UN extends presence in East Timor

UN extends presence in East Timor

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations announced on Thursday it would
stay in East Timor for another year, under a new political
mission that would significantly reduce the UN troop presence
there.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to send
45 civilian advisers, 75 police advisers and up to 10 human
rights officers to the developing island country until May 2006.

The new UN Office in East Timor will replace the UN Mission of
Support in East Timor, a peacekeeping mission that has existed
since 1999, when 10,000 UN military personnel were deployed to
the country after it declared independence from Indonesia. After
several phases of scaling down the force, there were just 466 UN
troops left in East Timor this year.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message to an
international symposium in Dili on Thursday that "considerable
progress" had been made toward politically stabilizing East Timor
and promoting human rights, but UN support was still needed.

The new office will be charged with helping develop state
institutions, police forces and border patrol units. The
political mission should eventually give way to "a sustainable
development assistance framework", the resolution says. --AFP