This repot jointly produced by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) and Center of Study for Peace and Development (CEPAD) with the support from UNDP and funded by the Government of Japan. The report is produced through the Frameworks for Assessing Resilience (FAR) programme initiated by Interpeace.

Qualitative consultations with communities at the district capital level identified four key elements of resilience: (i) Culture: Traditional non-violent conflict resolution mechanism; (ii) Leadership: relation between state and citizens; (iii) Religions: Religious peace messages; (iv) Law and Security: Law as a tool to promote and guarantee justice for all

Leadership is the central point and link the other three elements of resilience because the key to resilience lay in the relations between the states and its citizens. Therefore, members of the Working Group put forward a vision for Timor-Leste to promote good quality leadership at all levels in order to strengthen relations between the state and citizens based on Timorese values, on justice and on trust between one another in the society.

To achieve the vision mentioned above, the report recommends the following:

Build on the role of the Catholic Church and other religions in advocating for social justice to make the most of the structure and influence of the Church and other religions in efforts to build conscience and increase commitment to social justice in the society through education and formation of society and leaders and facilitation of political dialogue.

Harmonize the plural justice system to better integrate the formal structures and processes of the state which ensure protection of rights with traditional structures that promote integration and reconciliation. Timorese values are to serve as a reference in formulation and implementation of law and justice processes and a clear mechanism is to be found which can determine the role for each justice process in the resolution of cases. These objectives are best achieved by making vast improvements to consultation and participation in the development and enactment of laws.

The report also calls for strengthening the provision of civic education in the country in order to improve relations between state and citizens and cultivate quality leadership.

About the Frameworks for Assessing Resilience (FAR):

FAR is a programme initiated by Interpeace, implemented between 2014 and 2016 with local partners in Guatemala, Liberia and Timor-Leste. The goal of the FAR programme is to understand resilience to violent conflict from a local perspective and to determine how existing capacities for resilience can be leveraged and strengthened to better contribute to sustainable peace.

Over the course of eighteen months, the programme in Timor-Leste has sought to identify and promote resilience sources and capacities through an inclusive and participatory process that engaged communities at the grassroots as well as representatives of government institutions and civil society organizations.