VOA常速英语2007-UN Says Attempts to Undermine Darfur Peace Proce

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
02 October 2007

The U.N. Security Council has condemned¹ an attack on African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region of Sudan, saying any attempt to undermine the peace process is "unacceptable." The attack killed at least 10 soldiers and was the deadliest on the African peacekeepers since they arrived in the region three years ago. From U.N. headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

 The Security Council statement comes at the end of two days of consultations². A meeting late Monday ended with council members unable to agree on language for a formal statement.

Diplomats³ say there was disagreement over naming the suspected perpetrators of the attack on the camp in Haskanita. Many felt factions⁴ from certain rebel groups were responsible, while others wanted a thorough investigation⁵ before pointing fingers.

Ghanaian Ambassador Leslie Christian⁶, the Security Council president for October, read out the statement. "The Security Council was briefed on first October on the recent attack on African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita, South Darfur, Sudan, reportedly committed by a rebel group. The Council condemns⁷ this murderous attack and demands that no effort be spared so that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice," he said.

The statement goes on to say that the council deplores⁸ the fact that the attack comes just weeks before peace talks are to start in Libya, under the auspices⁹ of the United Nations and the African Union. "The council underlines that any attempts to undermine the peace process is unacceptable," he said.

Speaking after the emergency session, Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmood Mohamad welcomed the Council's condemnation¹⁰ and said there is no doubt rebels were involved. "We are happy that the Security Council has now identified the perpetrators of this heinous¹¹ act, and we expect the Security Council will take the necessary measures against those impeding¹² the peace process," he said.

But Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, expressed disappointment, saying the statement was not strong enough. "We wish it were stronger, but we have to live with what was practical and possible. There were some members of the Security Council for whom, unfortunately, it is difficult for some reason, to point fingers at rebel groups. There was an effort to avoid any kind of reference to rebel groups, which have reportedly been the source of this murderous attack," he said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, which the Sudanese government blames on factions of the two main rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Tuesday's Security Council statement did not name any group, and left the door open to the outcome of further investigation, saying only that rebels "reportedly" committed the attack.

1 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。

2 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

5 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。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

9 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

10 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

11 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

12 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓