Women’s Access to Transitional Justice in Timor-Leste

Noemí Pérez Vásquez is a Legal Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia.

1. Introduction: ‘The Blind Letters’
I. Transitional Justice: A Brief Overview
II. Women’s Rights within Transitional Justice
III. A Feminist Research
IV. Ethics of the Research Undertaken
V. Structure

2. Transitional Justice in Timor-Leste: ‘Loron Loron, Kalan Kalan’
I. The Background: History of Timor-Leste
II. International Legal Framework
III. Human Rights Violations
IV. On Justice Received
V. Access to Transitional Justice
VI. Women’s Participation in Transitional Justice
VII. Barriers Faced by Women When They Access Transitional Justice
VIII. Conclusions

3. Silence and Memory: ‘They are Waiting for Us to Die’
I. Women’s Silence and Lack of Recognition after a Conflict
II. On Women’s Silence in Timor-Leste
III. On Memory: Hyper-Masculinisation of Society and National Identity
IV. The Continuum of Violations against Women
V. What Women Want
VI. Conclusions

4. Women and Prosecution: ‘We Captured the Dogs But Not the Owners of the Dogs’
I. Prosecutions in Timor-Leste
II. The Legislation
III. Accounts of Crimes Committed against Women
IV. The Public: The Investigations
V. The Public: The Proceedings
VI. The Private Interference
VII. Sentences, Women and the Follow-Up
VIII. Conclusions

5. Women, Truth and Reconciliation: ‘Here Comes the Victim’
I. The CAVR
II. Focus of the CAVR on Women
III. The CTF and its Focus on Women
IV. Women’s Participation
V. Different Reconciliation Discourses
VI. Women’s Healing and the Understanding of Truth
VII. Women’s Recognition and Political Follow-Up
VIII. Conclusions

6. Women’s Access to Reparations: ‘Men Were the Most Affected’
I. The Complexity of Reparations
II. Reparations Provided by the UN, Including the Special Panels
III. Reparations Provided by the Truth Commissions
IV. Reparations Established in the Chega! Report
V. Reparations Provided by the Timorese State
VI. The Way Forward
VII. Conclusions

7. Women’s Access to Post-conflict Benefits: ‘Because I Did Not Hold a Gun’
I. DDR, Veterans’ Pensions and the Exclusion of Women
II. The Veterans’ Pensions in Timor-Leste
III. The Veterans’ Pension Law and Discrimination against Women
IV. The Implementation: Local Committees of Veterans and the Private Dynamics
V. Getting More Private: The Pensions within the Family
VI. (Un)Expected Effects of the Timorese Veterans’ Pensions
VII. The Limits of the Discourse on Rights
VIII. Conclusions

8. Conclusions: ‘So it Does Not Happen Again’