UPR Sexual Rights Database

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 40) As a means of strengthening and disseminating the DD at all levels, the SEPI established a new mechanism to improve the coordination of a Gender Mainstreaming Policy at the national and municipal levels. Also, changes were made to the gender focal points in relation to the gender working group. There is a gender action plan for the 12 municipalities including the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse to implement a commitment known as the municipal commitment to gender equality. The SEPI has changed its name to the Secretary of State for the Support and Socio-Economical Promotion of Women (SEM) based on the organic law of the Sixth Constitutional Government
Para 71) In 2015 the Ministry of Education also started to introduce lesson plans for grade 1 to 4 with Social Science lessons also integrated with materials such as gender, disability, respect for diversity and protection for children against violence and abuse."

National Report:
Para 22) Timor-Leste acknowledges that it has not yet ratified the CRPD, however now it is making preparations for the ratification process. The Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC) has established a team to make preparations for ratification.