VOA常速英语2018--联合国试图调停也门战乱（在线收听）

Nearly four years into the Yemen conflict, an attempt at brokering peace with the parties meeting in a castle outside the Swedish capital Stockholm since December 6th. Expectations have been modest for this first round of talks between Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels, but there has been some progress. The parties are reportedly close to agreement on several issues, including the reopening of Sanna Airport, easing fighting and the heavily populated cities of Thais and Hodeida as well as a package of economic measures.

也门战争打了近4年，这时候，各方尝试达成和平协议，并在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩外的一座城堡里会晤，时间是12月6日。各方对也门政府与胡塞叛军的第一轮会谈没报太大希望，但还是颇有些进展的。据报道，双方本来在多个议题上就要达成协议了，比如重开Sanna机场、减少人口密集城市的冲突（如Thais和Hodeida）以及一系列经济举措。

On Tuesday, an agreement was reached to exchange 15,000 prisoners from both sides by January 20th. Assistant UN secretary-general for Human Rights Andrew Gilmore who recently traveled to Yemen says detention conditions there are unspeakable. He welcomed news of the prisoner exchange. But not just in terms of the mitigating the suffering of those people held in terrible conditions of detention, but also as a confidence-building measure that could have a political knock-on effect. Gilmour met mothers who showed him photos of their boys tortured bodies. From what we know of their many reports, we’ve heard there is no party that holds people in captivity that isn’t guilty of some forms of torture. The fighting between the Saudi-backed government of exiled President Abdul Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Iranians supported Houthi rebels has devastated Yemen’s economy, and left more than 12 million people on the brink of famine. The UN has asked donors for four billion dollars next year to help alleviate the suffering.

周二达成了一项协议，旨在交换1.5万名双方俘虏，时限要求是在1月20日之前。联合国秘书长负责人权的助理安德鲁·吉尔摩最近来到了也门。他表示也门的拘禁条件苦不堪言。他对战俘交换的事情大为赞赏。但不只可以缓解被拘禁人的悲惨境况，此举也可以构建信心，会产生政治上的连锁反应。吉尔摩见到了一些母亲，这些母亲给他看了自己儿子因受折磨而遍体鳞伤的照片。根据我们对许多报道的了解，双方都拘禁了犯人，而且都对犯人有过类似的虐待。冲突发生在由沙特支持的也门政府（其总统阿卜杜勒·拉布·曼苏尔·哈迪已被流放）与伊朗支持的胡塞叛军之间。他们的冲突让也门经济遭遇重创，也让1200多万人将要面临饥荒。联合国请捐献国明年捐助40亿美元，以助力减轻人民的苦难。

Humanitarians classify levels of food, insecurity, and the bulk of the country is considered an emergency phase for crisis. But UN humanitarian chief Mark Lacock says there are now 250,000 people at the worst level, phase five. We have never before documented people in phase five in the food crisis in Yemen, and those people are concentrated overwhelmingly in four districts, Ties, Sadder, Hajja and Whodata which are all districts where the conflict is raging quite intensely.

人道主义者将缺粮程度和安全等级进行了划分后认为，也门的大部分地区都处于危机的紧急阶段。但联合国人道救援事务负责人马克·拉科克表示，目前有25万人处于最糟糕的第五阶段。以前，也门就算发生粮食危机，也从未有第五阶段的情况记录在案。而处于第五阶段的人们主要分布在4个地区，即Ties、Sadder、Hajja 和Hodeida。这些地方的冲突都十分激烈。

Only in South Sudan as anyone in Phase Five, said Lacock, twenty-five thousand people there fall into this dire category. So there are ten times as many people now in Yemen in phase five as in any other place in the world, and we’ve never had a phase five problem in Yemen before. The United Nations hopes to end the suffering with a permanent ceasefire. The special envoy plans to convene a second round of intra Yemeni talks early next year in an effort to keep the momentum for peace and alive.

拉科克表示，只有在南苏丹的人处于第五阶段，那里有2.5万人处于悲惨的第五阶段。所以，也门现在处于第五阶段的人数是其他地方的10倍，而也门以前从未有处于第五阶段的人。联合国希望通过永久停火的方式来结束人们的痛苦。特使计划明年年初再举行第二轮也门内部会谈，旨在保持和谈不熄火。