Enhancing human security for the Border Community in Timor-Leste
Human security project report
Highlights
Timor-Leste’s border communities were at the frontlines of COVID-19 but were under-protected and under-studied. The International Organization of Migration (IOM) and the UNICEF commissioned the Institute for Peace, Conflict and Social Studies at the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e (IPACSS–UNTL) to understand the specific vulnerabilities, needs and security gaps to help the government prepare for and prevent future health threats by assessing vulnerabilities and resilience in border communities in Timor-Leste. This assessment mapped the vulnerabilities and resilience of border communities in three municipalities: Bobonaro, Covalima and the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse–Ambeno (RAEOA). It used a human security approach to identify gaps and recommend strategies to improve their lives and livelihoods.
The human security approach provides a comprehensive methodology to understand the challenges people and their governments face. This assessment aimed to investigate issues, concerns, and solutions in seven core pillars of human security: community, economic, environmental, food, health, personal, and political security. An eighth pillar, education security, was identified in collaboration with communities. The study followed the five fundamental principles of the human security approach, which are people-centered, comprehensive, context-specific, prevention-oriented, and protection and empowerment-focused.
The study's findings were shared with key stakeholders, and the feedback was incorporated into the report. UNICEF is currently advocating with the Government to address the gaps and challenges identified during the study. Some of the key findings are:
• Human security concerns in the border communities of Timor-Leste are interlinked and interdependent.
• There are varying levels of vulnerability and resilience in border villages and municipalities. Whereas some villages have limited capacity to respond to human security risks and challenges, others demonstrate greater communal resilience.
• Effective and efficient practices in one village may not be suitable for replication in other villages, yet they may provide important lessons and insights for others.
