VOA标准英语2008年-Concern Arises Over Implications of New ICC Ind

As the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor¹ prepares to issue new arrest warrants in an investigation² into the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, there is growing speculation³ that Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir will himself be targeted. But as Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, many observers fear the consequences that such a move might have on the security situation on the ground, as well as for peace efforts to end the conflict.
　
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (file photo)

The International Criminal Court, or ICC, issued a statement Thursday, that Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo would on Monday present new evidence on crimes committed in Darfur and announce new indictments⁵ of one or more individuals. Nobody has yet been named, but many expect President Omar al-Bashir himself will be the target.

Some activists⁶ say such a move would be welcome, increasing pressure on Sudan's president to change his government's policies in Darfur.

But many observers of the conflict are concerned about the ramifications⁷ of such a move. Issaka Souare, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, says an indictment⁴ of President al-Bashir or other top officials could make peace efforts more difficult.

"One cannot overestimate⁸ the implications of such a move on the situation in Darfur," said Souare. "It will one, make it difficult for mediators to engage the Sudanese authorities who are already reluctant to cooperate on certain issues with the mediators. You will then have given the authorities in Sudan another excuse for not engaging with the mediator⁹ and the international community. You do not sign up to a peace agreement just to find yourself incarcerated¹⁰."

Peace efforts over the past two years have achieved little, complicated by a growing number rebel factions¹¹ among other problems, and show little indication of getting back on track any time soon.

But perhaps of more concern, is the effect that new indictments could have on the ground in Darfur.

"It might also lead to some sort of reprisals¹² against peacekeepers on the ground or an exacerbation¹³ of the armed conflict situation. So one cannot doubt the possible implications should it turn out to be the case, on the ground in Darfur," said Souare.
　
Nigerian peacekeepers with the UN-AU mission to Darfur (UNAMID) prepare for a patrol at the Kalma refugee camp in Darfur Sudan, 31 Jan 2008

Earlier this week, seven peacekeepers from the joint¹⁴ U.N.-African Union force were killed in an ambush¹⁵. The identity of the attackers is not yet known, but some observers fear that the gunmen may have belonged to the government-backed Janjaweed militia¹⁶, since the government is worried that peacekeepers could be used to carry out ICC warrants.

The peacekeeping force has been able to deploy¹⁷ fewer than 10,000 of its projected 26,000 personnel. U.N. officials and humanitarian¹⁸ workers have expressed concern about the security of their operations if top officials are indicted¹⁹.

So far, two Sudanese citizens are wanted by the ICC. Ali Kushayb is a leader of the Janjaweed, and Ahmad Haroun is Sudan's minister for humanitarian affairs. Sudan has refused to cooperate with the ICC, and government spokesman Rabie Atti says that policy will continue.

"There is a concrete decision," he said. "No Sudanese citizen or a minister or a president will be handed to the ICC. And this is final. Whether this is al-Bashir, or the minister of humanitarian issues, or minister of interior, or just a simple man going in the street. This has already been decided²⁰."

The conflict in Darfur has killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people since 2003, and displaced over two million, according to U.N. estimates

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

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 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

11 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

12 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 exacerbation   

n.恶化，激怒，增剧；转剧

参考例句：

• Bleeding may be herralded by several day of exacerbation of pain. 数天的疼痛加剧可能为出血的先兆。 来自辞典例句
• For several days, he has had an exacerbation of ulcer symptoms. 近日他溃疡病症状加剧。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。