2007年VOA标准英语-UN Mission Goes to Darfur to Assess Situation

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
09 February 2007

A U.N. human rights mission led by American anti-landmine campaigner and Nobel Laureate, Jody Williams, leaves on Saturday to assess the situation in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur.  The team will report back on its findings to the UN Human Rights Council in March.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

 
Young girl washes plates for her family in North Darfur refugee camp of El Sallam 
The mission is going ahead even though the team members have not yet received their visas for Darfur.  Nobel Laureate, Jody Williams, says the United Nations is still in negotiations¹ with the Sudanese government, but, adds she fully² expects to get the visas when the team arrives in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Stopping first in Addis, she says, will allow the team to meet with the African Union, which is based there.  She says it is important to get the AU's perspective of the situation in Darfur.

"Addis seemed a very logical point of departure given the role of the AU," she said.  "It has been our intention to go there.  So, we are going there.  I fully anticipate that the Sudanese government will recognize that it has agreed to this resolution and that it is in its interest to have this mission there.  I am not going to worry.  I am proceeding³." 

About 7,000 African Union soldiers are in Darfur.  But, the AU force is too small and too weak to protect civilians⁴ from being killed or abused.   The International Community has been pressuring Sudan to allow a larger U.N. peacekeeping force to assist the AU in Darfur.   But, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, so far, has refused to agree to a U.N. force.

 
udanese President Omar al-Beshir speaks to the press following a conference
The current Williams-led mission to Darfur is seen as another pressure point to get the Sudanese President to change his mind. 

The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council agreed to send a mission to assess the human rights situation in Darfur during an emergency session in December.  The six-member team includes the ambassadors of Gabon and Indonesia.  Critics say their presence undermines the independence and impartiality⁵ of the mission.  They note that both Gabon and Indonesia have supported Sudan and shielded it from accountability.

Williams is aware of the controversy⁶ surrounding the composition of the team members. 

"There is no way that any nation who is receiving a mission mandated⁷ by a resolution that it agreed to is going to have veto power over the members of the mission," she added.  "That would be absurd.  This is an independent mission.  Nobody is telling us what to think.  Nobody is telling us what to say.  Nobody is telling us what to write.  And any of you who knows me well know that that is certainly the way I would operate." 

The United Nations estimates more than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people have been made homeless since war broke out between the Sudanese backed Janjaweed militia⁸ and African rebel groups in 2003.

Williams says she is extremely busy and had to change her schedule to accept this mission.  She says she would not have done so if she did not believe the mission could make a contribution toward helping⁹ the people of Darfur.

Williams says the mission will present the Council with a list of recommendations that it hopes will be implemented¹⁰ in Darfur.

1 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。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

8 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。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句