When the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was established in 1999 it was tasked with establishing non-discriminatory and impartial institutions to promote and protect human rights. With six months to go before UNTAET’s mandate expires it is far from completing these key tasks : law and order is barely being maintained, justice is not being administered effectively and the human rights of the East Timorese people cannot be guaranteed.