2007年VOA标准英语-UN High Commissioner Sees Slight Hope For Darfu

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
17 September 2007

The U.N. High Commissioner¹ for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, says she sees little cause for optimism in the unfolding tragedy in Darfur. But she says recent, more vigorous efforts to find a political solution to the four-and-one-half year old conflict is giving rise to an element of hope. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Louise Arbour (file photo)

The chief U.N. human rights official, Louise Arbour, says recent reports on the human rights situation in Darfur do not give cause for great optimism that things are turning around for the better. She says human rights violations² continue to be widespread and horrific.

She says internally displaced people in the camps continue to be targeted and women, in particular, continue to be victims of sexual abuse.

In addition, she says there has been very little progress to combat the culture of impunity³. She says people accused of crimes are rarely, if ever, prosecuted⁴.

"Again, within a human rights framework, very little indication of a change of attitude for the better on the part of the government of Sudan to respond to the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court," she said. "So there is a whole range of issues on which, I think, from a human rights point of view there is not much positive news to report."

On the other hand, Arbour says the slightly more energized⁵ peace process presents an element of hope.

During his recent trip to Sudan, U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon announced renewed peace talks between the Sudanese government and eight key rebel groups will begin October 27 in Libya.

The U.N. High Commissioner says inclusion of the rebel groups in these talks and the future deployment⁷ of a 26,000 strong African Union - U.N. hybrid⁸ peacekeeping force in Darfur could create a new momentum⁹ toward peace.

"I think these two initiatives certainly give cause for some optimism that the human rights situation could improve, certainly with the deployment of a larger hybrid force to deploy⁶ some elements of protection into the region," she said. "And, we will see how the Human Rights Council will continue to monitor and oversee¹⁰ the human rights issues in parallel to these political and peacekeeping efforts."

The Human Rights Council is in the midst of a three-week session to examine human rights abuse around the world. Several months ago, the Council held a special session on the situation in Darfur. Arbour says she expects the 47-member body will take other initiatives on Darfur in the future.

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 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。

3 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

4 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

5 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

7 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。

8 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。