2007年VOA标准英语-UN Preparations Underway to Deploy Peacekeeping

By Suzanne Presto¹
New York
07 August 2007

Last week, the United Nations Security Council approved plans to send an expanded peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region. From VOA's New York bureau, Suzanne Presto reports that officials say preparations are already underway to deploy² U.N. peacekeepers to create a joint³ United Nations-African Union force.

U.N. officials say the plan is to immediately set up command and control elements to convert the current African Union peacekeeping force into an hybrid⁴ mission by December 31st.

Jane Holl Lute⁵, the U.N.'s assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping, says the U.N. plans to establish mission headquarters in El Fasher in October. By that time, she adds, the U.N. must also set up administrative⁶ elements to transfer authority from the A.U. to the hybrid U.N.-A.U. mission. "So the clock is ticking, and there are expectations. So this will translate into people on the ground, capabilities⁷ on the ground, resources on the ground of sufficient number to meet credibly⁸ the benchmarks that have been established by the Council," she said.

Lute says more than 30,000 people will be in Sudan as part of this peacekeeping mission. This includes more than 19,000 military personnel, about 6,400 police officers, and between 4,000 and 5,000 civilian⁹ employees.

But the UN official says the mission needs more equipment to get troops and supplies in place. "We still are missing some pledges for key enabling capabilities in the area of movement, for example, and in the area of aviation, but we are very pleased with the number of, for example, infantry¹⁰ battalions¹¹ that have been pledged. We are hitting the target of a predominantly African force and we're very pleased about that," he said.

 

Lute said she has been speaking to the A.U. force commander to gain a broader understanding of the needs of the operation. She says the lack of water in the dry, remote region will pose a major challenge for the joint force. "But, again, we think that we can both anticipate the degree of problems and adjust providing that we have the continuing support of the governments of Sudan and the support of the troop and police contributing countries and other member states to facilitate the deployment¹² of this mission," he said.

Lute noted¹³ that this mission is unprecedented¹⁴, and the funding for the hybrid force will come through the U.N. Lute says the budget is still being hammered out, but she estimates the mission will cost more than two billion dollars each year.

She stresses the peacekeeping mission's success is tied to the Sudanese government's cooperation. "Obviously this mission will depend on the continued support and agreement of the government of Sudan that that force can go into place. We have every expectation that that support will be forthcoming," he said.

The joint United Nations-African Union force will try to end four years of fighting between rebel groups and the government-backed janjaweed militia¹⁵ in the Darfur region of western Sudan. The conflict has left more than 200,000 people dead and another two million displaced.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

5 lute   

n.琵琶，鲁特琴

参考例句：

• He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
• He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。

6 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。

7 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

9 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。

10 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

11 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 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。

14 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

15 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。