VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - How Will UN Court Ruling

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

In February of two thousand eight, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Now the top United Nations court says Kosovo's declaration was legal. Hisashi Owada, president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, read the opinion.

HISASHI OWADA: "The court considers that general international law contains no applicable prohibition¹ on declarations of independence."

Kosovo's Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni called the ruling on Thursday great news, and not just for Kosovo.

SKENDER HYSENI: "This is a great news for the peace and stability in the region of western Balkans. This is a great news for Europe."

Serbia had asked the court for its opinion. Now Serbia is sending diplomats² to fifty-five countries. Their job: try to block efforts by Kosovo to gain further recognition.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says the ruling will not change his country’s position.

Kosovars celebrate the finding by the United Nations' highest court that their declaration of independence from Serbia did not break international law

VUK JEREMIC: "Serbia will never under any circumstances recognize the unilateral declaration of independence of the so-called Republic of Kosovo."

Ian Bancroft is the co-founder of TransConflict, a humanitarian³ organization working in the western Balkans. Speaking from Belgrade, he said the ruling sends a message about international law.

IAN BANCROFT: "Therefore, any secessionist movement, no matter where it is in the world, will look towards this and gain some encouragement that they too can pursue this path."

But Kurt Volker, former American ambassador to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is not so sure what will happen.

Serbian President Boris Tadic speaks to the media after the announcement by the International Court of Justice Thursday

KURT VOLKER: "I don't think this is going to have that big an effect on either side, whether it's the states who want to maintain their territorial⁴ integrity against the aspirations⁵ of some of their own indigenous⁶ people or, for that matter, movements that want to seek their own independence and freedom."

Mr. Volker says "those desires are already going on," and will continue independent of the decision.

The judges on the International Court of Justice, sometimes called the World Court, voted ten to four. The ruling is non-binding; it does not have legal force.

Sixty-nine countries have already recognized Kosovo. These include the United States, Japan and most of the European Union.

Serbia's main ally Russia has recognized the self-declared independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia. But Russia does not recognize Kosovo. Nor does another permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China.

In Washington, the State Department welcomed the ruling. It urged Europe to "unite behind a common future." But spokesman P.J. Crowley said it is too soon to discuss withdrawing the NATO-led international security force in Kosovo.

Kosovo was a Serbian province that became a United Nations protectorate in nineteen ninety-nine. That followed seventy-eight days of NATO bombing against Serbia. The campaign ended a two-year war between Serbia and the ethnic⁷ Albanian majority in Kosovo.

The advisory⁸ opinion from the court will go to the United Nations General Assembly. A debate on Kosovo is expected in September.

On Friday, in a separate development, police in Kosovo arrested the head of the country's central bank. The arrest was part of a continuing series of corruption⁹ investigations¹⁰ of officials.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. What effect do you think the Kosovo ruling will have around the world? You can comment at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.
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Includes reporting by Stefan Bos in Budapest and David Gollust and Andre de Nesnera in Washington
 

1 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 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。