Dili (Timor-Leste) 30 June 2026 – The Professor Doctor Jorge Miranda: “Constitution and Human Rights” Award was presented to Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, H.E. Mr Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão on June 25, 2026, at the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão stated in his Speech on the occasion that this tribute does not belong to him as a personal achievement, but rather to the collective journey of a people who fought, suffered, and persevered to conquer their dignity and right to decide their own destiny.
Gusmão dedicated the award to the “martyrs of the homeland” and the Timorese people.
The Prime Minister described the independence of Timor-Leste as an “exemplary milestone in the defense of human rights.”
The speech also reflected on Timor-Leste’s journey in state-building and the defense of fundamental rights.
Related to the issue Western Sahara, the Timorese Prime Minister said:
“Allow me—for I cannot help but do so—to recall here another people who, despite being closer to Europe, remain suffering: the Sahrawi people.
I continue to call for the implementation of Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara, with a view to holding a self-determination referendum for the Sahrawi people.
This is one of the unfulfilled dreams I speak of.
Since 1975, international courts have reiterated that the Western Sahara issue must be addressed in light of the principles of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution regarding the self-determination of peoples and their right to sovereignty.
In 1991, the United Nations Security Council established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). At that time, I led the armed resistance in East Timor and, like many other guerrillas and fellow Timorese, I felt deeply motivated and full of hope that our turn would also come one day.
In 1992, the referendum in Western Sahara was postponed. We were devastated
by that news”.
