VOA双语新闻 UN Efforts Supporting Iraq Elections(在线收听

Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan held talks Thursday centering on U.N. support for next month's Iraqi elections. Mr. Powell, in what was probably his last meeting with Mr. Annan before leaving office next month, said the U.N. effort seems to be on track.

美国国务卿鲍威尔和联合国秘书长安南星期四举行会谈,会谈内容主要是联合国对伊拉克下个月选举的支持问题,这可能是鲍威尔下个月离任之前和安南举行的最后一次会晤。鲍威尔说,联合国的工作看来进展良好。

U.S. officials made no secret of their disappointment last year when Mr. Annan withdrew most personnel from Iraq after the deadly bomb attack on U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003.

2003年8月,联合国驻巴格达的总部遭到炸弹袭击,安南随后从伊拉克撤回了绝大多数联合国工作人员。当时,美国官员明确表示对此感到失望。

Though it has increased in recent weeks, the U.N. presence still numbers less than 100 international staffers, most of them providing technical support for the January 30 elections.

虽然联合国在最近几个星期增加了在伊拉克的工作人员,但是国际职员的人数仍然不到100名,多数人在那里是为了给定于1月30号举行的选举提供技术协助。

But in a joint news appearance with Mr. Annan, Secretary Powell said he thinks the U.N. is doing a good job in its election work, stressing not the size of the U.N. contingent in the country, but the number of Iraqis who have been trained to run the voting.

不过,当鲍威尔这次和安南举行联合记者会时,鲍威尔说,他认为联合国在选举事务上表现良好,他所注重的不是在伊拉克的联合国工作人员数目,而是联合国人员为这次选举训练出来的伊拉克人的数目。

"The secretary-general has increased the number of U.N. personnel in the region, and as you heard yesterday, he has announced that they will be opening offices in due course in Basra and Irbil," he said. "And he advised me that some 6,000 Iraqi personnel have been trained in the conduct of the election and over 130,000 have been identified to actually run the various polling stations. So, the U.N. effort seems to be on track in support of the Iraqi effort; they have the principal responsibility."

他说,“秘书长增加了在这个地区的联合国人员数目,就如你们昨天听到的,秘书长宣布在适当的时候将在巴士拉和埃尔比勒设立办公室。他告诉我,联合国已经训练了大约6000伊拉克人处理选举事宜,也指定了管理投票站13万工作人员。因此,在支持伊拉克选举方面,联合国的工作看来进展良好,他们担起了主要的任务。”

Secretary-General Annan, for his part, said the U.N. is in Iraq for the long haul, focusing not just on the January elections, but prepared also to help Iraqi authorities work on a draft constitution, a national referendum on that document, and on national elections to be held by the end of 2005.

安南说,联合国在伊拉克的工作是长期的,工作重心不仅是1月份的选举,而且一直在准备协助伊拉克当局起草宪法,就宪法进行的全民公投以及在2005年底举行的全国选举。

The secretary-general said he believes the United Nations has done all that it needed to do with regard to technical preparations for the January 30 voting. He said the success of the election depends in large part on whether Iraqi authorities can provide the necessary security, and see to it that voter participation is broad-based.

这位联合国秘书长表示,他相信联合国在为1月30号的选举提供技术准备方面已经完成了必须的工作。他说,选举能否成功很大程度上取决于伊拉克当局能否提供必要的安全环境,而且也要看选民的参与是否广泛。

"Obviously, there are other aspects of the elections which the Iraqi government will have to take care of, particularly the context in which the elections are held," he said. "Security, political environment, and the efforts which we are helping them on to try and pull into the process those who are outside the process, make it as inclusive as possible. The more inclusive the process, the likelier that the results will not be contested."

安南说,“很明显,伊拉克政府必须处理好选举其他方面的事宜,特别是举行选举的社会环境。我们正在安全、政治环境和其他工作上帮助他们,把那些选举程序之外的人纳入这个进程,让选举尽可能范围广泛。选举进程越具有包容性,选举结果的争议性就会越小。”

Secretary Powell said he and Mr. Annan touched briefly on the controversy over alleged corruption in the U.N.-administered "oil-for-food" program in Iraq before the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

鲍威尔说,他和安南围绕推翻萨达姆之前、联合国监督的伊拉克“石油换粮食”计划中存在的腐败现象所引起的争议进行了简短交谈。

Mr. Annan has come under criticism for his handling of the program and there have been calls from some congressional Republicans for the secretary-general to step down.

安南因为对这个计划的处理而受到批评,美国国会有些共和党议员要求安南辞职。

But in his remarks here, Secretary Powell said that the Bush administration has confidence in Mr. Annan, and shares his desire to "get to the bottom" of the matter. The oil-for-food scandal is being investigated in Congress and within the U.N. by a panel led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker.

但是,鲍威尔在这次讲话时说,布什政府对安南有信心,支持他彻底调查此事的愿望。美国国会正在调查这个石油换粮食计划的丑闻,由前美国联邦储备委员会主席沃克尔领导的一个小组也在联合国内调查这次丑闻。
 

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/voabe/112672.html