Protecting Economic and Social Rights in Post-Conflict Timor-Leste: A Regulatory Approach

Abstract

Post-conflict countries often devote little attention to economic and social rights. This is partly because the security sector and electoral-political agendas associated with civil and political rights are seen as more urgent priorities. The often-tenuous implementation of the separation of powers in post-conflict countries can also lead to widespread corruption, which in turn can hamper the protection of economic and social rights. In addition, a legalistic approach to rights can lead to human rights ritualism and this becomes another impediment to protecting economic and social rights. Thus, although many post-conflict states adopt economic and social rights, they lack the influence needed to steer the course of events and adequately protect these rights.

This thesis examines these ideas. The protection of aspects of economic and social rights in Timor-Leste is explored to examine the link between human rights and governance. The thesis argues that the adoption of economic and social rights has influenced the flow of events in both the state and public spheres to a relatively small degree. Economic and social rights have influenced policy makers and civil society in various specific ways in protecting these rights. Recognition of these rights is not totally ritualistic nor pointless. However, recognition has been a lost opportunity in Timor-Leste's journey to peaceful human development. The influence is marginal because both government and civil society face challenges of regulatory capacity in post-conflict Timor-Leste. The predominance tendency has been one of the 'rights ritualism'. The adoption of economic and social rights has encouraged the government to establish certain institutions and more laws and mechanisms, but the government has often then deflected the consequential obligations that rights entail.

The thesis applies regulatory theory in order to examine the protection of these rights and proposes better ways of achieving them. It weaves together some aspects of regulatory theory with the principles of human rights. Progressive realization of human rights and regulatory theory challenges a legalistic approach to viewing rights and when applied, can transcend rights ritualism to secure more effective safeguards.

The thesis concludes that in spite of the proliferation of human rights norms and its regimes in post-conflict Timor-Leste, outcomes to date have been patchy at best. Through a regulatory lens, it does steer events to protect rights and brings hope of an emancipatory rights vocabulary in post-conflict Timor-Leste. A key conclusion is that genuine dialogue with all actors in Timor-Leste about integrating human rights language into practical circuits of detailed policy implementation within a framework of responsive regulatory theory can, and occasionally does, help to open the possibilities for further enhancement of human rights in the future.