2006年VOA标准英语-UN Rights Council Urged to Take Action on Darfu

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
18 September 2006

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to focus as much attention on the tragic¹ situation in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur as it has on the crises in the Middle East. A statement from the secretary general read at the opening of the council's second regular session warned that the situation in Darfur threatens to get worse in the future. 

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Commissioner2 for Human Rights Louise Arbour delivers a speech during opening of second session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, September 18, 2006 " src="/upimg/allimg/070419/1350220.jpg" width="166" border="0" /> UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour delivers a speech during opening of second session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, September 18, 2006

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, followed her reading of the secretary-general's statement with a sharp rebuke³ of her own. She called attention to the deteriorating⁴ situation in Darfur and condemned⁵ the Sudanese government and rebels for failing to protect civilians⁷, particularly women.

Despite last May's peace agreement, Arbour said violations⁸ of human rights were perpetrated on a large scale by government forces and their associated militia⁹, as well as by rebel groups.

"Combatants routinely make a mockery of the principles of international humanitarian¹⁰ law. Not only are armed groups failing to discriminate¹¹ between civilians and combatants, they specifically target civilians who are from tribes and groups perceived as hostile," she said.  "Despite repeated assurances by the government of Sudan, the level of sexual violence in Darfur continues to rise. No progress is made in holding anyone accountable for these and other crimes."

The war in Darfur erupted in early 2003 between government supported Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed and black African rebel groups. The United Nations estimates at least 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been made homeless by the conflict.

The Sudanese government refuses to allow U.N. peacekeepers to take over from the struggling African Union force currently in Darfur to protect the civilian⁶ population. Secretary-General Annan has put the government of Sudan on notice that it cannot escape accountability for atrocities¹² perpetrated against the people of Darfur.

Arbour agreed that it is the government's primary responsibility to protect these people.

"The government refuses the international assistance that the Security Council deems essential for the effective protection of the population in Darfur," continued Arbour. "In the face of a near collapse¹³ of the prevention and protection initiatives put forward by the international community, we must stress, in the last instance, the need for unflinching accountability."

The high commissioner criticized, what she called, the continued and clear failure or willingness of the Sudanese government to bring those guilty of crimes to justice. In light of this failure, she warned the International Criminal Court would hold those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law to account.

Arbour urged U.N. member states to give their unequivocal support to the work of the court. She said the Sudanese government's cooperation with the court is not optional, it is an obligation. Sudan denies that it it responsible for the violence.

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

4 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

5 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。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 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。

8 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。

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 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。

11 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。