Abstract
The Office of Provedor for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ) was established under Article 27 of the Constitution. As a state institution in the form of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), the key challenge of the PDHJ is how to maintain their unique role by securing their independence and at the same time utilizing their “advantages” to enhance human rights protection. This chapter examines the PDHJ’s potential for creating incentives for human rights activism and also its limitations. It explains how the PDHJ provides a channel for local human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but is also an active actor that responds to human rights claims.
Some parts of this chapter have been published in the Conference Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia, July 13–14, 2017, Thailand, Bangkok.
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Notes
- 1.
See also Table 1.1 of the Introduction.
- 2.
All references to Silverio Pinto Baptista, the current Provedor of the PDHJ, refer to a personal interview with him on August 11, 2016.
- 3.
Other partners in these efforts included the Indonesian groups Komnas HAM, Asia Justice & Rights (AJAR), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Association of the Families of the Disappeared in Indonesia (IKOHI), Kontras-Sulawesi in Indonesia; and Timor-Leste groups such as Asosiasaun Chega Ba Ita (ACBIT), HAK, Fundasaun Alola and the Timor-Leste Red Cross (CVTL).
- 4.
See Chapter 3 for more complete details.
- 5.
The PDHJ is legally obliged to submit its annual report on June 30 every year, reporting on its activities from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year.
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Khoo, Y.H., de Almeida, H. (2022). Provedoria Dos Direitos Humanos e Justiça: Between Human Rights Activism and Limitations. In: Khoo, Y.H., da Silva, A.B., Tam, T.N.T.P. (eds) Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in Post-Independence Timor-Leste Through Local Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan Studies on Human Rights in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3779-7_5
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