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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Sudan has launched a diplomatic offensive against an attempt to bring Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir before the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of genocide and war crimes stemming from the conflict in Darfur. Tendai Maphosa reports from London.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir scoffed1 at the idea of prosecution2 and one of his senior advisors3 warned that if the International Criminal Court persists, Sudan would not be able to guarantee the safety of U.N. peacekeepers or other foreign nationals in Sudan.
They were reacting to the announcement in The Hague by the criminal court's chief prosecutor4, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, that he is requesting an arrest warrant for the president.
Moreno-Ocampo said even though the president may not have actively5 participated in events in Darfur, he gave the orders to have people killed, raped6 and displaced.
"He basically targeted to attack three groups, the Fur, Masalid and Zaghawa to destroy them, first he attacked them in the villages, they removed from the villages, they went into camps and now they are attacked in the camps so genocide is a crime of intention we don't need him to kill two million people to say now we can sue him, we need to stop him before," he said.
Should the court's pre-trial judges agree, Mr. Bashir would become the first sitting president to have such an arrest warrant issued against him.
The request for a warrant for President Bashir's arrest brings up the issue of immunity7 enjoyed by heads of state and government under international law.
Anthony Dworkin, who runs a non-government organization to raise public awareness8 of the laws of war, explains that heads of government can be prosecuted10.
"There is a long standing11 principle in international law that heads of state enjoy immunity from prosecution, but that immunity is limited to other national courts, to domestic jurisdiction12 in other countries, so a head of state cannot be prosecuted while he is serving in office in another state," he said. "But there is a long-standing tradition in international law that international tribunals do not have to give immunity to head of states."
Dworkin cautioned that even if Mr. Bashir were to be indicted13, apprehending14 him would be almost impossible.
"The government of Sudan should deliver the suspect to the court, but no one expects that to happen as Sudan has not cooperated, so far, with the arrest warrants that have been issued for two other much more junior people," he said.
Dworkin added that countries that are signatories to the International Criminal Court would be obliged to execute the arrest warrant if President Bashir goes on to their territory. As a result, he says, the Sudanese leader might just avoid visiting those countries.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly denied the allegations against it and rejects the court's jurisdiction. In addition, Sudanese embassy spokesman in London Khalid al-Mubarak believes heads of state and government cannot be arrested.
"All heads of government have got immunity; this was actually through an initiative by President Eisenhower a long time ago and his argument was that heads of government travel to solve problems that is why immunity is important for them," he said.
The government has also sought to enlist15 the support of other Muslim and African countries. The African Union has petitioned the U.N. Security Council to defer16 the International Criminal Court's decision to investigate and prosecute9 President Bashir.
Sudan has also warned that ICC charges could dim prospects17 for peace negotiations18 in Darfur.
International law expert Elizabeth Wilmshurst of the London-based research center, Chatham House says that should a warrant be issued there is a way to keep the peace process going.
"The court statute19 itself provides a way out; if a particular court process is detrimental20 to a particular peace process article 16 of the statute says that the Security Council, on behalf of the international community can ask the court to stop proceedings21 for a year," she said.
Human rights activists22 say formal charges against Mr. Bashir would send a strong message to other leaders who abuse the rights of their people that it is not business as usual any more.
Others fear that, once indicted, despots will hold on to power to avoid being brought before the courts, as they remain untouchable as long as they hold office.
Mr. Bashir's case will be followed closely. Calls for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to answer for the violence surrounding his recent re-election campaign have grown louder in recent weeks.
1 scoffed | |
嘲笑,嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2 prosecution | |
n.起诉,告发,检举,执行,经营 | |
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3 advisors | |
n.顾问,劝告者( advisor的名词复数 );(指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授 | |
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4 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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5 actively | |
adv.积极地,勤奋地 | |
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6 raped | |
v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 );强奸 | |
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7 immunity | |
n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权 | |
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8 awareness | |
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智 | |
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9 prosecute | |
vt.告发;进行;vi.告发,起诉,作检察官 | |
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10 prosecuted | |
a.被起诉的 | |
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11 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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12 jurisdiction | |
n.司法权,审判权,管辖权,控制权 | |
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13 indicted | |
控告,起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14 apprehending | |
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的现在分词 ); 理解 | |
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15 enlist | |
vt.谋取(支持等),赢得;征募;vi.入伍 | |
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16 defer | |
vt.推迟,拖延;vi.(to)遵从,听从,服从 | |
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17 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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18 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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19 statute | |
n.成文法,法令,法规;章程,规则,条例 | |
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20 detrimental | |
adj.损害的,造成伤害的 | |
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21 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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22 activists | |
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 ) | |
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