UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment
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The UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment was the common title for an investigative unit created in the war-torn and newly liberated country of
East Timor 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 ...
in November 1999, under the direction of the
United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an int ...
, consisting of
International Police The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
, Australian
military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
military police. The unit was tasked with performing the
exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
s of several hundred East Timorese homicide victims killed during the UN
mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...
for the East Timor mission. The unit became best known for its investigations and exhumations relating to both the
Liquiçá Church Massacre The Liquiçá Church massacre was a mass-killing that occurred in April 1999, during East Timor's bid for independence. It was the first case to be heard by the Second Special Panel. Events and aftermath During the event, up to some 200 E ...
and the Manuel Carrascalão House Massacre. After the crime scene detachment, the International Police assigned to the unit would investigate the case. The International Police portion of the unit primarily worked out of
Liquiçá Liquiçá (Tetum: ''Likisá'') is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liquiçá is the capital of Liquiçá District. The city has a population of 5,005 inhabitants. History A part of the colon ...
and its surrounding districts, whereas the military element worked island-wide throughout East Timor. Initially commanded by Steve Minhinnet of Great Britain, the unit was later commanded by American investigator Karl Clark. Throughout its existence, it relied heavily on intelligence information collected by American intelligence officer Alan Williams. With the rotation of new International Police into East Timor, the unit was eventually disbanded toward the end of 2000, and absorbed into the
Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
investigative unit 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 ...
, called the Serious Crimes Unit. Karl Clark, an original member of the unit, eventually played a pivotal role in human rights investigations in East Timor, while other unit police members moved on to other UN mission locations.


References

* * * https://web.archive.org/web/20060425031821/http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2005-April/023693.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20061020023805/http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=%2Fnews2005%2F0406-04.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20060829154235/http://cpa.org.au/garchve05/1223massacre.html * Law enforcement in Timor-Leste United Nations operations in Timor-Leste {{UN-stub