VOA常速英语2007-UN Says It Is Unclear Who Will Take Part in Darf

By Mona Ghuneim
New York
24 October 2007

The United Nations Special Envoy¹ to Darfur says some Sudanese rebels have declined to take part in the upcoming peace talks and it is still uncertain who will participate. The talks with the Sudanese government are scheduled to open in Libya Saturday. From VOA's New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim reports.

Just days before peace negotiations² on Darfur are slated³ to begin, UN envoy Jan Eliasson says it is still unclear exactly how many rebel leaders will participate in the peace talks to be held in Sirte, Libya.

Eliasson says now is the time for all parties - civil service, government officials, tribal⁴ leaders and rebel movements - to come together, but he says some rebel groups have already said they will not attend and others have not confirmed.

"There are uncertainties⁵ both of a political nature, I must admit, but also uncertainties of a logistical nature," said Jan Eliasson.

Speaking from Eritrea via videoconference to New York, Eliasson said that, while he doesn't think the Sudanese government is trying to hamper⁶ UN efforts to bring participants in the talks to Libya, he does believe bureaucracy is getting in the way.

Eliasson says delays in obtaining travel permits and logistics in transporting civil service participants continue to be an issue. He says last minute confirmations⁷ may arise and he hopes some rebel leaders will join the Sirte talks later.

"There is a very grave responsibility resting upon the movements and the government to come to the meeting and facilitate also for civil society to come to the meeting," he said.

Key rebel leaders, including Abdelwahid al-Nur of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Ahmed Abdelshafi of an SLM faction⁸, have indicated they will boycott⁹ the talks, and Khalil Ibrahim of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has asked for a delay.

Eliasson says the peace talks, which are being co-sponsored by the UN and the African Union, will try first to establish a cease-fire in Darfur.

1 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。

2 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。

3 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

6 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

7 confirmations   

证实( confirmation的名词复数 )； 证据； 确认； （基督教中的）坚信礼

参考例句：

• Never use transitory dialogs as error messages or confirmations. 绝不要用临时对话框作为错误信息框或确认信息框。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Dismissing confirmations thus becomes as routine as issuing them. 因此关闭确认对话框和发起确认对话框一样成为例行公事。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

9 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。