2007年VOA标准英语-US Presses Chad to Accept UN Peacekeeping Force

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
20 March 2007

A U.S. State Department official says the United States is pressing Chad to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force to help secure regional stability. The official told Congress the violence in the neighboring Darfur region of Sudan has spread over the border into Chad. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

 
In testimony¹ before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State For African Affairs James Swan underscored the importance of having a U.N. peacekeeping force in Chad and the Central African Republic, where ethnic² violence has spilled over the borders from Sudan's Darfur region.

"Our primary focus at this point is in supporting a robust³ U.N. peacekeeping operation for Chad and Central African Republic that would focus both on protecting civilians⁵ and also deterring⁶ cross-border attack," said Swan.

"We believe the presence of such a mission, and particularly the execution of its civilian⁴ protection and monitoring mission, would lead to a reduction in violence," he added.

The government in the Central African Republic is willing to accept such a mission, but as Swan noted⁷, Chad is resisting the idea.

"We were disappointed by the Chadian government's recent indications of concern over the military component⁸ of the proposed mission, and, specifically, the deployment⁹ of an advanced mission," he said. "We are continuing to engage President [Idriss] Deby to convince him to accept a military force as part of this package."

Swan said, if the international community finds it difficult to contribute large numbers of troops to such a mission, the United States would support a smaller force, backed by heavy equipment.

"We recognize that, with already 100,000 international peacekeeping troops currently deployed¹⁰ worldwide, that force generation for the Chad-CAR mission is going to be a challenge," said Swan.

"Therefore, if it becomes necessary, we are willing to consider alternative options, including those that might involve a slight decrease in the number of troops, in exchange for greater logistical support and equipment, including helicopters that would keep the force agile¹¹ and still muscular," he continued.

Swan will visit Chad and the Central African Republic next week.

Violence from Darfur began spreading into eastern Chad in late 2005. Armed militias¹² have attacked many villages in the region, robbing people and burning down homes.

 
A displaced Sudanese woman carries her sons in the Otach Displaced Persons camp in the city of Nyala in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, 22 Feb 2007
The United Nations says the violence has displaced thousands of Chadians, about 20,000 of whom have sought refuge in West Darfur.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Swan says poor governance is a major cause of Chadian instability. He says U.S. policy toward Chad emphasizes democratic reform, respect for human rights and transparent¹³ governance.

Swan also said the violence in Chad has forced relief organizations to reduce their presence in the country.

The president of Refugees International, Ken¹⁴ Bacon, told the Senate panel that the international community must do more to help those displaced by the violence in Chad.

"Although the United Nations is working to improve humanitarian¹⁵ services for refugees in Darfur, aid for the internally displaced populations in eastern Chad has been completely inadequate," said Ken Bacon.

International Crisis Group Senior Adviser¹⁶ John Prendergast called for the United States to take a more active role in seeking a political solution to the region's conflicts.

"The level of U.S. engagement has to be expanded, I think, exponentially, coordinated¹⁷ much more multilaterally to achieve any headway in ending the violence," said John Prendergast.

"The United States should establish a conflict resolution cell in the region that focuses not only on this conflict cluster, but also on another one - the damaging one that involves the Congo and northern Uganda and southern Sudan," he added.

The chairman of the Senate panel, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, has introduced a resolution calling for a comprehensive strategy to bring peace and stability to the region.

The measure would have the United States develop, fund and implement¹⁸ a plan to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian operations, contain and reduce violence and contribute conditions for sustainable peace in eastern Chad, Central African Republic, and Darfur, Sudan.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 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。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

12 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

13 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

14 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

15 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。

16 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

17 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

18 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。