2007年VOA标准英语-Darfur Conference Ends In Paris

By Anita Elash
Paris
25 June 2007

A conference in Paris aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in Darfur has ended with an agreement to coordinate¹ future measures in the troubled region. But as Anita Elash reports for VOA from Paris, most of the key players did not attend the gathering².

The key participants to the one-day conference on Darfur, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, 25 June 2007

French President Nicolas Sarkozy started the day with a dramatic call to arms, telling delegations³ from more than 15 countries that "silence kills" and that the international community must say "enough is enough."

But the meeting ended an hour earlier than planned, and the delegates had little to announce.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the delegations had reaffirmed their support for current initiatives, including a planned joint⁴ African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force, and efforts to strike a political agreement between Khartoum and rebel groups.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the meeting had allowed countries to take stock and to plan solutions. She said the United States would continue to press for sanctions against Sudan.

"We can no longer afford a situation in Darfur in which agreements are made and then not kept," said Rice. "And so the U.S. will continue to argue that there must be consequences for Sudan if it does not live up to the obligations that it has undertaken."

There was some extra money for humanitarian⁵ aid. France pledged an additional $13 million and the European Union pledged $36 million.

The players most closely involved in the Darfur conflict were not at the conference. Sudan was not invited and members of the African Union refused to attend.

1 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

2 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。

3 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

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 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。