Östtimorkommittén
Development Cooperation
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Review of development cooperation in Timor Leste: final report
How does international development assistance impact on conflict transformation?

Authors: S. Soux; D. Gairdner; S. Marstein
Publisher: Scanteam, 2007
Full text of document: http://www.scanteam.no/reports/2007/Timor%20Cooperation%20-%20Report.pdf

This review assesses the impact of Norwegian and international development assistance on conflict transformation in Timor – Leste during the period from Independence in 2002 until the crisis in April 2006, and makes recommendations for improving present and future international cooperation.

The document highlights how the Timorese leadership was assessed as being strongly pro development, but with little experience or capacity to realise development goals without international assistance. The authors stress that the complexity of this challenge should not be understated. The document shows how international assistance to Timor Leste for the period 2002 2006 was focused on state building, strengthening the capacity of state institutions and the delivery of core public services.

The development partners correctly anticipated that there were no external threats to Timor Leste after Independence. However, the partners have under estimated the significance of internal conflicts. The authors highlight factors related to internal conflict which combined to provoke the 2006 crisis and show how the crisis revealed the failure of the Timorese political elite to resolve their own differences, and to provide the leadership needed to unify their country.

Recommendations include:

  • international assistance provided in conflict affected situations should be supported by conflict analysis
  • UN Missions must have the appropriate mandate and resources to complete peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks
  • donors should finance Government contracting of technical assistance personnel rather than provide personnel directly
  • youth must be viewed as a priority, deserving of urgent action from the Government and development partners
  • all stakeholders should consider the security sector as a crucial branch of government, and coordinate assistance with broader good governance structures.

Review of development cooperation in Timor Leste : final report - annexes
Annexes to a review on Timor-Leste

Authors: D. Gairdner; S. Soux; S. Marstein
Publisher: Scanteam, 2007
Full text of document: http://www.scanteam.no/reports/2007/Timor%20Cooperation%20-%20Annexes.pdf

This document provides annexes to the review of development cooperation in Timor-Leste. The review assesses the impact of Norwegian and international development assistance on conflict transformation in Timor-Leste during the period from Independence in 2002 until the crisis in April 2006, and gives recommendations for improving present and future international cooperation. The annexes included in this document are:

  • methodology and sources
  • external assistance to Timor-Leste 200 – 2006
  • statistical annex
  • list of informants
  • documents consulted
  • results of an independent literature search