280 联合国种族大会将讨论奴隶交易赔款

 

Reparations for Slavery To Be Discussed at Racism¹ Conference

Joe de Capua

Washington

1 Aug 2001 17:44 UTC

 

South Africa is preparing to host the World Conference Against 1)Racism beginning August 31 in Durban. A top organizer of the event says the conference will deal with issues stemming from the slave trade and 2)colonialism, as well as new forms of racism in Europe and elsewhere.

Organizers say that since the 3)adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, there have been important advances in the fight against racism, 4)discrimination, and 5)xenophobia.

But they say that even though technology is bringing people of the world closer together, 6)intolerance continues to 7)ravage many societies. They cite the 1994 Rwandan 8)genocide as one example, 9)ethnic cleansing² in the Balkans as another.

Leading South Africa's efforts to host the conference is Abdul Minty, 10)deputy director general in the the country's foreign affairs department. "We have issues that are before the conference, which are very emotional," Mr. Minty says. "It deals with historical relationships arising out of the slave trade, out of colonialism, and racism. And also, we are now seeing new forms of racism being 11)manifested in many countries, Europe for example, where we thought that this was over."

Two issues, in particular, have 12)stirred 13)controversy as the conference approaches: reparations for slavery and the comparison of Zionism - the worldwide movement leading to the establishment of the nation of Israel - to racism. "I think personally the question of Zionism, as it has been raised, has been 14)exaggerated somewhat, because I don't believe that it will be such a big problem in terms of the conference," Mr. Minty says. "The reparations issue is complicated because obviously when the world sees that reparations are being paid in the case of Germany and other countries - Japan is making arrangements in terms of Korea and so on - then it's understandable that countries put this forward as well as an idea to deal with past injustices³ of a similar kind."

Mr. Minty says the conference is not expected to propose a 15)monetary settlement regarding reparations.

But he says he believes nations should look at the history of colonialism and slavery and determine what the consequences are today. One consequence, he says, is the division of much of the world into the categories of rich and poor. The South African official says corrective action can be taken to end poverty, illiteracy⁴, and disease.

The United States has expressed strong opposition⁵ to addressing Zionism and reparations at the Durban meeting.

Mr. Minty says a single conference will not rid the world of racism. But he says it does offer an opportunity to discuss, negotiate, and promote understanding. "And it's not only governments that can make an impact on this," he says. "They can provide the framework - often they need to provide the legal framework and so on. But it is ultimately up to civil society, to non-governmental organizations, religious institutions, to individual citizens, indeed, to make a reality of getting rid of racism because racist⁶ attitudes spring from within individuals."

He says the world cannot have equal human rights if a person's dignity is 16)assaulted simply on the basis of color, religion, or beliefs.

 

 

(1) racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视

(2) colonialism[kE5lEJnIElIz(E)m]n.殖民主义

(3) adoption[E5dRpF(E)n]n.采用, 收养

(4) discrimination[dIskrImI5neIF(E)n]n.辨别,识别力, 辨别力, 歧视

(5) xenophobia[zenE5fEJbIE]n.仇外, 惧外者

(6) intolerance[In`tClErLns]n.(尤指对别人的意见)不能忍耐, 不容异说, 偏狭

(7) ravage[5rAvIdV]n.破坏, 蹂躏, 劫掠后的痕迹 v.毁坏, 掠夺

(8) genocide[5dVenEsaId]n.有计划的灭种和屠杀

(9) ethnic[5eWnIk]adj.人种的, 种族的, 异教徒的

(10) deputy[5depjJtI]n.代理人, 代表

(11) manifest[5mAnIfest]adj.显然的, 明白的vi.出现vt.表明, 证明

(12) stir[st:(r)]n.轰动, 搅动vt.激起, 搅和vi.走动, 传播, 流行

(13) controversy[5kRntrEv:sI]n.论争, 辩论, 论战

(14) exaggerated[I^`zAdVEreItId]adj.夸大的, 言过其实的, 夸张的

(15) monetary[5mQnItErI; (?@) -terI]adj.货币的, 金钱的

(16) assault[E5sC:lt]n.攻击, 袭击v.袭击

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

3 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

4 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。