2006年VOA标准英语-United States Admits Mistakes In War On Te

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
08 May 2006
 
At a U.N. hearing Monday, the U.S. government admitted it made mistakes in the treatment of prisoners in the war against terror, but said it has taken measures to prevent abuse. A team of 25 senior officials defended Washington's treatment of detainees before the U.N. Committee Against Torture in Geneva.

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In this second appearance before the U.N. Committee Against Torture, the senior officials answered a number of questions about Washington's alleged¹ use of torture, about U.S. detainee operations in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq and about the treatment of terror suspects. 

 

 
John Bellinger in front of the U.N. Committee Against Torture
  

The head of the U.S. delegation² and legal adviser³ of the Department of State, John Bellinger, told the panel's 10 independent experts that all U.S. officials and government agencies are prohibited from engaging in torture at all times and in all places. He said this is the case even in situations where the law of armed conflict applies.

In an effort to silence critics of U.S. interrogation methods, Bellinger said the United States believes everyone is entitled to humane⁴ treatment. He said freedom from torture is an inalienable right.

"Most of the regrettable incidents or allegations of mistreatment of detained enemy combatants occurred several years ago," said John Bellinger. "I say this not to minimize their significance in any way, but to emphasize that without question our record has improved. We now have more rigorous laws, more rigorous procedures, more rigorous training and more rigorous monitoring mechanisms⁵."

The U.N. Convention Against Torture, which was adopted in 1984, has been ratified⁶ by 141 states. Each of these States has to submit a periodic report to the U.N. Committee, which examines the country's compliance⁷ with the convention.

This marks the first time the United States has been called on to account for its record on terror since the fight against terrorism began in 2001.

The experts asked the U.S. delegation to explain its alleged use of "water boarding," a form of mock drowning, on detainees. They asked about the abuses that occurred in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense⁸ Charles Stimson responded that "water boarding" is specifically prohibited in the revised version of the Army field manual. He said the U.S. government is carefully monitoring its detention⁹ operations to prevent any recurrence¹⁰ of the Abu Ghraib abuses.

"The Department of Defense takes seriously its obligations to conduct safe, secure and humane detention operations," said Charles Stimson. "We were shocked, as were you, about the events at Abu Ghraib. It should not have happened. Any wrongdoers need to be punished, procedures evaluated and problems corrected. We feel terrible about what happened to these Iraqi detainees."

Human rights groups attending the hearing said they were disappointed by many of the responses. They indicated they still had serious concerns about the practice of rendition, whereby the United States sends terror suspects to third countries, some of which have been known to practice torture. They said they would like more answers about reported secret places of detention.

The Committee will issue its report and recommendations May 19.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

5 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

7 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

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 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。