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

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, the Government of Timor-Leste officially adopted the second-generation National Action Plan (NAP) 1325 (2024–2028), reaffirming its commitment to advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda and promoting women’s leadership in governance, justice and peacebuildingat both national and sub-national levels. This milestone reflects a significant step toward institutionalizing gender equality within governance systems, institutions, and services. UN Women provided comprehensive technical support to the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the lead agency responsible for NAP 1325, throughout the process. A key highlight of this achievement was the inclusive and participatory consultation process, which prioritized the voices of women, particularly those from traditionally excluded groups such as conflict survivors and people with disabilities. The consultations engaged diverse stakeholders, including 15 government institutions, 14 civil society organizations (CSOs), traditional leaders, and faith-based groups. Marginalized groups, including 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. This inclusive approach not only amplified women’s voices in decision-making processes but also strengthened coordination mechanisms that integrate grassroots stakeholders into WPS-related policy and program development. By embedding participatory frameworks, the process enhanced the alignment of the NAP with the needs and priorities of diverse communities, advancing Timor-Leste’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. UN Women also supported the MoI in coordinating with line ministries, delivering training sessions on WPS principles, and strengthening institutional capacities for NAP implementation. These training initiatives have equipped 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 programs, ensuring sustainable progress on gender equality. Further details on these efforts are documented in the Ministry of Interior’s official 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: https://unwomen.sharepoint.com/sites/roap/timor-leste/UNWOMENTLS/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=%2Fsites%2Froap%2Ftimor%2Dleste%2FUNWOMENTLS%2FOffice%2F02%20Programme%2F2%2E2%20WPS%2F2%2E2%2E10%20Publications%5FKnowledge%20Products%2F2024%2F4%2E%20Ministry%20of%20Interior%20Bulletin&FolderCTID=0x0120005E048B78AE3BB747B95E663A08E89432&View=%7BFA37CD4E%2D9E1F%2D469D%2D82B9%2D1C6CC4E4659C%7D

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.