联合国:越来越多的国家利用难民实现政治目的

UN: States Increasingly Using Refugees for Political Purposes

For years, people fleeing from war and oppression have sought asylum¹ in nearby countries.

Now, the United Nations is warning that countries are increasingly using refugees as tools to support their local and national interests.

Filippo Grandi is the U.N.’s High Commissioner² for Refugees (UNHCR). He says many refugees are being used as pawns³ as traditional guarantees of asylum appear to be breaking down.

Grandi spoke⁵ at the refugee agency’s annual conference this week in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UNHCR reports a record 65.6 million people had been forcibly displaced by war and persecution⁶ worldwide by the end of 2016. This includes 22.5 million refugees who had crossed from one country to another. The UNHCR reports that, in 2017 alone, more than two million people have fled their countries as refugees.

Grandi told the delegates that in just five weeks, 500-thousand Rohingya fled from violence in Myanmar. During the same period, he noted⁷, more than 50,000 people fled South Sudan, while 18,000 others were escaping clashes in the Central African Republic.

Grandi said that in some ways refugees have always been used for political purposes. But he said the problem has worsened in recent years. He said refugees have become a major issue in local and national politics and even in relationships between governments.

“Protection is constantly being tested. And, at times, it even seems that refugees have become a commodity, traded between states. Principled leadership has frequently given way to an erosion of refugee rights, driven by confused and sometimes frightened public opinions often stirred up by irresponsible politicians.”

Grandi told the conference that immigration and asylum policies have become more restrictive in some countries. He said some countries that welcomed refugees in the past also have their own histories of exile and migration⁸.

He added that refugee protection is weakening in many areas, including in industrialized countries. He says protection of refugees is breaking down in traditional countries of asylum in Europe, the United States and Australia.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

pawn⁴ – n. someone that can be used to carry out the will of another individual

annual – adj. once a year

persecution – n. punishment; oppression

commodity – n. something useful or valued

principled – adj. existing or based on beliefs

erosion – n. the natural process of breaking down or wearing away

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 pawns   

n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• The hostages are being used as political pawns. 人质正被用作政治卒子。
• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。