Human Rights Defenders - HRW

Excerpts: Human Rights Watch World Report 2007
http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/eastti14856.htm

Timor-Leste’s nongovernmental human rights defenders operated freely and played an active role in lobbying the UN and government. There were no attacks on human rights defenders in 2006.

Timor-Leste’s Office of the Provedor started receiving complaints from the public in March 2006. The office has far-reaching powers to investigate and report on complaints against government officials and institutions, including human rights abuses by police, but suffers from a lack of human and other resources. As with other institutions in Dili, many of the office’s staff were affected by the year’s violence and unable to work, due to fear of remaining in the capital.