叙利亚问题特使卜拉希米辞职

 　　UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday announced that he accepted the request of Lakhdar Brahimi to step down as the UN-Arab League special envoy¹ to Syria, adding that the resignation will be effective on May 31.

　　"It is with great regret that following consultations² with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, I have decided³ to accept the request of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi to relinquish⁴ his duties as a joint⁵ special representative of the secretary general and of the League of Arab States, effective 31st of May 2014," Ban said at a press conference here.

　　Brahimi was with the secretary-general as the Ban was making the announcement at the press conference. "Because of its nature, I want to make it in person," Ban said, referring to the announcement.

　　Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister and veteran UN official, was appointed by the secretary-general in August 2012 as the joint international envoy for Syria in a bid to mediate⁶ an early end to the crisis in the Middle East country, which broke out in March 2011.

　　Brahimi to step down as international envoy for Syria: UN chief

　　Brahimi "faced almost impossible odds⁷ with the Syrian nation, Middle Eastern region, and ... international community that have been hopelessly divided in their approaches to ending the conflict, " the secretary-general said. "He has persevered⁸ with great patience and skill."

　　"I regret that the parties, especially the government, have proven so reluctant to take advantage of that opportunity to end the country's profound misery," Ban said.

　　Brahimi, at the joint press conference, said "It is very sad that I leave this position and leave Syria behind in such a bad state."

　　"I have absolutely no doubt that you (the secretary-general) will continue, as you have, to do everything that is humanly possible to work with the (UN) Security Council, with the neighbors of Syria, and indeed the Syrian parties themselves to end this crisis," Brahimi said.

　　"I am sure that the crisis will end," he said, asking those who have influence on the Syrian parties to ponder over the questions of "how many more deaths" and "how much more destruction" would be inflicted⁹ in the war-torn country.

　　For more than a year, Brahimi has made no secret that he is contemplating¹⁰ stepping down from the post as the UN and Arab League joint special representative for Syria. He told reporters a year ago that he thought about resigning every day.

　　Earlier this year, Brahimi has organized two rounds of negotiations¹¹ in Geneva between the Syrian government and members of the opposition¹², the first time for the representatives of the warring two sides to sit in peace talks in Geneva since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, but the peace talks failed to produce any positive result.

　　Two rounds of Syria peace talks, the first in January followed by a second round in February, saw both sides sticking to their positions without making substantial headway.

　　Brahimi's predecessor¹³, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, resigned in frustration¹⁴ in August 2012. Like Brahimi, he complained that the UN Security Council could not unite behind his calls for an end to the violence and a peaceful political transition.

　　More than 100,000 people were killed and the UN estimates that some 6.3 million people have been internally displaced since the conflict broke out in March 2011 in the Middle East country. More than 2 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

　　Ban said that at the moment, he has no plan to announce Brahimi 's successor.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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。

4 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

5 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。

6 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

9 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

10 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

14 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。