VOA标准英语10月-Uganda Ready to Join UN Security Council

Uganda is set to be given a seat on the U.N. Security Council on Friday, when the General Assembly votes on picking five new non-permanent members for the body. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, Uganda may use its position to elevate the profile of security issues in Central Africa.

Uganda is set to fill the seat currently held by South Africa. The appointment, which begins on January 1, would last for two years.

As the only candidate for the seat, which is reserved for an African country, Uganda is virtually assured of the position.

Ugandan diplomatic officials have suggested the country will use its position on the council to put increased pressure on the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group. The government and the rebels have been in peace talks for the past two years.

Negotiators reached an agreement earlier this year, but rebel leader Joseph Kony has failed to sign the agreement, and the Ugandan government has expressed growing frustration¹ with the process.

In recent years, the rebel group has been most active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southern Sudan, and Uganda has been in discussions with the governments of those countries about the possibility of launching a military operation against the rebels.

At the Security Council, Uganda may push to expand the mandates³ of MONUC, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Congo, and of UNMIS, the mission in southern Sudan, to allow them to go after the Lord's Resistance Army.

Researcher Xavier Ejoyi, of the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, says the continued rebel activity and the recent resurgence⁴ of fighting in eastern Congo, near the border with Uganda, mean Uganda will likely push to give the region a higher profile at the Security Council.

"Any situation that poses a threat to the security of that region, because the countries there are so interlinked, will definitely be a security threat to Uganda," he said. "If that threat continues, I think it may be possible that it could bring up an issue on the MONUC's role in the DRC, as to whether it should broaden its mandate² to cover other aspects, ie the LRA or many other issues."
　

Joseph Kony (2006 file photo)

Kony and his top deputies are also wanted by the International Criminal Court, and the indictments⁵ have been cited as a major reason that Kony has refused to approve a peace deal.

Ejoyi says Uganda may push for the U.N. security council to drop the arrest warrants, if it allowed for a peace agreement.

"Uganda seems to be willing to withdraw the charges against the LRA if it is within its power to do so after the LRA leadership signs the peace agreement," said Ejoyi. "Now we will see whether that is an issue that will be pursued further within the its term of tenure⁶ within the U.N. Security Council. Whether it will convince other members of the U.N. Security Council to drop charges is what remains⁷ to be seen."

Ejoyi says Uganda may also attempt to push for an expanded role for the United Nations in Somalia, where Uganda currently supplies the bulk of the roughly 3,000-troop African Union peacekeeping force. Fewer than half of the 8,000 troops approved for the force have been deployed⁸, and the mission has had little success in stemming the conflict. The African Union has asked the United Nations to take over responsibility for peacekeeping in Somalia, but it has shown little interest in doing so.

The U.N. General Assembly is set to vote on five new members for the Security Council on Friday. Most controversially, Iran is competing with Japan for a seat reserved for Asia. Mexico, Turkey, and either Iceland or Austria, are also expected to be chosen for two-year terms.

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

4 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

5 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

6 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 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。