VOA慢速英语2013 人权组织质疑美国无人机袭击误伤平民

 

Rights Groups Question U.S. Drone Strikes 人权组织质疑美国无人机袭击误伤平民

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

This week, two human rights groups accused the United States of killing¹ more civilians² in drone strikes than American officials say. The groups say many of the attacks appeared to be illegal under international law.

本周，两家人权组织指责美国无人机袭击造成的平民遇难人数超出美国官员所言，这两家组织表示，很多无人机袭击似乎违反了国际法。

Human Rights Watch investigated six drone strikes in Yemen since 2009. It found that at least 57 civilians died in the attacks. Letta Tayler studies terrorist acts and anti-terrorism efforts for the group.

“人权观察”组织调查了2009年以来在也门发生的6次无人机空袭。该组织发现，至少有57位平民在袭击中遇难。莱塔·泰勒（Letta Tayler）在该组织中负责研究恐怖行为和反恐措施。

"Two of the six cases that we examined in my report show that the U.S. indiscriminately killed civilians. This is a clear violation³ of international law."

他说，“我们报告中所调查的6起案例中，有两起案例显示美国滥杀平民。这显然违反了国际法。”

The report says some drone strikes violated the rules set by President Obama to justify⁴ such attacks. The president has said the unmanned aircraft can be used when responding to an immediate⁵ threat to the United States. He also said they can be used when there is no hope of capturing a targeted terrorist, and "near certainty" that civilians will not be harmed.

该报告声称，一些无人机袭击违反了奥巴马总统为此类袭击辩解时制定的规则。奥巴马总统曾表示，无人机可用于响应针对美国的迫切威胁，他还表示，当抓捕恐怖目标无望，并且“几乎可以肯定”不会伤害到平民时可以使用无人机。

At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney rejected accusations⁶ that drone strikes violated international law.

白宫新闻秘书杰伊·卡尼（Jay Carney）否认了无人机袭击违反国际法的指控。

"To the extent these reports claim that the U.S. has acted contrary to international law, we would strongly disagree. The administration has repeatedly emphasized the extraordinary care that we take to make sure counterterrorism actions are in accordance with all applicable law."

他说，“这些报道在一定程度上指责美国已经违反了国际法，我们对此表示强烈反对。美国政府一再强调，我们采取了特别措施，以确保反恐行动遵循所有适用的法律。”

Amnesty International examined nine American drone attacks in Pakistan. It says it found evidence that more than 30 civilians were killed in four of the strikes. A United Nations report has estimated that drone strikes in Pakistan killed 400 civilians over the past 10 years.

大赦国际调查了在巴基斯坦发生的9起美国无人机袭击。该组织声称有证据显示，三十多位平民在其中4起袭击中遇难。联合国的一份报告估计，过去十年，无人机袭击在巴基斯坦造成了400位平民遇难。

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch are calling for more congressional supervision⁷ of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense⁸ Department.

大赦国际和人权观察都呼吁美国国会对中情局和国防部加强监督。

The first American drone attack in Pakistan took place in 2004. Many observers believe there was a secret agreement in which Pakistan privately⁹ approved of drone strikes but publicly condemned¹¹ them.

美国首次无人机袭击巴基斯坦发生在2004年。许多观察家认为，巴基斯坦私下批准却又公开谴责无人机袭击，是因为存在一项秘密协议。

Pakistani officials say they are strongly opposed to the attacks. They condemn¹⁰ them as a violation of their country's sovereignty – the right to be free from interference by another country. They also say the attacks are fueling militancy¹² in Pakistan.

巴基斯坦官员表示，他们强烈反对无人机袭击，并谴责无人机袭击侵犯了他们国家的主权--即不受他国干涉的权力。他们还表示，这些袭击加剧了巴基斯坦的交战状态。

North Waziristan has long been considered a center for al-Qaida militants¹³ and the Haqqani network. That group has been blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan. The United States has long pressured the Pakistani military to move against extremists in North Waziristan. However, some officials believe that state control has almost disappeared in the territory.

北瓦济里斯坦长期被认为是基地组织武装分子和哈卡尼网络的大本营。该组织一直被认为是阿富汗发生的一些致命袭击的元凶。美国长期以来一直对巴基斯坦军方施压，要求他们采取行动对付北瓦济里斯坦的极端主义分子。然而，一些官员认为，该地区的国家控制力已经几近消亡。

On Wednesday, President Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met at the White House. They discussed cooperation in fighting terrorism and concerns about what the president called "senseless violence and extremism" in Pakistan. Afterward¹⁴ they spoke¹⁵ to reporters. Prime Minister Sharif said the two countries will continue to increase cooperation against terrorists. But he also called for no more drone attacks.

周三，奥巴马总统在白宫会见了巴基斯坦总理纳瓦兹·谢里夫（Nawaz Sharif）。他们讨论了合作打击恐怖主义以及奥巴马所说的“无谓暴力和极端主义”的问题。随后他们和记者进行了交流。谢里夫总理表示，两国将继续深入合作打击恐怖分子。但他还呼吁不要再进行无人机袭击。

"Pakistan and the United States have a strong, ongoing¹⁶ counterterrorism cooperation. We have agreed to further strengthen this cooperation. I also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasizing the need for an end to such strikes."

他说，“巴基斯坦和美国在反恐合作上深入持久。我们一致同意继续深化合作。在会议上，我也谈到了无人机袭击问题，并强调有必要终止无人机袭击。”

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

13 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

14 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。