2006年VOA标准英语-UN Reform Effort Welcomed By Some, Opposed

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
24 March 2006
 
watch UN Reform

The reforms recently unveiled by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to overhaul¹ the world body's operations have met resistance, both from staff and from some developing countries.  The shakeup responds to long-standing pressure for major organizational reform which many experts say is needed to make the United Nations more effective.

The charter creating the United Nations was signed in 1945, as World War II was drawing to a close, by representatives of 50 countries.  Since then, the United Nations has grown to 191 members who meet to discuss how the world body can accomplish its main goals, including maintaining international peace and security.  

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Kofi Annan (file photo)   
  

To make the UN more efficient, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has unveiled a major overhaul of its operations.

"If I may put it bluntly, in one sentence, that in many respects our present regulations and rules do not respond to our current needs and indeed they make it very hard for the organization to conduct its work efficiently² or effectively," he said.

The proposed changes would set up a mobile corps³ of 2,500 peacekeeping professionals, streamline⁴ the UN's procedures, including the budget process, and make multi-million dollar investments in training and technology.

The United Nations has traditionally been involved in peacekeeping, but this role has grown substantially since the Cold War ended.  Much of the UN's budget is now devoted⁵ to peacekeeping missions in countries like Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Linda Jamison  
  
Because of this, Linda Jamison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the UN needs a rapid deployment⁶ force. "The UN really does have to have a rapid reaction capability⁷, which means communication, boots on the ground but it also should be observers, military experts," she said, " all kinds of people at different levels to report back to the Security Council about what is really taking place in a conflict region, immediately."

With peacekeeping and humanitarian⁸ missions its main focus, much of the U.N.'s work is now done in the field, away from offices in New York, Geneva, or other cities.  Mr. Annan's reforms are aimed at improving field staff while making personnel cuts at home offices, and out-sourcing some administrative⁹ tasks.

These proposals are already meeting resistance from staffers, and from some developing countries led by South Africa.  These member states feel the reforms are being forced on the U.N. by the United States in an effort to concentrate more power in the Secretariat and dilute¹⁰ the influence of developing nations.

Such resistance is misguided, according to Columbia University's Edward Luck.

 
Edward Luck
  
"To want the U.N. to be better managed, to have its operations function more smoothly¹¹, to have better coordination¹² and coherence¹³ in the system, these are not favors to the United States, these are favors to the U.N. and to all the member states to have it operate more effectively," he noted¹⁴.

For his part, the U.S. envoy¹⁵ to the U.N., John Bolton, has welcomed the proposals and called for their approval. 

John Bolton (file photo)   
  
"What the chances are for a truly successful reform, I don't know.  But it is a test for the United Nations, it is a test for the seriousness of the commitment of member governments to wanting to have a truly effective United Nations system and that is what we're pressing for and that is what we hope we will succeed in achieving," he said.

The proposed reforms come in the wake of last year's investigation¹⁶ of the UN's Oil-for-Food program for Iraq, which concluded that shoddy UN oversight¹⁷ was partly to blame for widespread corruption¹⁸. 

While not mentioning the investigation, Mr. Annan did stress the need for radical¹⁹ change. "What is needed and what we now have, a precious opportunity to undertake, is a radical overhaul of the entire secretariat, its rules, its structures, its systems, to bring it more in line with today's realities and enable it to perform the new kinds of operations that member states now expect of it," he said.

Mr. Annan's proposed reforms come as he prepares to step down later this year, a factor some say may slow down the momentum²⁰ for needed change.

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

5 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 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。

9 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

10 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

13 coherence   

n.紧凑；连贯；一致性

参考例句：

• There was no coherence between the first and the second half of the film.这部电影的前半部和后半部没有连贯性。
• Environmental education is intended to give these topics more coherence.环境教育的目的是使这些课题更加息息相关。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

18 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

19 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

20 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。