2006年VOA标准英语-Women Speak Out As Delegates Battle Over W

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
02 June 2006

A U.N. meeting on AIDS concludes Friday with adoption¹ of a declaration setting out a blueprint² for global action to battle the pandemic. U.S. First Lady Laura Bush will address the conference.

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Mrs. Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open Friday's final session of the three-day high-level meeting on AIDS. More than a dozen heads of state and 100 ministers are in New York for the gathering³.

 

Delegates speak at UN AIDS conference  
  

Thursday, day two of the affair, saw intense negotiations⁴ among government delegations⁵ and more than one-thousand activist⁶ groups on a blueprint for global action on HIV/AIDS. The document, to be adopted as a declaration at the closing session, calls for spending as much as $23 billion on AIDS prevention and treatment programs over the next five years.

U.N. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson is presiding over the negotiating process as it winds down. He says activist groups are pushing for a commitment by governments to do much more for victims of the epidemic⁷. "We heard clearly that people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable groups, must be recognized as partners, and as a central component⁸ of a more urgent and more comprehensive response to the pandemic. They must hold their governments to account for their performance against their time-bound commitments," he said.

Secretary-General Annan met Thursday with several HIV-positive activists⁹ attending the conference. He said they had urged him to insist on a strongly-worded final declaration. "One of them pleaded, please don't kill us with diplomacy¹⁰. Come up with real proposals that will help us on the ground," he said.

Details of the declaration were still being negotiated late Thursday, with several delicate issues still in the balance.

Much of the discussion at the conference has focused on women, at a time when female HIV infections are rising sharply in many parts of the world. U.N. experts say three out of four young people living with HIV in sub-Sarahan Africa are female.

Ludfine Anyango, a young HIV-positive Kenyan woman, told the conference the spread of AIDS in many countries is closely linked to a culture of violence against women. "Where violence thrives, whether it is physical, whether it is psychological, or whether it is sexual, there HIV/AIDS also thrives, because violence against women diminishes your self-esteem, diminishes your self-confidence, and you cannot negotiate for safer sex. You will not be able to disclose your status if you fear being beaten up when you are back at home Therefore, we must address the issue of violence against women. I think that is a fundamental issue," she said.

Another delegate to the conference, former Irish President Mary Robinson expressed impatience¹¹ at the slow pace of progress in achieving equality for education for women. Robinson, now director of the Ethical¹² globalization Initiative, says women must have equal access, not just to education, but to secondary education. "It is education at secondary schools that helps young girls to have the power to say 'no'. To have the capacity to stand up for themselves and assert. Because it's all about who has the power. And we need the voices of women who know what the situation is, know the many barriers and the discrimination," she said.

Activists have sharply criticized U.S. policies on HIV/AIDS during the three-day gathering, and urged the Bush administration to increase spending on programs to combat the pandemic in the developing world.

U.S. officials note that Washington is easily the biggest donor¹³ to the UNAIDS program. Washington has already committed to a five-year, $15 billion plan, the largest international health initiative ever undertaken to battle a single disease

1 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

2 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

11 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

12 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

13 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。