The ILO through its Spotlight Initiative project in Timor-Leste has provided a technical support to the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment (SEFOPE) on the development of the new law addressing on violence and harassment in the world of work and the plan for the ratification of the ILO Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment (C190). Nine consultative meetings on the draft law have been conducted since July in six municipalities to get inputs from all entities before the endorsement to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affair.

The Spotlight Initiative is a global partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, funded by the European Union. The programme is aligned to the Timor-Leste "National Action Plan on Gender based Violence (2017-2021)" and National SDG Roadmap.

These consultation meetings have involved community, line ministries, civil society organizations, employers and workers organizations and stakeholder engagement by ensuring human rights obligations and is part of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework for company reports that deal with human rights issues.

The law is drafted based on the "Comparative Analysis between Timor-Leste Regulatory Framework and the C190" which identified 24 priority recommendations and 17 subsidiary recommendations. The priority recommendations are relevant to questions where “the national regulatory framework is not in line with the provisions of the Conventions” and the subsidiary recommendations refer to situations where “the Government is invited to take some aspects into consideration to fully implement specific issues regulated under the Convention”.

In order to integrate the regulatory aspects of the C190 in the national legislation and considering that many recommendations identify the revision of the Labour Law, the Civil Service Statute and the specific legislation applicable to other sectors of activities, it is also proposed to adopt a new law addressing issues on violence and sexual harassment at work that is applicable to all workers and employing entities from all sectors and areas of activities.

"The consultation processes on the draft law with all relevant parties are important to get their inputs before the submission to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (MCAE). These joint efforts would contribute to the creation of safe and healthy working environment that is free from violence and harassment,” said Paul Alves, SEFOPE’s Director General.

Meanwhile, Zulmira da Silva, Technical Administrative at the Professional Traning Center of the Special Administrative Region of Oé-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA), participating in the draft law consultation highly appreciated the joint effort of the SEFOPE and the ILO’s Spotlight Initiative Programme on the drafting of the new law on violence and harassment.

“It is an important law to guarantee everyone rights and to protect workers, especially women and other vulnerable groups. We can work safely, and we can equally compete with men at work,” she said.

Similarly, Krisantos Kolo, Staff of Asistensia Legal ba Feto no Labarik (ALFeLa) of RAEOA, an organization that provides a critical legal aid service for women and children in Timor-Leste, said that “it is a very good law that protects every worker from violence and harassment both at public and private sectors and it also requires the employers to develop a company policy on this issue. I hope that SEFOPE and ILO can jointly put an extra effort to get the law deliberated by the parliament.”

According to Margaret Araujo, the ILO’s Programme Coordinator for the Spotlight Initiative, the draft law provides measurements of prevention, punishment, protection and assistance to victims of violence and harassment at work that are align with C190. “Based on the comparative analysis conducted in 2021, the existing labour law and regulation in the country do not yet cover and measure issues related to violence and harassment that are needed in the country,” she said.

She also added that the support given by the ILO also has also emphasized the need for Timor-Leste to ratify the C190 as the first international treaty to recognize the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.

The development of the law has almost reached a final stage. The final review and consultation were conducted in this month of November and to be submitted to MCAE in December, which would submit the draft to the Council of Ministers or Parliament for deliberation.