2006年VOA标准英语-UN Human Rights Envoy, Cambodian PM Trade

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
29 March 2006

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has lashed¹ out at the United Nations human rights envoy² to Cambodia, after the diplomat³ criticized the country's human rights record and the prime minister himself.

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Yash Ghai, speaks at a press conference at the conclusion of his 10-day visit to Cambodia, March 28, 2006 
  

Yash Ghai, the U.N.'s human rights envoy, ended his latest fact finding trip to Cambodia on Tuesday. Before leaving, he criticized the government for lacking a commitment to promote human rights. He also said that power is concentrated around "one individual," which, he added, is "not a precondition under which human rights can flourish".

In a scathing⁴ reply on Wednesday, that one individual, Prime Minister Hun Sen, said the U.N. envoy should stop giving advice to Cambodia. He said Ghai would no longer be welcome in the country, and should be fired by the U.N. secretary-general.

When contacted by VOA Wednesday, the U.N. human rights office in Phnom Penh refused to comment on Mr. Hun Sen's remarks.

In recent months, several human rights advocates and opposition⁵ politicians have been jailed or threatened with jail for defaming Mr. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since the 1980's. Human rights groups have criticized what they called a government crackdown on dissent⁶.

While the prime minister has recently released his critics under pressure from the international community, Ghai says people in Cambodia are still "scared."

Ou Virak, spokesman of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, says Ghai made a fair assessment⁷ of the Cambodian situation.

"I think he is right to point out that the fact that the power in Cambodia is actually very concentrated," he commented.

Ghai called for international donors⁸ to put pressure on the Phnom Penh government to implement⁹ reforms. Cambodia, still recovering from two decades of conflict and the murderous Khmer Rouge¹⁰ rule of the late 1970's, relies heavily on foreign aid.

1 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

4 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。