New USAID-Supported Programs to
Respond to the 2006 Crisis

U.S. Ambassador Hans G. Klemm formally launched three new USAID programs addressing the causes and consequences of the 2006 crisis in a press briefing yesterday at the U.S. Embassy.

The three programs comprise a new package of assistance following the recommendations of a USAID-commissioned Conflict Vulnerability Assessment published in November 2006:

(1) Strengthening Property Rights in Timor-Leste is a 5-year, $10 million program that will help the Government of Timor-Leste conduct a national land cadastral survey and establish a functioning land titling and registration system. The current absence of such a system limits access to finance and serves as a disincentive to private investment. It also is impeding the reconstruction process and discourages internally displaced persons from returning to their homes.

(2) Juventude iha Oportunidade Ba Servisu (“Youth have Opportunities for Work” or Job Opportunities) is a 3-year, $5 million youth employment and training program. Over a period of three years, the program will seek to engage 2,500 youth across the country in an individually tailored skills development program for one year, of which at least half will be devoted to on-the-job training. During the period of the program in which they are not engaged in on-the-job training, youth will be engaged in a variety of other employment “readiness” activities depending on their individual needs – for example, life skills programs, language training, vocational and technical training, business skills training, etc.

(3) Timor-Leste Research Development Project is a 3-year, $750,000 program that will help develop the in-country capacity to conduct quality research, including public opinion surveys. Alongside another ongoing USAID-supported program to strengthen Timor-Leste’s independent media, this program responds to the Assessment’s finding that the widespread absence of reliable information and severely limited formal channels for communication were key contributors to the 2006 crisis.

To date, the U.S. Government has provided $8.5 million of assistance in direct response to the crisis that displaced over 150,000 people from their homes. The assistance financed emergency food aid and other humanitarian relief; management services for internally displaced persons’ camps; various peace-building activities; and the continued operation of media outlets to provide the displaced with accurate information on the rapidly evolving situation.

“After the violence broke out in 2006, we have focused on ways to overcome the crisis. These programs will essentially double the amount of assistance that the U.S. Government has provided Timor-Leste in response to the 2006 crisis,” Ambassador Klemm said in launching the programs.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Crisogno da Costa Neto, who joined the Ambassador on a panel for the press briefing, noted the “long-term commitment between the Government and USAID to developing a strong property rights system in Timor-Leste, which is crucial not only for conflict resolution and mitigation, but also for the country’s economic development”. “We know it is a difficult challenge. However, we must develop a system to resolve these (land ownership) problems, since every man and woman in Timor-Leste has the right to property,” he said.