Wasting their time and someone else's money

Well that's it then.

Everything will be ok.

How many of these foreigner "driven" and totally useless workshops must we go through? UNDP seems to make a living out of wasting their time and someone else's money. Year in and year out. For a decade now.

-----Original Message-----
From: east-timor-owner@lists.riseup.net
[mailto:east-timor-owner@lists.riseup.net] On Behalf Of ETAN
Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 1:07 AM
To: east-timor@lists.riseup.net
Subject: Ministry of Justice and UNDP organize consultation workshop on
customary law and local justice

Ministry of Justice and UNDP organize consultation workshop on
customary law and local justice

On 27 February, the Ministry of Justice, jointly with UNDP Justice
System Programme and with the support of UNMIT (United Nations
Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste), carried out in Dili a workshop on
access to justice and customary law with the attendance of more than
100 participants from organizations related to Human Rights, and the
justice sector. This workshop comes as a series of consultations
oriented to develop draft legislation on customary law and local justice.

Timor-Leste is young country which reached its independence in May
2002. As other post-conflict countries, it is developing its path to
consolidate its judiciary institutions. On the other hand, there is
an extended practice of customary institutions which precede the
State. One of the nation's challenges is to provide access to justice
to all its citizens by accommodating these traditional mechanisms
with the formal justice system.

To respond to this challenge, the Ministry of Justice, with the
technical support of UNDP Justice System Programme, has launched a
process of consultation through decentralized workshops in the
districts (Baucau, Oecusse) and sector consultations in Dili,
addressed to Human Rights NGOs, women's organizations, and justice
operators. In these workshops the participants have the opportunity
to discuss the problems they face, to evaluate channels for conflict
resolution and make proposals to improve the access to justice at local
level.

"Access to justice is a human right and essential element of a
democratic society and rule of law which contributes to peace and
stability. It means the capacity to have efficient mechanisms for
conflict resolution, protection of rights and control the abuse of
power", said Ms. Raquel Yrigoyen Fajardo, UNDP consultant on Access to
Justice.

The courts are indispensable for guaranteeing the protection of human
rights and the necessary check and balances in a democratic society.
Complementary to the formal justice system, the recognition of
conflict resolution mechanisms based on customary law can be an
important factor to enhance access to justice, especially for facing
daily life conflicts at local level.

The next consultation workshops will take place in Los Palos, Suai
and Dili in March/April followed by a national workshop in June 2009.

http://92.39.118.48/justice/index.php?mod=newsarchive&id=109