Outcome TLS_D_4.1

WPS (UNSDCF Outcome 5) By 2025, the most excluded people of Timor-Leste are empowered to claim their rights, including freedom from violence, through accessible, accountable and gender responsive governance systems, institutions and services at national and subnational levels

Significant progress has been made in strengthening national institutional capacity and advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Timor-Leste, with notable outcomes in policy changes to promote women’s leadership and inclusive peacebuilding. UN Women’s technical assistance has contributed to strengthening institutional capacity, and national ownership and stewardship in promoting the WPS agenda in Timor-Leste, resulting in development and implementation of gender-responsive policy frameworks to promote women’s leadership in governance, peace and security areas, and to strengthen national responses that effectively address the specific security needs of women and girls in the context of evolving and emerging security challenges. Through strategic engagement with security, justice, and governance actors, UN Women supported the implementation of key national policies that embed WPS principles across prevention, protection, participation, and recovery. These include the second National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 (2024–2028), the Timor-Leste National Police Gender Strategy (2024–2028). In 2025, UN Women, in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and Ba Futuru (a local civil society organization) jointly delivered a wide range of capacity development workshops for both government institutions and CSOs. Under the ASEAN-WPS Regional Project, from October 2023 to June 2025, a total of 3,265 participants (1,835 women, 1,421 men, and 9 others, including 2 persons with disabilities) from national institutions including National Parliament, Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Secretariat of State for Equality, police and defense forces, and the CSOs, were engaged in workshops, dialogues, and intergenerational forums. These initiatives significantly enhanced their knowledge and skills to plan, implement, and finance WPS-related activities, while applying gender-responsive approaches in national security and governance systems. Capacity development initiatives have equipped both women and men decision-makers with the knowledge and tools to integrate gender-responsive and rights-based approaches into national policies and programmes. Additionally, the technical support of UN Women has contributed to the development of the National Action Plan to Prevent and Counter Trafficking in Persons (2026–2030), which was officially adopted by the Council of Ministers in July 2025. Leading the NAP development with line ministries and CSOs, the Ministry of Justice (as the chair of the Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons) has shown an increased political commitment to strengthening counter-trafficking efforts and reaffirming the importance of an inter-ministerial ownership of the NAP. With UN Women’s support, the NAP was developed by the Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons through participatory consultations from January to June 2025 with around 600 individuals from all 13 municipalities and Special Administrative Region of Oecusse Ambeno, including law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs), local community and leaders, faith-based leaders, and person with disabilities to ensure inclusion and representation of diverse voices into the NAP. Recognizing TIP as an emerging threat to human security in the country and in the ASEAN, and the facts that women and girls disproportionately affected by trafficking and exploitation, the Ministry of Justice has integrated gender-responsive and survivor-cantered principles in the NAP development, ensuring the needs and experience of women and girls are center-staged at the counter-trafficking efforts. The new NAP aims to prevent TIP, prioritize protection of survivors through services and assistance, ensure effective prosecution and strengthen collective efforts among all stakeholders to combat trafficking. Additionally, in partnership with Vice Minister for ASEAN Affairs and Secretariat of State for Equality, the women’s leadership training, inter-generational dialogues under the “Women in Leadership and Diplomacy Forum” series have increased visibility, peer support and network building of women leaders within political, security, and justice institutions, contributing to the broader goals of inclusive peacebuilding and the meaningful participation of women in sustaining peace at national and local levels. Specifically, the Forums elevated the visibility of women’s contributions to peace, development, and international relations, while spotlighting the leadership journeys of women with disabilities and youth leaders. The Forums have promoted peer learning, intergenerational exchange, and mentoring relationships, which Participants reported increased confidence, stronger networks, and renewed motivation to explore and take up leadership roles. The open dialogues have created safe and inclusive spaces for women from diplomacy, peace and security, and governance sectors, and from civil society and private sector to promote stories of women’s leadership, share lived experiences, and advocate for structural transformation. As a result of UN Women's sustained advocacy efforts and dedicated technical support between 2023 and 2025, including a series of forums, capacity-building workshops, and targeted trainings, the Government partners (Vice Minister's Office for ASEAN Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat of State for Equality) have stepped up and has an increased political willingness to take ownership of the Women Leaders Forum. Their proactive leadership (at the ministerial level) and growing independence in organizing and guiding the Forum demonstrates a deepened institutional commitment to advancing gender equality and facilitate open dialogues with women leaders across sectors including those from civil society. This transition marks a critical step toward ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Forum as a nationally led and government-owned initiative.

WPS (UNSDCF Outcome 5) By 2025, the most excluded people of Timor-Leste are empowered to claim their rights, including freedom from violence, through accessible, accountable and gender responsive governance systems, institutions and services at national and subnational levels

UN Women, as part of the United Nations in Timor-Leste, contributes to the Government’s efforts to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, as outlined in its Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, its Sustainable Development Goals Roadmap, and in support of its international human rights and gender equality obligations. Within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025), UN Women’s programming in Timor-Leste focuses on Women’s Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence against Women and Girls (EVAWG), advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and supporting implementation of Normative commitments (e.g. CEDAW, Beijing Platform for Action, SDGs), mainstreaming gender across areas to achieve these results. In support of its coordination mandate, UN Women Country Office Co-Chairs the UN Inter-agency Governance Results Group (with UNDP), Co-Chairs Gender Theme Group and the Co-Chairs the Multi-stakeholder Gender Coordination Group with the State Secretariat for Equality and Inclusion. These equal rights for women and men guaranteed in the Constitution have been enhanced by Timor-Leste’s ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2003. There is specific guidance for Timor-Leste as a State Party to CEDAW, specifically, CEDAW General Recommendation No. 30 on Women in Conflict Prevention, Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations and CEDAW General Recommendation No. 33 on Women’s Access to Justice, particularly in conflict, post-conflict, and various forms of crisis contexts, because women and girls are at risk of violence and other forms of gender-based violations in all these settings. UN Women proposes to upscale the 10 years of experience with the Ministry of Interior on integrating gender into the community conflict resolution in Timor-Leste and focus its efforts around 4 key, inter-related elements critical to advancing human rights’ centred mediation, with special attention to the experiences and inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBTI community. According the the final evaluation and recommendation from the independent evaluators in 2020, mediation t raining has increased the capacity of mediators in handling conflict resolutions and prevention, such as fighting between youth, land disputes and mediations. After mediation in the field, mediators continue to monitor the progress to ensure continuous peace in the community. There is a need to c ontinue mediation training with more female mediators including the NAP 1325 second development as the government is committed to the UN Security Council Resolution WPS agenda in Timor Leste. The government line ministries increased the budget allocation in 2020 and presented to the parliament a proposed budget of around USD 747,000 to the NAP – an increase from around 366,000 in 2019. The government continued to be committed to NAP by allocating more than USD 500,000 in 2021 including USD 22,715 to the MoI for the development of second phase NAP 1325.

WPS (UNSDCF Outcome 5) By 2025, the most excluded people of Timor-Leste are empowered to claim their rights, including freedom from violence, through accessible, accountable and gender responsive governance systems, institutions and services at national and subnational levels

In 2024, Timor-Leste made significant progress in empowering traditionally excluded groups, particularly women and girls from conflict-affected areas and people with disabilities, by embedding gender-sensitive governance and justice systems through the adoption of the 2nd National Action Plan (NAP) 1325 (2024–2028), reaffirming its commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and promoting women’s leadership in governance, justice and peacebuilding at both national and sub-national levels. The NAP 1325 aims to enhance equal, inclusive and meaningful participation and leadership of Timorese women in decision-making and protection from violence. Women and girls in Timor have better access to Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism which enables them to seek redressal against disputes and conflicts. Ministry of Interior (MoI) led the process of NAP development which was supported by UN Women . The Ministry ensured the consultation process inclusive and participatory consultation process, which prioritized the voices of where women, particularly those from traditionally excluded groups such as conflict survivors and people with disabilities voiced and reflected their needs and priorities in the second NAP. Throughout The the consultations, engaged diverse stakeholders, including 15 government institutions, 14 civil society organizations (CSOs), traditional leaders, and faith-based groups. Marginalized groups, including such as rural women and women with disabilities, actively contributed to shaping the WPS agenda. Their inputs ensured that gender-responsive perspectives were deeply embedded in policies and national advocacy initiatives. UN Women provided MOI with comprehensive technical support throughout the NAP process, including facilitation of the consultation process. Structured around four key pillars - Participation, Prevention, Protection, and Peacebuilding, the new NAP 1325, building upon its learning from the first NAP, articulates a comprehensive strategy in response to evolving needs of women and girls to address both traditional and new security risks, including impacts of disaster induced by climate change, cybersecurity and human trafficking. The MoI coordinated with line ministries, delivering training sessions on WPS principles, and strengthening institutional capacities for NAP implementation. UN Women supported the coordination and capacity building efforts which equipped the line ministries with the skills to effectively plan, implement, finance, monitor, and report on their commitments to NAP 1325. This government-wide effort demonstrates the commitment to mainstreaming WPS principles into national policies and programmes, ensuring sustainable progress on gender equality. Further details on these efforts are documented in the MoI's report, which highlights WPS activities jointly organized with UN Women (refer to pages 18, 22, 28, 29, 34, 38, 47, and 48). The report is available in the SharePoint .

WPS (UNSDCF Outcome 5) By 2025, the most excluded people of Timor-Leste are empowered to claim their rights, including freedom from violence, through accessible, accountable and gender responsive governance systems, institutions and services at national and subnational levels

The national mediation machinery i.e. National Directorate for Community Conflict Prevention (DNPCC) of Ministry of Interior in the country showe increased capacity in 2023. .DNPCC mediators resolved 164 cases in 2023 (out of 313 cases registered – 52.3% of cases resolved) as compared to 146 cases in 2022 (out of 319 cases registered – 45.8% of cases resolved) in multiple areas, including land & property disputes, martial arts issues, social conflict, and disputes over natural resources. The number of women national mediators in DNPCC increased from 32% of 31 mediators in 2019 to 47% of 40 mediators in 2023, reaching towards gender parity. Timor-Leste has a dual justice system – both customary and non-customary Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The ADR is still a popular means to resolve community disputes primarily because of the structural barriers in accessing formal justice system, including time concern, language barrier, geographical accessibility and long distance to travel to courts and the expense associated. Through UN Women’s technical support, the first National Mediation Network of Timor-Leste (“Rede Nasionál Mediasaun”) was officially established on 31 July 2023. Contributing to the Participation and Prevention Pillars under the National Action Plan on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (NAP 1325), the Network promotes participation and representation of women in all aspects of mediation and negotiation, and other peacebuilding processes of the country. UN Women in partnership with DPNCC also developed the Gender Responsive Mediation Guideline and the Case Management System, to build capacity of DPNCC in providing gender-responsive state-facilitated mediation services to local communities and promote improved access to justice for all through mediation, particularly rural women. The mediators were provided training “Transformative Leadership for Gender Equality” to develop skills and knowledge of understanding needs and challenges of women and girls in accessing justice, and to proactively address gender discrimination and stereotyped behaviors towards women in the ADR processes. The enhanced capabilities and achievements of the DNPCC in 2023, with UN Women’s support, has played a significant role in contributing to the SDG 16. “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”, specifically Target 16.3 “Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”, as well as the UNSDCF Outcome 5 (Sub-Outcome 5.1: Rule of law and access to justice).

WPS (UNSDCF Outcome 5) By 2025, the most excluded people of Timor-Leste are empowered to claim their rights, including freedom from violence, through accessible, accountable and gender responsive governance systems, institutions and services at national and subnational levels

In comparison to one of the most recent national elections – the Parliamentary Election in 2018 , the voter turnout of women increased from 308,288 to 322,482 in the Presidential Election in 2022. With the generous support from the Government of Japan and the UNDP, UN Women’s programme interventions in this project, which include 16 capacity development workshops targeting emerging women and men leaders in the community level, as well as current leaders in the local governance structure including Suco Chief and Aldeia Chief from 8 municipalities, have resulted in the change of attitude amongst the participants towards women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles. The programme also promoted an increase of knowledge amongst training participants and general public around how to participate in different levels of elections as voters and as candidates through workshops and theater shows. This contributes to the increase of voter turn-out of women in the Presidential Elections and increased motivation of women (voters) to participate in other elections in the next few years in general. Some participants shared that after the workshops they were motivated to take actions to encourage and mobilize other women in their communities to take part in elections at national and sub-national levels. Meanwhile, some leaders from the target sucos and aldeias shared that after the training they would reach out and communicate election information with the local communities, and target women voters in the outreach, as well as disseminate information on how to participate in the Presidential Election as voters. This contributes as a segment of a larger effort of the Government, international development partners and civil society to promote the increase of women voter turn-out in the Presidential Election and other elections in Timor-Leste in the coming years. Additionally, 250 current and emerging women leaders who participated in the training and dialogues have increased knowledge on equal rights of women and men in participating in elections at national and sub-national levels as voters and candidates, including Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, and Municipality and Suco Elections, as well as the processes of participating in elections. Additionally, UN Women Timor-Leste has been providing substantial technical support to Ministry of Interior’s National Directorate on Community Conflict Prevention (DNPCC) to promote gender-responsive community conflict prevention and resolution through the dialogue and mediation efforts across all municipalities. 40 mediators (19 women; 21 men) and 11 coordinators (11 men) trained by UN Women supported prevention and resolution of community conflicts through dialogues and mediation, and integrated gender perspectives in the processes to address gender discriminatory attitudes and stereotyped behaviors towards women. The DNPCC has been promoting women's participation as mediators, and the number of women mediators increased from 15% in 2016 to 46% to 2022. Furthermore, the DNPCC has improved capacity in facilitating large-scale community dialogues, security meetings and 'Palku Dame' with all the ethnic leaders, youth leaders and martial arts leaders to discuss and seek solutions for peace.