2006年VOA标准英语-Sudan, UN Clash Over Conditions in Darfur

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
31 October 2006

The Sudanese Minister of Culture says the humanitarian¹ situation in conflict-ridden Darfur is not as serious as it is usually painted in the media or by the United Nations. But U.N. aid agencies say they are not backing off from their grim assessment² of conditions for civilians³ in Darfur.

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Mohamed Yousif Abed Allah  
  
Sudan Culture MInister Mohamed Yousif Abed Allah acknowledges conditions in Darfur are not great. But, he says the situation is far better than before.

For example, he notes infant and crude mortality rates are below the emergency level as set by the World Health Organization.

"This is a great success," he said. "The malnutrition⁴ rates also remain below the normal. In certain places, the malnutrition rates are higher in some parts of the Sudan, than in Darfur. Also, the area of providing clean water to the affected⁵ population in the camps was up 70 [percent] in certain areas and up to 65 percent in certain areas, which is the normal level of the capital of Sudan, of Khartoum."

The Sudanese minister says the situation is calm and peaceful in most of Darfur's 23 provinces and people there are leading normal lives. He says northern Darfur is the worst affected area.

Allah repeats his government's position that a U.N. peacekeeping force is both unnecessary and unacceptable. He says the African Union force is doing a good job in protecting security and should remain.

"We feel that African Union is doing fine and will continue to do well. The only problem it has is the resources. And we believe that the resources that could be provided for the U.N. peacekeeping forces should be provided for the African Union to carry out its activities," he said.

 
Darfur refugees (File photo) 
  
The World Food Program and U.N. Children's Fund have been providing humanitarian assistance to more than two million displaced people since the start of the Darfur conflict in 2003. They agree that aid agencies have managed to improve the nutritional⁶ situation of many of these people during the past two years.

But, WFP spokesman Simon Pluess, says it is extremely difficult for humanitarian agencies to work in Darfur.

He says some places are totally inaccessible⁷.

"There were people who actually could not be served with food for about three months. So, you can imagine what this has as an impact on the nutritional situation of these people. So, the situation is far from being great," he said.

U.N. Human Rights spokesman, Jose Diaz, says reports by his office show the situation in Darfur is pretty awful and getting worse.

He said, "The situation where you have more than two million people displaced, where you have ongoing⁸ attacks against civilians, where you have women being raped⁹ and sexually assaulted regularly, where there is almost a generalized climate of impunity¹⁰ in relation to these human-rights violations¹¹, I think that speaks of a pretty dire¹² situation."

Diaz says the African Union forces are doing a good job within their limited means, but he says a larger U.N. peacekeeping force should be sent to Darfur.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 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。

4 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

7 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

8 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。

9 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

10 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。