291 联合国调查显示肯尼亚轻武器大幅增长

 

UN Investigates Small Arms Proliferation in Kenya

Katy Salmon¹

Nairobi

3 Aug 2001 19:39 UTC

 

A United Nations 1)delegation has just completed a week-long fact-finding 2)mission to Kenya, investigating the problem of small arms entering the country. Violent crime in Kenya is increasing dramatically as weapons are flooding into the country from its war-torn neighbors.

Undercover reporters from Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper found they could buy a gun on the streets of Nairobi in 30 minutes. The easy 3)availability of illegal lethal² weapons, and armed carjackings and robberies have become a 4)virtually daily occurrence in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

But the problem extends beyond Kenya's cities.

Joao Honwana of the United Nations fact-finding mission on small arms says such weapons are also making 5)conflicts in rural areas increasingly 6)lethal.

"It also has contributed in a very dramatic way to the increase of 7)fatality of what could be considered traditional conflicts," he said. "For example, conflicts around water resources in arid³ and semi-arid areas. Conflicts around 8)cattle 9)rustling, which are issues that have historically been happening but now because of the fact that small arms and light weapons, particularly weapons with military specification⁴, are so easily available, those conflicts have become much more destructive. Small arms and light weapons have 10)contributed to a serious 11)deterioration⁵ of safety of the population in this country."

Mr. Honwana says most weapons are coming into Kenya from Somalia. Kenya's northeastern neighbor has had no government since 1991 and is controlled by rival armed 12)factions.

It is difficult for Kenya to police its border of about 500 kilometers with Somalia. More than 100,000 refugees have fled into Kenya since fighting broke out in Somalia.

The U.N. mission wants U.N. safe havens⁶ to be set up in countries like Somalia so that 13)refugees cannot cross into Kenya.

Sheldon Muchilwa, an assistant minister in Kenya's foreign ministry⁷, says the safe havens would help stem the flow of 14)illicit⁸ arms into Kenya.

"Instead of allowing refugees to come, say, from Somalia to Kenya, it's better to have refugee camps in their own countries so that they don't 15)spill over with all the arms to Kenya," he said. "They can then be looked after as usual, but on their side of the border."

This is just one of the recommendations the U.N. mission will make to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. It also wants the United Nations to support Kenya's law enforcement agencies and projects that encourage people to 16)surrender their illicit arms.

Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi banned all cross-border trade with Somalia last week in an attempt to stop arms smuggling⁹. He says Kenya will deal with Somalia only after it has installed a legitimate¹⁰ government.

 

 

1)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(2)      mission[5mIF(E)n]n.使命, 任务, 使团, 代表团

(3)      availability[E9veIlE`bIlEtI]n.可用性, 有效性, 实用性

(4)      virtually[5v:tjJElI]adv.事实上, 实质上

(5)      conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突

(6)      lethal[5li:W(E)l]adj.致命的n.致死因子

(7)      fatality[fE5tAlItI]n.命运决定的事物, 不幸, 灾祸, 天命

(8)      cattle[5kAt(E)l]n.牛, 家养牲畜

(9)      rustle[5rQs(E)l]n.沙沙声, 飒飒声vi.发出沙沙声, 奋力工作vt.使沙沙响

(10)      contribute[kEn5trIbju:t]v.捐助, 捐献, 贡献, 投稿

(11)      deterioration n.变坏, 退化, 堕落

(12)      faction[5fAkF(E)n]n.派别, 小集团, 派系斗争, 小派系, 内讧

(13)      refugee[refjJ:5dVi:; (?@) 5refjJdVi:]n.难民, 流亡者

(14)      illicit[I5lIsIt]adj.违法的

(15)      spill over溢出

(16)      surrender[sE5rendE(r)]vt.交出, 放弃, 使投降vi.投降, 自首n.交出, 放弃, 投降

 

 

 

1 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

4 specification   

n.详述；[常pl.]规格，说明书，规范

参考例句：

• I want to know his specification of details.我想知道他对细节的详述。
• Examination confirmed that the quality of the products was up to specification.经检查，产品质量合格。

5 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

6 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。