非政府组织发起保护洁净水活动

 

Non-Government Groups Launch Safe Water Campaign

非政府组织发起保护洁净水活动

 

A consortium of more than 60 international non-governmental organizations says it will launch a global campaign on the Right to Water on March 22, which is World Water Day. The activists¹ say they want the United Nations to begin negotiations³ for a legally binding⁴ Convention to provide safe, clean water for millions of people around the world.

 

The non-governmental organizations say plans for a citizens' campaign to provide safe, clean water for more than a billion deprived people began more than three years ago. The President of Green Cross International, Alexander Likhotal, says the campaign will officially kick off next Tuesday on World Water Day.

 

He says through the use of "People power", the campaign hopes to persuade governments they must do more to provide their people with clean, safe water. Currently, he says, no legal instrument exists which can force governments to do this.

 

Alexander Likhotal: The only practical way of addressing the water crisis is through consolidation⁵ of civil society and the creation of a legally binding mechanism⁶ for resolving all water-related issues. This is why Green Cross International together with other international, national and local organizations has launched an international public campaign to urge the national governments to start the negotiations of the global treaty on the right to water.

 

Mr. Likhotal says there is no doubt that such a treaty is needed. He says the statistics speak for themselves.

 

Alexander Likhotal: Every day, 10,000 people die because of the water-related diseases and problems and shortages. Every eight seconds, a child dies as a result of water contamination. In the past 10 years, diarrhea has killed more children than all the people lost to armed conflict since World War II.

 

Mr. Likhotal says it would take 10 years to resolve the world's water crisis if the governments of the developed world allocated⁷ $20 per capita toward fighting this problem.

 

He says obtaining an international water treaty will take the same kind of mobilization by civil society which achieved the Ottawa Convention, banning the production and use of landmines⁸. He says so far, Morocco, Tajikistan and Uganda support the movement and South Africa and Brazil are showing great interest.

 

Over the next three years, he says the campaign hopes to gather millions of signatures through an online petition in support of the Convention. He says the signatures will be presented to the United Nations as a rallying call for it to begin negotiations on a Framework Convention on the Right to Water.

 

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.

 

注释：

campaign [kAm5pein] n. 竞选

deprived [di5praivd] adj. 缺乏食物的

consolidation [kEn7sCli5deiFEn] n. 巩固

negotiation² [ni7^EuFi5eiFEn] n. 商议

diarrhea [7daiE5riE] n. 痢疾

petition [pi5tiFEn] n. 请愿

1 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》

2 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 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。

5 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

8 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。