2006年VOA标准英语-UN Takes on Issue of Poverty for Human Rights D

By Jeff Swicord
Washington, DC
08 December 2006
 
watch Human Rights Day

In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since that day, December 10 has marked World Human Rights Day. This year, the United Nations is focusing on fighting poverty as a human right.

 
Shadrock makes his living by peddling¹ cold drinks in a wheelbarrow 
Early morning in Monrovia, Liberia and Shadrock prepares to go to work. Shadrock is one of almost three billion people around the world the United Nations estimates lives on less than two U.S. dollars a day. Like many in this war-torn West African country, he did not have enough money to finish school and now works as a wheelbarrow pusher carrying goods around the city.

"They don't have money to send me to school. So, then I decided² to do the work, to get my pay, my daily bread and find food for my children for the day."

Shadrock is barely able to support his family on his meager³ wages. It is a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break. A cycle the United Nations and other organizations are working to change by redefining poverty as a human rights issue.

 
Daniel Bradlow
Daniel Bradlow is Director of the International Legal Studies Program at the American University in Washington D.C.  He says the human rights message must be clear. "I think putting the debate about poverty in human rights terms sends a very powerful message to governments. And as I said before, it should begin to shape their view of what their responsibilities are in terms of the policies they have, the way they spend their budgets, they are accountable to having to deliver certain things to their citizens like health care, education, housing, jobs."

The premise⁴ of the argument starts with redefining poverty as a cause and result of human rights violations⁵. When people are denied their rights, through persecution⁶ or discrimination, they are more likely to be poor.

 
Michael Shifter
Michael Shifter is Vice⁷ President for Policy at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Latin American policy institute in Washington D.C.  He offers his perspective. "I think that human rights violations lead to poverty and I think it is a source -- it works both ways. I think that human rights violations clearly are designed by people with power to repress and suppress people without power. And that condition leads to increased poverty."

Daniel Bradlow says repression⁸ and poverty often lead to some of the world most destructive problems like hostility⁹ and war. And war in turn creates even more poverty. According to United Nations statistics, 80 percent of the world's 20 poorest countries have had a major war in the last 15 years. And after hostilities¹⁰ cease, about half of those countries relapse into war within five years.

"I think poverty is in one sense a cause of conflict and insecurity," says Bradlow. "In countries where there is a great deal of poverty, they are more likely to see conflict as people struggle over the limited amount of resources that are available to them. But also conflict causes poverty because in situations with serious social conflict, the opportunity focus on dealing¹¹ with questions of poverty are so much less. And so people are more likely to fall into poverty just because society is not really focused on dealing with their needs"

According to Michael Shifter, the solution to a better life for people like Shadrock is to press governments to make social and economic issues a human right and a priority,  just as political and civil rights have been made a priority around the world. "I think it adds a lot of force and a lot of pressure to get people to take responsibility for people who are denied food, denied housing, denied education, denied basic rights. I think it is a way to frame the poverty issue that will give it a lot more power and a lot more pressure to bring about some, effective response."

1 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

4 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

9 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

10 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。