East Timor has been on the international community's agenda since 1975, and the events of 1999 have attracted worldwide attention to the island's fate. This article examines some of the legal issues which are relevant for the application of international humanitarian law to the conflict over East Timor. In particular, the author examines the international status of East Timor during the Indonesian occupation and after, with the arrival of the multinational military force and the administration set up by the United Nations. The status of those civilians who took refuge in West Timor from the explosion of violence, as well as the rights of Timorese detained by the provisional administration, are also extensively discussed. The author regrets that many legal issues have not been settled in a satisfactory manner by the various players involved in the international response to the drama, although clear answers may be found in international humanitarian law applicable to the situation prevailing in East Timor.

The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols require States Parties to disseminate the content of these humanitarian treaties as widely as possible in their respective countries. Of course, their inclusion in military instruction is indispensable to ensure their implementation in time of armed conflict. But it is equally important to promote knowledge of humanitarian law among those whom it is intended to protect — the civilian population — as well as among those who have to apply it — public officials of various ministries. At the same time, political leaders and decision-makers must also be familiar with that law, so that they are aware of its relevance, realism and mode of operation if and when a conflict should break out. Therefore, to ensure respect for it — and also to promote its development — it is an essential task to include international humanitarian law in higher education. The ICRC has taken a number of steps to achieve just that in the South Asian region.