2007年VOA标准英语-Interpol Chief Calls on Nations to Share Passpo

By Gary Thomas
Washington
12 July 2007

The secretary-general of Interpol, the international police organization, says countries need to share data on lost or stolen passports. In a VOA interview, the Interpol chief says the failure of countries to pool such information makes it easier for terrorists to travel across borders. VOA correspondent Gary Thomas has this report.

Ron Noble

Speaking by telephone, Interpol Secretary-General Ron Noble told VOA the organization set up a database of lost or stolen passports in 2002 as an anti-terrorist measure. But, he says, even though it was fully¹ automated² in 2005, only a handful of the organization's 186 member governments are hooked up to the database and taking advantage of it.

"In my view, every country in the world should make it their highest priority to scan passports of visitors against Interpol's global database. But my point is, right now, as I speak to you, only 17 countries in the entire world are doing this. Seventeen," he stressed.

To underscore his concern, he says that in 2007, France made 727,000 passport checks of the Interpol database. In that same period, he says, the United States searched the Interpol passport database 500 times, and Britain 300 times. However, he adds, Britain and the United States are due to hook up to the database within the next several months to scan all visitors' passports.

Noble says governments have made great strides in anti-terrorism measures, particularly in Britain and the United States. But he says nations should also collectively follow up when a match is made on a missing passport, which now happens, he says, about 2,000 times a month.

"But the problem that the world needs to recognize is that unless there is an international, multilingual task force that is established whose principal responsibility is to follow up on all the hits of peoples' names and passports that have come across borders around the world, we're going to allow these terrorists to travel more freely when they shouldn't," he said. "So what I'm suggesting and what I'm imploring³ is that what countries are doing at the national level, they've got to do at the global level."

Noble says he finds it particularly alarming that Britain has not shared information about its investigation⁴ of the recent thwarted⁵ terrorist plots there with Interpol.

"To this date, the U.K. has not shared a name, a phone number, a fingerprint⁶, or an address in connection with that terrorist investigation," he said. "And in my view, in the 21st century, in the century in which we find ourselves following the September 11th attacks, the world needs to change the way in which it fights terrorism globally by sharing information instantly and immediately with countries around the world. That's not happening, and it needs to happen."

He says passports can be quickly checked with both national and Interpol databases at the port of entry with no inconvenience to travelers at immigration control.

"It is done simultaneously⁷ so that the typical response time from the Interpol system is two to four seconds, which at times is much faster than the response time that countries get from their own national systems. So it will not lead to any longer lines," Noble said.

Interpol has no law enforcement powers. However, it acts as an international clearinghouse for countries' police forces to exchange information, and maintains other databases on stolen vehicles and art works. Noble, an American who has been Interpol secretary-general since 2000, says there is also a need for a centralized database of convicted terrorists.

1 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。

2 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

3 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

6 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

7 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。