Silverio Pinto Baptista (born 20 June 1969 in

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

) is the Provedor (Ombudsman) for Human Rights and Justice of Timor-Leste. He has held this position since October 2014. He is supported by the Office of the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, or Provedoria dos Direitos Humanos e Justiça (PDHJ), which is the

National Human Rights Institution A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to protect and promote human rights in a country. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) aids these ...

of Timor-Leste.

Early life

Silverio Pinto Baptista grew up during the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste during which he witnessed suffering and serious human rights violations. As a consequence he took part in Timor-Leste’s resistance movement from a young age.

Education

Silverio Pinto Baptista pursued a law degree at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...

and participated in student organisations supporting Timor-Leste’s independence.

Professional life

After returning to Timor-Leste, Silverio Pinto Baptista worked with the Association for Rights (HAK) as a human rights defender providing legal assistance to young Timorese captured by the Indonesian military during incidents in several parts of the country. In 2003 he was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of HAK. On a voluntary basis, he has worked with a number of Timorese NGO’s including ALFELA, FOKUPERS, MAHEIN Foundation and others. In 2005, he started working for the PDHJ as deputy Provedor. In October 2014, he was sworn in as the new Provedor for Human Rights and Justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto Baptista, Silverio 1969 births Living people East Timorese lawyers University of Indonesia alumni People from Dili