The Oecusse Enclave is one of thirteen districts in the world's newest country: The Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (DRET).

Timor Leste forms the eastern half of the island of Timor which it shares with West Timor in the Nusa Tenggara Timur province of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Oecusse Enclave is most notable for the fact that it is sovereign territory of Timor Leste situated on the north shore of West Timor... inside Indonesia. It is also the first place where Europeans landed in Timor and remained a part of Portuguese Timor until 1975 when it was absorbed into Indonesia subsequent to the Indonesian invasion and occupation of Timor Leste.

In 1999 the Oecusse Enclave, along with the rest of Timor Leste, was liberated after a UN sponsored referendum. This was followed by widespread violence initiated by Indonesian security services and their proxies, the East Timorese militias. After an international intervention, Indonesia withdrew from Timor Leste and it spent two and half years under a UN transitional administration.

This website is the initiative of a number of people who lived, worked and studied in the Oecusse Enclave during the UN period. It is an effort to raise the profile of this unique, isolated and disadvantaged part of Timor Leste, and by doing so contribute to its ongoing development.