Establishment

The Office of the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice is an independent National Numan Rights Institution with a mandate to address matters relating to human rights and good governance.

In March 2002 the Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste approved and decreed the country's Constitution. Section 27 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of an Ombudsman.

On 26 May 2004 the National Parliament passed Law No. 7/2004, approving the Statute of the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice and establishing the Timor-Leste Provedor de Direitos Humanos e Justica (the Office of the Ombudsman (Provedor) for Human Rights and Justice).

Role and functions

The Office of the Provedor has a broad human rights mandate. It deals with cases of human rights violations, complaints, education and promotion, monitoring and generally integrating human rights into legislation and practices of Timor-Leste.

Under the founding legislation of the Office, the Provedor is empowered to:

• Receive complaints
• Investigate and inquire into matters under his or her competence, including ordering people to appear before him or her and to have access to any facilities, premises, documents, equipment, goods or information
• Visit any place of detention, treatment or care in order to inspect the conditions therein and conduct confidential interviews with persons in detention
• Refer a complaint to a competent jurisdiction or another recourse mechanism
• Seek leave of the National Parliament to appear before a court, arbitration tribunal or an administrative enquiry commission
• Act as a mediator or conciliator between the complainant and the agency or entity which is the subject of a complaint, where the parties agree to submit to such a process
• Make recommendations for redress in complaints brought before him or her
• Provide advice, including opinions, proposals and recommendations for the purpose of improving respect for human rights and good governance by the entities within his or her jurisdiction
• Report to the National Parliament in relation to the findings of an investigation or in relation to his or her recommendations.

APF membership

The Office of the Provedor became an associate member of the APF in 2005 (10th APF Annual Meeting), with full membership admitted in 2007 (12th APF Annual Meeting).

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