Two years after the country fell into the crisis in April 2006, 8,600 families have received assistance to leave IDP camps and return or relocate whilst 7,400 families remain registered with the government as future beneficiaries for assistance (MSS, October 2008).

Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste: Strengthening Early Recovery for Comprehensive & Sustainable Reintegration of IDPs

Project background

Two years after the country fell into the crisis in April 2006, 8,600 families have received assistance to leave IDP camps and return or relocate whilst 7,400 families remain registered with the government as future beneficiaries for assistance (MSS, October 2008). To address the IDP issues and more broadly early recovery challenges in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the Government of Timor-Leste adopted the National Recovery Strategy (NRS) in December 2007. While a range of initiatives to support the NRS are underway, there remain gaps in promoting early recovery and durable solutions, particularly in terms of the provision of basic services to returning IDPs, their surrounding and recipient communities due to damaged and destroyed infrastructure. Finding viable, durable and sustainable solutions to resettlement and reintegration, which recognise the need for managing social resentment and conflicts, constitutes a high priority for the Government and the international community. Indeed, with the closure of approximately half of the IDPs camps, these solutions have become even the more crucial. 

Project activities

Against the above background, the objective of this project is to support the implementation of the National Recovery Strategy by strengthening early recovery efforts for durable solutions to IDPs and the receiving communities. More specifically, the project will focus on: (1) developing mechanisms and processes to meet the needs of the IDP-receiving communities as a follow-up to the community dialogues process; and (2) augmenting early recovery coordination capacity to implement the National Recovery Strategy. 

Project results

  • Enhance skills of MSS staff to conduct participatory planning for community development projects and assess their impacts 
  • Assist MSS staff to identify needs, plan and implement small community infrastructure projects in a participatory process
  • Support the integration of early recovery policies and strategies into the National Recovery Strategy and relevant national priorities.  

Related Materials

Impact

START DATE

November 2008

END DATE

December 2012

STATUS

Completed

PROJECT OFFICE

Timor-Leste

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

United Nations Development Programme

DONORS

Australian Agency for Int'l Development

GOVERNMENT OF SWEDEN

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$153,831

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2012$100,401

2013$12,429

Full Project information