NZ Institute of International Affairs, Wellington

Nga hau e wha, nga iwi e tau nei, tena koutou katoa.
E nga mana, e nga reo, rau rangatira ma, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

The Role of the Governor-General

New Zealanders are a modest people more accustomed to working quietly and effectively behind the scenes internationally and somewhat surprised when they achieve positions of leadership and respect in many fora around the world. During the past year I have had the opportunity to observe this. Wherever I have travelled it has been apparent that New Zealanders are achieving excellence in a wide variety of fields. They are ambassadors for our country - well-educated, hard working, warm and friendly. Their very presence improves New Zealand's reputation and helps promote its interests. I have increasingly recognised that a Governor-General also has a role to play in raising New Zealand's profile and promoting its interests internationally.

Governors-General have always received State visitors and it has been my pleasure to do so on a number of occasions. And of course, I formally receive Ambassadors and High Commissioners when they first come to serve in New Zealand.

Traditionally, Governors-General have visited the Pacific Islands, especially those within the realm of New Zealand. In October last year I was delighted to attend the Centennial celebrations in Niue. Dame Catherine represented New Zealand at the EXPO in Spain and paid official visits to Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. During his term, Sir Michael attended ANZAC Day at Gallipoli, the 80th Anniversary of the First World War in France, and Commemorations marking the Battle of Crete. He also attended the inauguration of President Mbeki in South Africa, and in 2000 made a significant, full State visit to China. By all accounts it was very successful in fostering the relationships between our two countries.

These visits by my predecessors have been largely profile-raising and symbolic, as is appropriate for the role of an apolitical, non-executive head of state. The visits by Governors-General have enhanced New Zealand's identity and sovereignty as an independent nation. They have also, of course, been consistent with New Zealand's foreign policy objectives, national interests and priorities. It is on this sound basis that my own programme has developed over the past year.

The Governor-General's role as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in and over New Zealand adds another dimension. Thus when I expressed an interest in visiting troops engaged in peace-keeping missions overseas, it was seen both as an appropriate opportunity for a Vice Regal visit, but also was greeted with enthusiasm by the chiefs of the defence forces as a way of showing our troops that New Zealanders are interested in their work and proud of their activities.

In my fourteen months as Governor-General I have made visits to five countries: Niue, East Timor, the United Kingdom, Bahrain and Thailand. In the period prior to my swearing-in and in the course of a seminar held for the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in Berlin, I was invited to meet the German President and some of the German cabinet ministers, and during my pre-appointment tour, visited Tokyo, Oslo, Helsinki and the United Kingdom.

I have thus had a taste of the way in which other countries treat Heads of State and the sorts of opportunity for raising New Zealand's profile that can emerge as a consequence.

Each visit has been unique, but time and your patience permits me to focus on only two countries this evening. Although vastly different in character and economic status, in each instance a primary objective for the visit was to emphasise New Zealand's desire to continue friendly relations and co-operation with the country concerned. I have not attempted to analyse or evaluate the changes occurring in each of these small countries. To do so would be premature - both nations are undergoing fundamental changes, ones that will have long-term consequences for them. But as we watch developments, there are many lessons for New Zealand as we move more and more independently onto the world stage.

EAST TIMOR

The first country that I would like to discuss is East Timor. My visit took place in early February at a time when the transitional Government of East Timor, led by Mari Alkatiri, the Chief Minister, was preparing to take over the executive authority for East Timor from the United Nations' Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) which until independence on 20 May, retained primary responsibility for East Timor's Government administration, border security, and Police Force.

Security, particularly in the south-west border region of Suai, where the New Zealand Battalion is stationed, was vastly improved with only minor incidents occurring. Physically, according to those who had been living and working in East Timor for some time, Dili was practically unrecognisable from the period in 1999 when the Indonesians withdrew following the referendum favouring independence for East Timor.

Refugees returning from West Timor took advantage of UNHCR packages which included roofing iron and many of the houses sported shiny new roofs. Schools were being rebuilt and medical clinics restored.

Members of the transitional Government of East Timor were working night and day to develop the institutions and processes required by a modern, small democracy.

Preparations were under way for the first presidential elections to be held on 14 April and for independence to be marked by the adoption of the constitution and the handover of power from the United Nations' transitional administration, to the new Government of East Timor. Hope was in the air but so too was fatigue.

Following the terrible violence in 1999 surrounding the referendum on independence from Indonesia, the establishment of a civilian police force and a judicial system were high priorities. Work on the constitution was gathering pace, and on 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor.

In its preamble, the Constitution notes the struggle for independence since the invasion of East Timor in December 1975, and praises the resistance movement comprising the armed front FALINTIL, the clandestine front in which thousands of civilians, particularly young people fought for freedom and independence, and the diplomatic front which attempted to mobilise world opinion in favour of an independent state.

Particular tributes were paid to the Catholic Church which was described as having taken on "the suffering of all the people with dignity, placing itself on their side in the defence of their most fundamental rights".

The Constitution itself is based on the fundamental principles of the rule of law and respect for the dignity of the human person. Its objectives among others, are to guarantee and promote citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms.

Its objectives are ambitious and far sighted. They include the protection of the environment and preservation of natural resources. It provides guaranteed access to the Courts and an undertaking that justice 'shall not be denied for insufficient economic means'. It anticipates the establishment of an office of the Ombudsman, and while placing high value on personal rights, freedoms, and guarantees, also notes, reflecting its recent violent history, that every citizen has the right to disobey and resist illegal orders or orders that affect their fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees.

There are rights to a fair trial and provision for national or international courts to try crimes against humanity, genocide, or of war arising from acts committed between April 1974 and December 1999.

The full range of economic, social and cultural rights is guaranteed including the right to work, to join trade unions, for equal rights to health and medical care, for housing and education. Consumer rights, the right to private property and to intellectual property are all provided for.

This brief overview can, in no way begin to describe the full constitutional provisions of East Timor. This new and tiny nation has had a unique opportunity to draw on the experience of the United Nations, and many individual countries anxious to assist, including Portugal, Australia, and New Zealand. It has chosen to promote principle over pragmatism and now must work, probably for generations, to begin to achieve its ideals.

The problems are dramatic. To establish a fully operational democracy where none had previously existed, would daunt most people. To ensure that educated and skilled East Timorese are available is in itself a monumental task.

Currently, the adult literacy rate is 43% and only 73% of children are enrolled at primary school level. The problem is not one of indifference. In my brief time in East Timor it was apparent that school attendance was a primary objective, not only for the parents, but also for the children. But cost and distance to schools are major practical problems, as are the low numbers of qualified teachers and the lack of furniture, equipment, textbooks and supplies.

Portugese and Tetum are the official languages of the Republic of East Timor but they have not been taught in schools. There is therefore a need to train and recruit teachers of these languages.

The Court system is being developed from the ground up, buildings are required, but even more importantly, so too are prosecutors, lawyers and judges trained and able to speak the official languages. Translators are essential for those many who cannot.

The need for functioning Courts is a priority - the peoples' thirst for justice remains overwhelming. They want to know the truth about the atrocities committed, and to reconcile with those who have harmed them, but they also want justice. The infrastructure will take time to develop, the more so because of the state of the economy, always precarious, and now more so following the ravages of violent conflict.

Perhaps the greatest progress is being made at the grass roots. The Planning Commission has drafted a national development plan for the next five years, following an extraordinary participatory countrywide consultation process involving 980 community consultations, reaching over 38,000 East Timorese men, women and children.

Consultation involved community leaders, teachers, health personnel, civil society groups including NGOs and religious organisations, Government officials, academics, political parties and international donors and experts. The plan places equal emphasis on contributions to be made by civil society, NGO's and Government.

In the field of education for example, the East Timorese have undertaken to send their children to school and to teach the importance of education, to repair and build schools, and keep them secure. NGOs will organise literacy groups and provide material and specialist education.

The church is to help with teaching and recruiting teachers from overseas, and by opening schools and supplying books. The Government's responsibilities include increasing the budget for education, assisting poor children to go to school, providing scholarships, skilled training and organising non-formal education. It is also asked to find teachers of the Portuguese language.

The plan is a remarkable document, harnessing the skills and resources of all sectors of society. The partnership between government and civil society will be novel for the East Timorese, the majority of whom have not previously been consulted about their participation in the administration of their own society. But it is an innovative approach that recognises that government alone lacks to resources to rebuild the shattered country, and that civil society has a valuable, indeed critical part to play. The outcome will be positive for all involved as mutual trust develops and planning for an independent future is based on consultation not dictate.

At a personal level it was useful to be able to discuss with the Justice Minister and others, strategies for reducing the surge in domestic violence - a problem experienced by all countries which have suffered internal or external conflict.

The fact that the authorities recognised the urgency of the problem and were mobilising to eradicate it, gives cause for optimism. The fact that they are obliged to divert resources to dealing with domestic violence, which currently represents approximately 40% of all reported crimes in East Timor, a figure believed to be grossly understated, demonstrates again the urgency of promoting peaceful solutions to national, international and domestic disputes.

Time and money spent reducing domestic violence could so much better have been applied to education, civic projects, health care, and housing.

One of the more interesting facets of the building of the state of East Timor, has been the part played both by the administrative services of the United Nations and by its peace-keeping forces. New Zealand features strongly, providing a significant proportion of our defence forces to the peacekeeping operations in East Timor.

In the early stages of deployment, military security was the priority. Increasingly, however, the New Zealand soldiers have been working to improve life for the East Timorese in a multitude of ways. They assist in the enormous task of repatriating the more than 200,000 refugees who have returned to East Timor since 1999. An important part of the process is to encourage reconciliation and secure reintegration into the villages of these refugees.

The effort to encourage refugee return has been difficult, requiring special missions by representatives of the new Prime Minister, the Secretary-General's special representative, and of President Xanana Gusmao.

The troops have also assisted in helping educate the villagers on topics as widely diverse as hygiene and basic health care, teaching sport to children, and discussing how democracy works. New Zealand troops routinely live in the local villages, mixing with the East Timorese not only to gain their trust, but also to assist in any appropriate practical way. They are clearly well liked and trusted by the local people and many, when off duty, will help rebuild schools, work in the orphanage, or play soccer with the school boys.

It is difficult to assess the benefits of my visit to East Timor. I hope there has been a boosting of morale for the troops, some of whom are returning for their second and third tours of duty, and enjoyed the opportunity to welcome the Vice Regal party, and to show how they have contributed to the peaceful transition to independence.

Not to be overlooked is the symbolic importance of my visit which emphasised to the Timorese Transitional Authorities, New Zealand's interest and concern for the country's future.

BAHRAIN

In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York last year, New Zealand deems it important to develop and maintain good relationships with a wide range of Islamic countries.

New Zealand and Bahrain have a strong history of friendly relations beginning back in the 1930s when one of our nationals, fortuitously called Frank Holmes, discovered oil there. Since then relationships have been warm, and trade between our countries has been encouraged.

Bahrainis see New Zealanders as sharing similar characteristics - both peoples are warm, open and friendly. For these reasons alone, a vice-regal visit was appropriate.

But the principle reason for visiting was not only to reinforce our friendship, but to mark the introduction of universal franchise and the restoration of democratic government in Bahrain. In February, 2001, following a national action charter overwhelmingly endorsed in a referendum, the King of Bahrain, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa announced a constitutional monarchy with municipal and parliamentary elections being held during this year. Women will, for the first time, be fully enfranchised.

My predecessor, Sir Michael Hardie Boys, paid a brief visit to Bahrain in 1998. My visit was to be rather more substantial and specifically to convey New Zealand's congratulations on the constitutional reforms being implemented.

There was an additional reason for my visit. New Zealand, which has developed a reputation as a safe, high quality and cost-effective destination for more and more Gulf students, wants to encourage Bahraini youth, particularly at the tertiary level, to undergo their education in New Zealand. For that reason I visited a public school for girls and a University that has recently established ties with the University of Otago. At the behest of the Crown Prince a few young Bahrainis are now to attend Otago for at least a part of their tertiary education. We are of course hopeful that this small beginning will lead to greater contacts and will pay dividends in the future of even closer ties of friendship and understanding between our countries.

The contrasts, economically, socially, and culturally between East Timor and Bahrain as you would expect, were marked. Although Bahrain has come close to exhausting its oil supply, nonetheless it remains a wealthy country by New Zealand standards, and impossibly so by East Timor's.

For me, the most interesting part of the visit was to observe the changes occurring as the result of the creation of a constitutional monarchy and the restoration of Parliamentary democracy, particularly as it relates to women.

There are few states in the Gulf region that have, as yet, taken these steps towards political liberalisation and there is no doubt that other Gulf States will be watching the outcome with interest.

In Bahrain the Sunni Muslim minority headed by the Khalifa family has ruled for more than 200 years but the Shia Muslim majority has had little say in running the country's affairs. During the 1990s increasingly there was public unrest between the two groups.

It is obvious that King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa sees democratic reform as a way of bridging the gap. The political reforms have been met with overwhelming public support. There was a 98% majority vote for constitutional amendments calling for transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy and for the creation of an elected legislature.

An Upper House, appointed by the King, will retain the power of veto over some decisions of the lower house but not over fiscal or budgetary ones.

Although there had been parliamentary elections for a period until the present King's father dissolved Parliament in 1975, women had not previously been entitled to vote. The interest in elections among women was palpable. A significant number were standing for the municipal elections, to be held on 5 May, shortly after my visit. When I met some of the women candidates, they impressed me with their courage, but lack of financial support meant that their campaigns were to be unsophisticated by New Zealand standards. The results were disappointing for them. Of the 306 candidates, 31 women were standing for 50 municipal seats. All were unsuccessful.

One of the unsuccessful candidates blames the failure on the "influence of the religious current", while others point to the male dominated society or to the groundwork put in by Islamist movements promoting candidates who took 2/3 of the council seats in the first round. Surprisingly, the turnout of voters was not high. Only 51% of the registered voters participated and of those, just over half were women.

From the reports of the elections I detect a strong sense of despondency among the women who had such high hopes of participating in municipal government for the first time. Were I able to have the opportunity to talk again to them I would point out that it took many years for the first women to be elected to Parliament in this country and over 100 years for the first woman to become Prime Minister. It would be my hope, however, that Bahraini women with the support of other democratic countries, will realise their ambitions rather sooner.

While there is nothing to suggest that women will be more successful in the national elections to be held later this year, I am satisfied that Bahraini women have the determination to continue their efforts to participate in government, and the patience to keep trying.

While I did not have the opportunity to mix widely with members of the Shia minority, amongst the members of the Royal family there was an air of guarded optimism and great enthusiasm about the changes taking place.

Perhaps the most striking example was the lunch hosted by Her Majesty the Queen, the Chair of the newly appointed Supreme Council of Women. For a period of two to three hours after lunch I had the unique opportunity of meeting privately with the Council and with other highly educated, able Bahraini women, eager to explore ways of ensuring that their views and influence would be an integral part of the new democratic system.

Their highest current priority is the reform of the personal law, what we in New Zealand would call family law. It is a feature of Islamic states that personal laws follow the Islamic model that, by tradition and culture, in general perpetuates male domination of the family.

But as the Bahraini women are well aware, there are a number of Islamic states in which women are entitled to equality in their personal lives. Many of the Bahraini women have been educated in western nations, and see equality between women and men in the personal sphere of activity as a desirable and achievable objective. The discussions were vibrant, intelligent, and energetic, reminding me very much of the 1970s in New Zealand when women here made a concerted effort to improve our legal status.

Concerns common to women in every part of the world were enunciated by members of the Supreme Council of Women - reduction of domestic violence and improvement of rights to work and to financial support on the breakdown of a marriage.

CONCLUSION

The benefits of Vice Regal visits to other countries may seem ephemeral, but there is much to be gained from extending the hand of friendship or cementing an old and amicable relationship. Such visits, to be useful, must result in greater understanding, ease of contact and increasing trust among countries with hugely different economies and cultures.

During each visit, I have been reminded of the importance of emphasising areas where we can work together peacefully and constructively, where we can share experiences, learn from each others' mistakes and innovations, and demonstrate to other countries that prefer to resolve differences with force, that there is another way, one which will serve people better and enable them to live peaceful, constructive lives; that the utilisation of their resources, including human resources, to promote peace rather than civil unrest may ensure that misunderstandings between nations that are based on different cultural and traditional patterns will be reduced.