Since 2008 after peace and stability was regained and expansionary fiscal and social policies were established; the global community responded to Timor-Leste as a nation modernizing and progressing to meet global standards. Now, Timor-Leste has taken a prominent role on the global stage with many Timorese taking leading roles in organizations to form and shape international policy. Timor-Leste now has representatives on the board of the World Health Organization and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, chairs the g7+, co-chairs the International Dialogue for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, and is on the United Nations CEDAW Committee supporting women’s rights.
This signals that in 2012 Timor-Leste’s policies, which have led to a transformation in social and economic conditions, and vastly improved transparency, have been globally assimilated and accepted as best practice, with Government officials invited to lend their experience and expertise in nation building to further enhance global policies.