§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will promote the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur for East Timor to monitor human rights in the area. [82467]
§ Mr. Fatchett[holding answer 28 April 1999]: We are open to any proposal that makes a peaceful future for East Timor more likely. We welcome the visits to Indonesia of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women last December and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in February, and look forward to the publication of their reports.
In the meantime, we note that the UN Office in Jakarta has access to East Timor; and that the establishment of a permanent UN presence in East Timor was discussed at the latest round of talks in New York, under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, between Indonesia and Portugal.