UPR Sexual Rights Database

"National Report:
Para 8) The State of Timor-Leste is carrying out efforts to comply with its commitment to international human rights instruments as stated in its national reports and is currently preparing resources (human and financial) and is endeavoring to increase their institutional capacity to ensure that these international instruments are implemented in the future when the CRPD and its Optional Protocol is signed and ratified, as recommended by the United Nations Human Rights Council

Para 9) Based on the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (C-RDTL) Article 95.3 (f) on ratification, it is the competence of the National Parliament, to approve and denounce agreements and ratify international treaties and conventions. A concrete example relates to the ratification of the Convention on Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol as recommended by the Committee and UN Human Rights Council, whereby the National Parliament is waiting for a proposal from the Government, because the Government has a policy of creating favorable conditions and examining and considering all of the circumstances relating to human rights, including the financial impact and the contents of the conventions that are to be ratified, to see if they are going to be ratified partially or fully, depending on the policy and capacity of the Government to sign and ratify these conventions and to assume all of the consequences and responsibilities and to comply with its implementation obligations

UN Compilation:
Para 1) The United Nations country team in Timor-Leste noted that, during the first universal periodic review, Timor-Leste had indicated that it planned to ratify CRPD, but that it had not yet done so."

National Report:
Para 44) All children born in the territory of Timor-Leste have the right to be registered and it is obligatory to register them free of charge. The MoJ has collaborated with the MoH to create a booklet for pregnant mothers to be filled out from the time the mother becomes pregnant and during her health consultations until the baby is born. The MoJ has also established registration centres in the national hospital and in the municipalities so that babies born in hospital can be immediately registered.
Para 45) In addition to registering children in hospital, those children who have not been registered in hospital or have been born at home can be taken by their parents to be registered at the MoJ through the Directorate General for registry and Notary Services at the national level as well as in the municipalities. The MoJ also conducts a mobile registration program that attends to communities across the entire territory of Timor-Leste, especially remote areas, and this mobile registration program is aimed at registering children aged 0-5. This mobile registration program has been operating since 2017 until now. Para 46) The children of migrants who are born in the territory of Timor-Leste have the same rights as East Timorese to access registration when the child is born, and the registration process for the children of migrants is the same as for East Timorese who are born, and there is no discrimination.

UN Compilation:
Para 15) [The United Nations country team] noted that despite an effort to increase the rate of issuance of birth certificates through advocacy campaigns and capacity-building of service providers, there had been no dramatic increase in the data.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 27) Joint Submission 3 (JS3) stated that there had been an increase in the rate of birth registration of children under 5 years old, but it was still considered low at 60 percent with only 30 percent of those registered in actual possession of birth certificates. There were much fewer children from rural areas that were registered and holding birth certificates than those from the urban areas. These were largely due to gaps caused by lack of national strategy on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, lack of capacity at municipal level for timely birth registration and of necessary equipment to cover all municipalities, and lack of community and parental awareness on the importance of birth registration. Birth registration was free of charge except for late registration after the age of 5. Transportation costs and distance from municipality offices also contributed to the low turn-out.

National Report:
Para 39) Timor-Leste’s penal code criminalises rape, including rape committed by a family member, and Article 173 states that rape arising from a family relationship will result in a heavy penalty.
Para 41) Children have the right to receive special protection from the family, the community and the State, especially against all forms of neglect, discrimination, violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. Children enjoy all rights that are universally recognized, as well as those provided in the Timor-Leste Constitution and the law.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 66) JS4 highlighted that Timor-Leste remained without a general legal framework on children’s rights, or even a basic law on child protection. This contributed to a lack of understanding of children as rights-holders, as well as to endemic problems affecting Timorese children, including corporal punishment, sexual abuse, discriminatory practices against girls,
Para 68) JAI stated that the exploitation and discrimination of children remained a serious problem. Especially in rural areas, child labour was a common practice, often including dangerous agricultural activities considered among the worst forms of child labour. Forced labour, human trafficking, and sexual trafficking and exploitation of children also remained serious problems.
Para 69) JAI highlighted that violence against children, including domestic violence and sexual violence against girls and young women, remained common. The justice system of TimorLeste currently provided very few methods for children to seek redress under the law.

"National Report: Para 39) Timor-Leste has a patriarchal system which is a factor in preventing women from obtaining opportunities, causing them to face discrimination and be victims of domestic violence in their homes. Young women also continue to encounter a range of social problems which affect their social, economic, cultural and political life because women are considered to be of secondary importance in the household and society. To improve this situation, and to enable women to have the chance to obtain equality in all sectors and not face discrimination, many efforts have been initiated including those by the Government of Timor-Leste through the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI) and the Dili Declaration (DD) entitled “Invest in women and children - invest in Equality” which was signed by the National Parliament, the Government, the Church and civil society and witnessed by the President, Prime Minister and President of the National Parliament.

UN Compilation: Para 44) The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women welcomed the
adoption of Law No. 7/2011 establishing electoral lists of standing and alternate candidates,
which must include at least one woman in each group of three candidates. It was,
however, concerned that women in Timor-Leste continued to face persistent barriers to gain
access to decision-making positions, and that women’s representation in government decision-making positions remained low at 20 per cent and the proportion of female village chiefs was extremely low at 2 per cent."

"National Report: Para 12) To guarantee effective and adequate protection for the implementation of the law against domestic violence, the State, through the Ministry of Social Solidarity has managed to implement programs such as the establishment of a protection network for victims of domestic violence and gender based violence in 13 municipalities, has increased the capacity of the national network of support centers to provide direct assistance to shelters through training on operational procedures, has reintegrated victims in the community after they have left shelters, has provided psycho-social support to victims and public awareness raising and the implementation of operational procedures for the referral networks, management of cases on a database which is based on monitoring activities
Stakeholder Summary:
Stakeholder Summary:
Para 29) Cultural Survival (CS) noted that despite the Law against Domestic Violence and the National Action Plan on Domestic Violence, the Government had failed to implement necessary service and protection for indigenous women and girls. AI expressed similar concern that the Law against Domestic Violence did not adequately meet the standards of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women"