This book, Rising from the Ashes: UN Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste, provides an in-depth look into the UN's first experiment in governing and building peace in the aftermath of conflict, using East Timor as a case study. It examines how the Timorese have progressed after the UN left and the challenges that lie ahead. The book is covered in two parts: in the first part, the book examines the UN's role after it entered East Timor in 1999 as the de facto government; and in the second part, the book examines how Timor-Leste has progressed in peacebuilding after the UN's withdrawal in 2012.
Rising from the Ashes: UN Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste is based on the author's first-hand experience working in the UN as it restored law and order and built a state in a country without a government, any infrastructure, or human resources. The book argues that peacebuilding is a long-term endeavor and is a work in progress in Timor-Leste, based on the good foundations laid by the UN. However, like many other developing countries, Timor-Leste has enormous challenges to address; but it also has oil resources and a young population. Its future success will depend on how its oil wealth is managed and distributed, whether it is able to bridge the urban–rural divisions in the country, provide employment for its burgeoning population, and progress economically. Last, but not least, its future success will also depend importantly, on how its leadership deals with past, namely, the continuing intra-elite divisions that are a legacy of its troubled history. They have to transcend past divisions and unite Timorese society for the future development of the country.
The book ends with a set of recommendations for Timor-Leste and for the region, namely members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Related Link(s)
Sample Chapter(s)
Foreword
Chapter 1: THE CONCEPT OF POST-CONFLICT PEACEBUILDING
Contents:
- The UN and Beginning of Peacebuilding 1999 to 2012:
- The Concept of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
- UN Transitional Administrations
- The UN and East Timor: A Brief History
- UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) (October 1999 to May 2002)
- Return to Timor-Leste: UNMISET and UNOTIL (December 2002 to August 2006)
- The 2006 Political/Military Crisis
- A New UN Mission: UNMIT, 2006
- UNMIT: The View from New York (September 2006 to October 2008)
- 2012: The End of UNMIT and UN Peacekeeping Presence in Timor-Leste
- Peacebuilding Continues: The Current Situation in Timor-Leste:
- The Political System in Timor-Leste
- The Current Political Situation
- The Security Institutions
- Youths, Martial Arts Groups and the Veterans
- The Justice System: The Rule of Law
- The Economic Situation
- Foreign Policy and Relations with Indonesia
- ASEAN and Relations with Other Countries
- Timor-Leste's Continuing Challenges
Readership: Professionals and policy makers in government especially in the ASEAN countries, the UN, research institutes, think tanks, graduate students doing research or writing on the UN, scholars with an interest in Southeast Asia, experts on oil resources and their use by developing countries.
Ms Viji (Vijayalakshmi) Menon has been Visiting Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, since November 2017.
Ms Menon joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 1972, and has held senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in Singapore's diplomatic missions abroad. She has served in Singapore's embassies in Manila, Moscow, Washington, D.C., and in New York as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations from 1994 to 1996. After leaving the Foreign Service, she worked for the United Nations in the UN Missions in Kosovo, Timor-Leste, and Cyprus, as Senior Political Affairs Officer. Based on her expertise on Timor-Leste, she also worked for two years in UN Headquarters in New York from 2006 to 2008, providing support to the Timor team in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
During her stint at RSIS, Ms Menon has written a number of articles on Timor-Leste. These include: "Timor-Leste's Oil: Blessing or Curse?" RSIS Commentary, "Timor-Leste-Australia Maritime Boundary Treaty: Victory for Dili?" RSIS Commentary, "Timor-Leste's 2018 Elections: Turning a New Page?" RSIS Commentary, "Developing Timor-Leste's Oil Resources: At What Cost?" RSIS Commentary.
Ms Menon graduated from the then University of Singapore, with a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree in Political Science. She obtained a Masters in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Washington, DC, USA.