VOA常速英语2016--美国再次当选人权理事会成员国

美国再次当选人权理事会成员国

The United States has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the General Assembly for its support and pledged to continue to work with the international community to address urgent human rights concerns.

U.S. engagement has helped transform the Council into a more balanced and credible¹ organization and has helped focus the global spotlight² on grave violations³ and abuses of human rights around the world. Since the U.S. joined the Council in 2009, it has created Commissions of Inquiry⁴ for Syria, North Korea, and Burundi; adopted country-specific resolutions on Sri Lanka, Iran, and Burma; passed groundbreaking resolutions promoting and protecting the rights of freedom of assembly and association; and created an independent expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation⁵ and gender⁶ identity.

The Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights. The Council's 47 members are elected individually by an absolute majority of the 193 members of the General Assembly through secret ballot⁷. Members of the Human Rights Council serve for a three-year renewable term and cannot seek immediate⁸ re-election after two consecutive⁹ terms.

The council membership is based on equitable¹⁰ geographical¹¹ distribution.

As with all fora, the Human Rights Council is only as strong as its members, said Secretary Kerry, "and I encourage all countries that respect human rights to be steadfast¹² in their pursuit of a seat on the Human Rights Council."

 

"While important challenges remain, including ending the Council's excessive and biased¹³ focus on Israel," said Secretary Kerry, "we look forward to cooperating with other Council members to address human rights concerns, advance human rights around the world, and ensure the Council fully¹⁴ realizes its purpose."

美国再次当选联合国人权理事会成员国。美国国务卿约翰克里对联合国大会的支持表示感谢，并承诺会继续与国际社会一道，解决紧迫的人权关切问题。

美国的参与已帮助让联合国人权理事会转变为平衡性更强、可信度更高的组织；在美国的参与帮助下，全球已聚焦全球严重违背滥用人权的行为。自美国2009年加入联合国人权理事会以来，已为叙利亚、朝鲜、布隆迪创建了咨询委员会；对斯里兰卡、伊朗、缅甸采用了因地制宜的决议；通过了开创性的决议，以提升并保护集会和结社自由的权利；创建了基于性别取向和性别身份的独立的暴力歧视专家组。

人权理事会成立于2006年，用以代替已有60年历史的人权委员会。人权理事会共有47个成员国，是由联合国大会193个成员国通过不记名投票求得绝对多数的方式选举出来的。人权理事会成员国有3年可持续任期，但在连任两届后不得进行第三届的连选。

人权理事会的成员国选择是基于平等的地理分配。

联合国人权理事会和其他组织一样，是成员强则其强的组织，克里这样说道，“所以我鼓励所有尊重人权的国家要坚定地寻求在人权理事会有一席之地。”

“虽然还有很多重要挑战等着我们，其中包括结束人权理事会对以色列过度的偏颇之见，”克里说道，“但我们希望能与人权理事会的其他成员国合作，解决一些人权问题，提升全球的人权状况，确保人权理事会充分实现其职能。”

1 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

4 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

10 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

11 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

12 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

13 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。