Exploring the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Timor-Leste

• Autor(a) principal: Jacob, Leonor Francisco
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/30600
• topic: Timor-Leste; Agenda Mulheres, Paz e Segurança; Plano Nacional de Ação; Resolução 1325; Women, Peace and Security Agenda; National Action Plan; Resolution 1325

This dissertation aims to explore what has hindered the Timorese Government from launching a second National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), following the implemented first plan between 2016 and 2020. Timor-Leste’s independence from Indonesia, in 2002, involved extensive post-conflict reconstruction efforts aiming at the creation and strengthening of democracy and governmental institutions. Concurrently, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 advocating for women’s inclusion in all levels of decision-making, in particular within the security and peace fields from which women were traditionally absent. The UN Member States started to develop action plans as strategic tools aiming to implement Resolution 1325 and apply the recommendations of the WPS Agenda on a national level. To achieve this study’s objectives, we analysed the Timorese NAP (2016- 2020); four Timorese Government Programs; and conducted a thematic analysis on the interview data. A qualitative approach allowed us to analyse the domestic adherence to an international framework, identifying the barriers limiting the Timorese Government from moving the agenda forward. Based on four proposed explanations, this exploratory study allowed us to conclude that the lack of political will, ownership and understanding of the WPS agenda have significantly contributed to hindering the Timorese Government. Moreover, initially overlooked factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 floods, and the domestic political instability have played key roles within this context.