2007年VOA标准英语-UN Secretary-General Says Failure in Darfur Not

By Lisa Schlein
Tripoli, Libya
09 September 2007

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, is welcomed by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, 06 Sep 2007

U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says failure to achieve peace in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur in not an option.  In an exclusive interview with VOA in Tripoli, Mr. Ban tells reporter Lisa Schlein that he is optimistic that a political settlement to end the Darfur crisis is achievable. 

U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon calls the situation in Darfur one of the most pressing issues in the world today.  That is why, he says, he has made a political settlement to end the four-year old conflict his number one priority.

The secretary-general has just completed a week long visit to Sudan, Chad and Libya to discuss his peace agenda for Darfur with leaders of all three countries.  He tells VOA the trip to visit this area was a good decision.

"I am optimistic.  But, I would not call it a success.  I would call it credible¹ progress," Mr. ban said. "We must build upon this progress until we are able to claim that it was a great success bringing peace and security to Darfur…. I do not like to discuss nor think of any failure of this.  We are working for the success of this political negotiation².  We must succeed."

Ban says his resolve to end the war in Darfur was strengthened after he visited a camp for internally displaced people.  He says he was shocked and humbled³ by the misery⁴, poverty and desperation he saw.

About 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes since war broke out in 2003 between Sudanese-backed Janjaweed militia⁵ and African rebel groups.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, talks to Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi in Sirte, east of Tripoli

The U.N. chief says one of the achievements of his trip was to get agreement to restart peace negotiations⁶ on October 27 in Libya.  He says the Sudanese government and key rebel groups have said they will come to the African Union/U.N. mediated⁷ talks.

He says there is universal agreement that these renewed negotiations should be regarded as a final settlement of the issue.

"This should not be an open-ended meeting.  At the same time, I have to be cautious in setting any deadline," Mr. ban said. "If you set a deadline, there is a tendency to cross over this deadline by some parties.  But, we must make this a final settlement.  For that, I would urge political flexibility⁸ of all the parties concerned for the future of Sudan.  It is not only for the future of Sudan, for the future of peace and security in the region."

Ban says the war in Darfur has had a spill-over effect, most notably⁹ in Chad and the Central African Republic.  He says Chad is hosting about 240,000 refugees from Darfur and another 40,000 from the C.A.R.

He tells VOA he will dispatch his special envoys¹⁰ to the region to do the groundwork for next month's peace negotiations.  And, he says he will convene¹¹ a high-level meeting at UN headquarters in New York on September 21 to settle on a road map to pave the way toward peace. 

1 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

2 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

3 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

10 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

11 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。