美国和以色列退出联合国种族大会

US, Israel Withdraw from Racism¹ Conference

Challiss McDonough

Durban, South Africa

4 Sep 2001 02:14 UTC

 

The United States and Israel have walked out of the World Conference Against Racism in protest over anti-Israeli 1)rhetoric in the conference declaration. The European Union and South Africa launched a major effort to draft an entirely² new text they hope will present an acceptable 2)compromise.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says he decided³ "with regret" to withdraw his 3)delegation⁴ from the conference. But, in a statement issued in Washington, Mr. Powell says you do not combat racism through conferences that "produce declarations containing 4)hateful language."

In response to the U.S. withdrawal⁵, the European Union backed a South African proposal to scrap⁶ the existing language on the Middle East and start from scratch. Delegates began meeting late Monday to draft new wording for the text.

A member of the U.S. delegation says the decision to walk out came after the rejection⁷ of a Norwegian proposal on 5)wording for the conference declaration. Congressman⁸ Tom Lantos says Arab nations were unwilling⁹ to compromise, and the document still 6)singles out Israel for criticism. "Those who have made it their goal to hijack¹⁰ the conference for their 7)propaganda purposes appear have shown in the course of the day a degree of rigidity¹¹ and 8)unwillingness¹² to compromise in any reasonable sense," says Mr. Lantos.

Mr. Lantos also says the outcome has 9)vindicated the decision to keep Mr. Powell at home and send a lower-level delegation to Durban.

In Israel, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the conference has become "a farce¹³." The legal advisor¹⁴ to the Israeli delegation in Durban, Alan Baker¹⁵, told reporters the aims of the conference have been perverted¹⁶, and the fight against racism has been gravely undermined. "We merely wish to add that no rational arguments have carried any weight with the Arab countries and the Palestinians, who have been determined¹⁷ to attack us from the very beginning," Mr. Baker says. "Not only have we been 10)unjustly singled out, but totally false 11)accusations and lies unrelated to the purpose of the conference have been flung at us. We have been forced to the conclusion that there is no point or purpose to our being here."

In the past, Canada and the European Union have also objected to the anti-Israeli language 12)contained in the conference declaration. But both announced they will stay at the conference.

The United Nations has expressed its disappointment at the withdrawal of the United States and Israel. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all remaining countries to "stay the course." He said the conference cannot afford other 13)defections.

The racism conference spokeswoman Susan Markham read a statement on behalf of U.N. Human Rights Commissioner¹⁸ Mary Robinson. "I truly regret the decision of the United States to leave the conference," she said. "Nevertheless, I believe that the journey we began must continue until the end of the conference with a view to achieving a successful outcome. We must persist in our endeavors. The victims of racism, racial discrimination, 14)xenophobia and related intolerance demand this of us."

The U.S. and Israeli withdrawal was immediately welcomed by several 15)prominent Jewish groups, which said they too will walk out of the conference. But the host country, South Africa, said it regretted the decision. South African spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa called it an error of judgement.

The 16)advocacy group Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying the United States is 17)squandering a unique opportunity to stand against intolerance and take pride in its own successes.

There has been swift and negative reaction from some Americans in Durban. U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson strongly condemned¹⁹ the decision to pull out of the conference. He said the United States has missed an opportunity, and is using the Middle East issue to 18)avoid having to talk about other sensitive matters, including reparations for slavery.

 

 

(1)      rhetoric[5retErIk]adj.花言巧语的

(2)      compromise[5kRmprEmaIz]n.妥协, 折衷v.妥协, 折衷

(3)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(4)      hateful[5heItfJl]adj.可恨的, 讨厌的, 可恶的

(5)      wording[5w:dIN]n.措词

(6)      single out挑选

(7)      propaganda[prRpE5^AndE]n.宣传

(8)      unwillingness n.不愿意, 不情愿

(9)      vindicate[5vIndIkeIt]vt.维护, 辩护, 表白

(10)      unjustly adv.不义地,不法地

(11)      accusation[Akju:zeIF(E)n]n.谴责, [律]指控

(12)      contained[kEn`teInd]v.包含

(13)      defection[dI5fekF(E)n]n.缺点, 背信, 背叛, 变节

(14)      xenophobia[zenE5fEJbIE]n.仇外, 惧外者

(15)      prominent[5prRmInEnt]adj.卓越的, 显著的, 突出的

(16)      advocacy[5AdvEkEsI]n.拥护, 鼓吹, 辩护, 辩护术

(17)      squander[5skwRndE(r)]v.浪费

(18)      avoid[E5vCId]vt.避免, 消除

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

11 rigidity   

adj.钢性，坚硬

参考例句：

• The rigidity of the metal caused it to crack.这金属因刚度强而产生裂纹。
• He deplored the rigidity of her views.他痛感她的观点僵化。

12 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

13 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

16 perverted   

adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
• sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为

17 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

18 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。

19 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。