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167 美国非政府团体组织呼吁打击轻武器非法交易
NGOs Call for Crackdown on Small ArmsJoe De Capua
Washington
14 Jul 2001 16:23 UTC
In New York A U.N. conference 1)underway to control the 2)illegal trade in small arms and light weapons. Organizers say 3)assault rifles and other small arms have become the weapons of choice in many internal 4)conflicts around the world. On Friday a 5)coalition of non-governmental organizations says it strongly supports efforts to crack down on the small weapons trade.
Christine Knudsen of the charity Save the Children says the 6)proliferation of small weapons has resulted in what she calls a 7)phenomenal rise in the number of child soldiers. She estimates their number at 300,000 worldwide. "The age of these children has been dropping from an average of about 14, 15, 16 a decade ago to now children as young as eight, nine, ten being armed and actively participating in conflicts," she says.
She says small arms and light weapons have helped increase the number of child soldiers. "Well, historically, it took an adult's strength and physical ability to hold a weapon of war - a gun, a machine-gun, a rifle," she says. "And now with lighter weapons children as young as eight are telling us that they start first with a 8)pistol because they need to have a two-hand grip. And then they can move into a sub-machinegun which weighs about six, seven or eight pounds by the time they're 12 or 13."
Also calling for a crackdown on the illegal trafficking of small arms is Jo Marie Griesgraber of OxFam America. She says the widespread availability of these weapons has cheapened the value of life. "We have endless stories of children who are kidnapped. They're 9)abducted, and then boys are forced into the armed forces or militias," she says. "And they use other children who have tried to escape as target practice. Children are taught not to value life not to fear gross violence."
Christine Knudsen of Save the Children agrees. "In most places around the world, commanders are using children as part of a very strategic tactic of conflict. And one of the ways they do that is to desensitize children to violence," she says. "Most of the time when kids are abducted out of their villages they are forced to commit some 10)atrocity in their community. Perhaps killing a family member. Perhaps witnessing the death of a parent, forced to kill 11)siblings or former playmate. And then they are taught the basics of 12)warfare."
Jo Marie Griesgraber of OxFam America says tougher international controls are needed on legal arms trading to help curb illegal trafficking. "What we would like to do is to have the standards that the United States uses for its own arms exporters. And we should note that the U.S. is the single largest exporter of small arms in the whole world," she says. "We have good export 13)licensing 14)criteria and standards and would like very much to have all countries in the world 15)adhere to these same kinds of standards."
She says such controls would make it much easier to track shipments of weapons.
The U.N. conference on the 16)illicit trade of small arms and light weapons continues through July 20.
(1) underway[`QndE`weI ]adj.起步的,进行中的, 航行中的
(2) illegal[I5li:^(E)l]adj.违法的, 不合规定的
(3) assault[E5sC:lt]n.攻击, 袭击v.袭击
(4) conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突
(5) coalition[kEJE5lIF(E)n]n.合并, 接合, 联合
(6) proliferation[prEJ9lIfE`reIFEn]n.增殖
(7) phenomenal[fI5nRmInEl]adj.显著的, 现象的, 能知觉的
(8) pistol[5pIst(E)l]n.手枪
(9) abduct[ Ab5dQkt]vt.诱拐, 绑架
(10) atrocity[E5trRsItI]n.残暴, 暴行, 凶恶
(11) sibling[5sIblIN]n.兄弟, 姐妹, 同胞, 同属
(12) warfare[5wC:feE(r)]n.战争, 作战, 冲突, 竞争
(13) license[5laIsEns]n.许可(证), 执照vt.许可, 特许v.许可
(14) criteria n.pl.标准
(15) adhere to v.粘附, 粘着, 坚持, 追随, 拥护
(16) illicit[I5lIsIt]adj.违法的
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