U.N., Indonesia Sign East Timor Pact

After four years of negotiations, the United Nations and Indonesia have signed an agreement to allow human rights observers access to the troubled region of East Timor. Observers are to be given access to all regions of Indonesia, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement in Geneva. “This is understood to include facilitating access to East Timor.” The agreement, which had been in negotiation since 1994, calls “for cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights.” East Timor has endured civil unrest, guerrilla warfare and human rights abuses since Indonesia invaded in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese colony.