On September 5, 2003, the University of Dili (UNDIL) held a public seminar on the government's controversial Internal Security Act. Concerns about the Act's possible infringement of civil rights were raised even before the National Parliament passed it on July 30, 2003. The law has yet to be promulgated by President Xanana Gusmao.

UNDIL's seminar, entitled “Democracy and the Internal Security Act,” brought together representatives from government, parliament and local non-governmental organizations for the panel of speakers. The audience of about 60 people included police officers, members of parliament, diplomatic representatives, journalists, and university students.

At the seminar, Vice Minister for the Interior Alcino Barris said that East Timor needs such a law because it is still in a post-conflict situation and experiencing cross-border infiltration. The Internal Security Act is important in guaranteeing stability and ensuring the physical protection and freedom of every citizen, he explained. The Act allows for some intelligence activities, such as surveillance and communications monitoring, and establishes two security policy and coordination bodies.

The government's stated aim for the Internal Security Act is to prevent crime and enforce public law and order while ensuring the smooth operation of democratic institutions and the exercise of human rights. Public concern about the Act centers on the possible infringement of fundamental civil rights, such as the right to privacy and silence, and, more generally, on the limited amount of information available to the public before and during the parliamentary debate and vote.

Vice Minister Barris maintained that the Act passed by parliament does not contravene human rights. NGO representatives, however, expressed concern that without adequate definitions of terms such as ‘terrorism’ and ‘criminal activity’, implementation of the Act could lead to human rights abuses.

Radio Tokodede from Liquica recorded the seminar and will produce a one-hour program for broadcast around East Timor. Seminar organizer Julio Pinto concluded that people needed better information on the Internal Security Act. Mr. Pinto said that the transcript from the seminar will be provided to members of Parliament.

In an effort to address the limited public information on policies and legislation of public interest, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) provides support for a series of public seminars conducted by the UNDIL's Centre for Strategic Studies. This seminar was the seventh in a series of seminars facilitated by NDI to promote public discussion and debate on key security sector reform issues, and the third held in cooperation with UNDIL.

Funding from USAID-ET supports the efforts of NDI’s Security Sector Reform Program to promote public discussion on the role of the armed forces and police in a democratic society and works to strengthen civilian oversight of the security forces.