Ministerial Order No. 31/2026 recognising Traditional Sucos and Indigenous Villages.

This Ministerial Order aims to formally recognize all 'Sucos' (village-level administrative communities) and 'Aldeias' (sub-village communities) existing within the territory of Timor-Leste. It reaffirms the legal status of these community organizations as public-law entities that play a fundamental role in local governance, social cohesion, representation of communities, and the exercise of civic participation. It implements the mandate established by Law No. 9/2016 and related legislation, under which the Minister of State Administration is responsible for officially recognizing these local administrative units. The diploma also seeks to consolidate and update the official national register of local communities by creating a single, comprehensive and systematically organized legal instrument. To ensure administrative accuracy and reflect territorial developments, it recognizes 472 Sucos and 2,250 Aldeias distributed across all municipalities and the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno, as detailed in the annexes. Furthermore, it repeals previous ministerial diplomas governing the recognition of these entities and replaces them with an updated framework that provides an authoritative reference for the designation and location of all recognized community organizations in Timor-Leste.