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Study Mission to Brazil
Three-week study mission strengthens bilateral cooperation and promotes the exchange of experiences on access to justice and the defense of fundamental rights
The Federal Public Defenders’ Office (DPU), in partnership with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE), the Public Defenders’ Office of Timor-Leste, and the Ministry of Justice of Timor-Leste, organized a study mission to Brazil with ten members of the Timorese delegation, including public defenders and court officers. The initiative, which took place over three weeks, aimed to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the areas of access to justice and the protection of rights.
The program combined training activities at the Federal Public Defenders' Office headquarters, Portuguese language classes funded by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), and institutional visits to bodies within the justice system and the Executive and Legislative branches. The activities included presentations on the structure and functioning of the DPU, its administrative and technical areas, and the performance of the General Secretariat for Institutional Actions (SGAI), the Executive General Secretariat (SGE), the Planning Advisory Office (ASPLAN), the Information Technology Department, the Social Communication Advisory Office (ASCOM), the National School of the DPU (ENADPU), the Legal Advisory Office, and the National Human Rights Public Defenders' Office.
The itinerary also included visits to the National Congress, the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the Planalto Palace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Indigenous Peoples Memorial, and the Federal District Public Defenders' Office, including an activity related to the Women’s Defense Center.
The mission is part of a partnership launched in 2006 between the DPU, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Public Defenders’ Office of Timor-Leste, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026. Throughout this period, the cooperation has contributed to the training of Timorese public defenders and civil servants, the provision of technical assistance, and the strengthening of the institutional structure of the country’s Public Defenders’ Office.
Among the results of the bilateral cooperation are the support for the creation of the Inspectorate of the Public Defenders’ Office of Timor-Leste; the establishment of the institution's Higher Council; the implementation of the Computerized Judicial Management System (SIGAJ); technical assistance in drafting statutes; and the structuring of the Access to Justice Clinics.
The initiative reaffirms the importance of international technical cooperation in strengthening public institutions and developing shared responses to the challenges of ensuring access to justice and the protection of fundamental rights.
MISSION PHOTOS
Source: DPU’S Flickr
· 08 September 2026 – Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) ENADPU/DPU–SENEV/Ministry of Women
· 16 September 2026 – Timor-Leste Delegation visits the National Congress
· 28 September 2026 – Portuguese Language Class
Source: The Federal Public Defenders’ Office (DPU), Brazil
