VOA慢速英语20060325a

IN THE NEWS - International Criminal Court Calls First Defendant¹, From D.R.C.By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, March 25, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The world's first permanent court for war crimes was established in the Netherlands in two thousand two. Since then the International Criminal Court has not had anyone to bring to trial.

This week the court in The Hague called its first prisoner to appear.


Thomas Lubanga Dyilo appears before the International Criminal Court in The Hague

Officials say Thomas Lubanga Dyilo led one of the most violent armed groups in the Ituri area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is accused of forcing children under the age of fifteen to take part in hostilities².

Congolese officials have had him under arrest for a year. He was flown to The Hague on March seventeenth.

Mister Lubanga was in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing. It lasted half an hour. He confirmed his identify. He gave his profession as politician. Details of the charges are to be read at the next hearing, set for June twenty-seventh.

The International Criminal Court was created as a place to seek justice when national systems fail. The court has also sought the arrest of leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. And it has begun investigations³ into the violence in the Darfur area of Sudan.

One hundred twenty nations agreed to the court at a United Nations conference in Rome in nineteen ninety-eight. But the idea really began after World War Two with the trials of war criminals from Nazi⁴ Germany and Japan. The idea gained support more recently during U.N. trials resulting from the wars in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The Rome Statute⁵ is the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. The United States opposes the treaty; it says there are serious problems with the document. The United States signed the treaty, but President Bill Clinton never sent it to the Senate for approval. Finally, President Bush withdrew any support.

American officials say the court could be used against American troops and citizens for political purposes. They argue that because the court is independent, its officials are responsible to no one. Some say it might even violate the Constitution. The Supreme⁶ Court is supposed to be America's highest court.

The United States has said it will try any Americans suspected of war crimes.

The International Criminal Court is one of more than one hundred international legal organizations with headquarters at The Hague. Another is the International Court of Justice, known as the World Court.

The United Nations established the World Court in nineteen forty-five. The main purpose is to settle legal disputes between nations.

Another court in The Hague has been in the news lately: the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. It spent four years trying Slobodan Milosevic, until the sudden death of the former president earlier this month.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish. I'm Steve Ember.

1 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

2 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

5 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。