VOA慢速英语--国际法院令缅政府保护罗兴亚人

The International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Myanmar to take urgent measures to protect its Rohingya population from genocide.

Rohingya refugees celebrated¹ the ruling as their first major legal victory since being forced from their homes.

The African nation of The Gambia launched legal action against Myanmar in November. Its lawsuit² accuses Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya in violation³ of a 1948 convention.

The court's final decision could take years. Thursday's ruling dealt only with The Gambia's request for early measures. But in a ruling agreed to by all of the judges involved, the court said the Rohingya face a continued threat and Myanmar must act to protect them.

The lead judge on the case said Myanmar must "take all measures within its power to prevent all acts" barred under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The country also must report back on its efforts within four months, he said.

Myanmar must use its influence over its military and other armed groups to prevent violence against the Rohingya meant to "bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."

Rohingya activists⁵ had come from all over the world to The Hague. They reacted happily to the ruling, which also fully⁶ recognized their ethnic⁷ minority as a protected group under the Genocide Convention.

Yasmin Ullah is a Canada-based Rohingya activist⁴. She said of the ruling, "That is something we have been fighting for a long time: to be recognized as humans the same as everyone else."

Myanmar, which has a large Buddhist⁸ population, generally refuses to recognize the Muslim Rohingya as an ethnic group. Instead, it describes them as Bangladeshi migrants.

More than 730,000 Rohingya left Myanmar after a military-led campaign against them in 2017. They were forced into crowded, dirty camps across the border in Bangladesh.

U.N. investigators⁹ found that the military campaign had been carried out for "genocidal" reasons.

From the camps in Bangladesh where they have fled, Rohingya refugees watched the judgment¹⁰ on their mobile phones.

"For the first time, we have got some justice," said Mohammed Nur, a 34-year-old refugee. "This is a big achievement for the entire Rohingya community."

Rohingya still living inside Myanmar and reached by phone said they hoped the ruling would force the country to improve their situation. "We need protection," said Tin Aung, a Rohingya leader living in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

A Myanmar government spokesman and two military spokesmen did not answer calls from Reuters reporters seeking comment.

‘Triumph'

The Gambia's justice minister, Abubacarr Tambadou, called the ruling "a triumph for international justice."

The Gambia has a mainly Muslim population. It brought the case on the argument that all nations have a universal legal responsibility to prevent genocide.

The case was argued last month by some of the world's top human rights lawyers. Myanmar's civilian¹¹ leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended hearings at The Hague to ask judges to dismiss the case.

Shortly before the court began reading its ruling, the Financial Times published an article by Suu Kyi. She wrote that some war crimes may have been carried out against Rohingya Muslims but that refugees had exaggerated abuses.

Myanmar will now have to report on its efforts to protect the Rohingya from genocide every six months until a final ruling in the case.

Although ICJ rulings are final and binding¹², countries have sometimes ignore them. The court has no official way to enforce its rulings.

Words in This Story

convention - n. a formal agreement between two groups (such as countries or political organizations)

achievement - n. something that has been done or achieved through effort : a result of hard work

triumph - n. a great or important victory

exaggerate - v. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is

binding - adj. forcing or requiring someone to do something because of a promise, agreement, etc.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

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 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。