VOA标准英语2008年-Libya Takes UN Security Council Helm

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
03 January 2008

Five countries have joined the U.N. Security Council as non-permanent members for two-year terms. Among them is Libya, which has also assumed the Security Council's rotating presidency¹ for the month of January.  From U.N. Headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Libya moved deeper into the fold of the international community Thursday, taking up the helm of the very same body that had previously² sanctioned it as a state-sponsor of terrorism.

Libya's ambassador to the U.N., Giadalla Ettalhi, told reporters Thursday that this reversal has great significance for his country.

"For us, you know, for a country that was for a decade under the sanctions of the Security Council, it is very important and very significant, I think, that to be back in the Security Council," he said.  "It means that we are back to normal, at least from the perspective of the others. We have considered ourselves always in the right way, but this is very, very important for us."

Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia and Vietnam joined Libya as new members. Unlike the five permanent members of the Security Council, non-permanent members do not have veto power.

Several high priority issues will be on the Council's agenda in January, including the deployment³ of a joint⁴ U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region and the continuing issue of Kosovo's future status.

Libya was elected to the Security Council in October, after the U.S. vetoed two previous bids. The United States did not block Libya's most recent effort.

Relations between the two nations have warmed since 2003, when Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner⁵ over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people. Earlier, Tripoli had turned over two suspects for trial in the case.

Relations further improved between the U.S. and Libya after Tripoli renounced⁶ weapons of mass destruction in late 2003.

The two countries resumed full diplomatic relations in 2006 after more than a two-decade break, and Libya's foreign minister was in Washington Thursday, meeting with U.S. officials.

Ambassador Ettalhi says his government is pleased relations have normalized.

"We have good relations with the United States," he added.  "At least they are back to normal and, I think, moving in the right direction. Perhaps, not at the desirable speed, but they are really going in the right direction. We are happy about that and I think that they are happy about that."

The rotating presidency of the Security Council is designated in alphabetical order, and Libya enters the body as president for the month of January, taking over from Italy

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 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。

4 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。

5 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

6 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》