2006年VOA标准英语-US Envoy Calls Darfur Deal Important Step

By David Gollust
Washington
05 May 2006

Robert Zoellick   
  
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who helped reach Friday's Darfur peace accord in Nigeria, calls the deal an important step on the path to peace in the region. He spoke¹ to reporters in Washington on a telephone hook-up.

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Deputy Secretary Zoellick, who has been the Bush administration's point man for Darfur, worked virtually around the clock for the last few days in the Nigerian capital Abuja to help hammer out the peace accord.

In a conference call with diplomatic reporters here, he said the accord signed by the Sudanese government and the main Darfur rebel group is an important step that should bring about a quick decline of violence in the western Sudanese region that has been torn by conflict for three years. "Do I hope that there will be a significant decline in violence: yes. Can I be certain? No. Will there be ups and downs and incidents? I expect sadly to say there will be. But can you put those incidents on a downward slope and take action against them? I believe you now have a much better chance to do so. And that will help also deal with the basic needs of humanitarian² support," he said.

The deputy secretary said one of two Darfur rebel groups that refused to sign the accord may be wavering in its decision, and he said those who stay out of the process run the risk of being shunned³ as renegades and outlaws⁴.

Zoellick hailed the African Union and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in particular for what he said was an extraordinary job in mediating⁵ the accord.

He said the United States and the European Union supplemented the process with political support and proposals to strengthen the draft, which includes specific guarantees that government-backed Janjaweed militiamen are to be disarmed⁷ before the Darfur rebels surrender their arms. "The sequencing and phasing schedule requires that the Janjaweed and other armed militia⁶ be disarmed before the rebel forces assemble and prepare for their own disarmament and integration⁸, and the African Union will be a verifier of this. We also added requirements about the Sudanese government punishing ceasefire violations⁹, including through immediate¹⁰ disarmament and demobilization," he said.

The deputy secretary said he expects an early push to back up Friday's agreement with an increase in the size of the African Union observer mission in Darfur, a prelude¹¹ to its conversion¹² to a full-scale U.N. peacekeeping mission, which he said is at best still several months away.

He also said it will be supported politically by an international conference on Darfur reconstruction¹³ and development within about three months that the Netherlands has offered to host.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

5 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

9 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。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

12 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

13 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。