2007年VOA标准英语-UN Extends African Union Peacekeeping Mission i

By Suzanne Presto¹
New York
20 August 2007

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution extending its authorization² of the African Union's mission in Somalia for another six months. It also calls for the U.N. to develop plans for a possible deployment³ of U.N. troops to Somalia. But some diplomats⁴ say the resolution passed Monday does not go far enough. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from the United Nations bureau in New York.

munitions5 in Mogadishu, Somalia, 16 June 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070825/1406120.jpg" width="166" vspace="2" border="0" />

Africa Union soldiers secure the area where they prepare to destroy weapons and munitions in Mogadishu, Somalia, 16 June 2007

South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo says he voted for the resolution, but adds he was not enthusiastic about it. Kumalo said he had expected the Security Council to make a firm decision about deploying⁶ U.N. peacekeeping troops to Somalia to supplement the African Union mission there.

"The African Union, it's like, when your house is on fire, you know, the neighbors come with the buckets of water, but the neighbors are not the fire engine," he said. "You know, the fire engine is the United Nations. So we want to see the United Nations getting involved on the ground in Somalia because that issue belongs to the United Nations. It cannot be left only to the African Union."

The AU has pledged 8,000 troops to a peacekeeping mission. But, six months in, fewer than one-quarter of them have arrived. There are currently 1,700 AU troops, all from Uganda.

Kumalo says the AU does not have the resources necessary to broker⁷ or maintain peace in Somalia. The nation has not had an effective, stable government since 1991.

The Security Council's Congolese president, Pascal Gayama, also expressed mixed feelings about the resolution.

"In my national capacity, of course, I share the view espoused⁸ by Ambassador Kumalo," he said.

Gayama says the U.N. should provide logistical, financial, and technical support for the AU mission, as the African Union has requested.

But Gayama also calls the resolution an important decision. He says the Council has asked the Secretary General to consult with the head of the African Union to discuss additional ways the U.N. can help the mission. Also, the Council asked the U.N. to further develop plans for a possible deployment of U.N. troops to Somalia.

Last week, the secretary-general's special envoy⁹ to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, said U.N. peacekeepers could replace AU troops when the African Union's extended mandate¹⁰ expires early next year. He added that AU officials expect this to be the case.

But, Fall says before that can happen, progress must be made in the nation's peace talks.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

6 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

7 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

8 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。