VOA标准英语10月-UN Says Millions of People in Arbitrary, Unlawful

The new High Commissioner¹ for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is calling on governments to stop the arbitrary and unlawful detention² of their citizens. Pillay is launching a United Nations initiative to abolish this illegal practice and to highlight the plight³ of millions of people around the world who suffer unjust imprisonment⁴ and systematic⁵ violation⁶ of their human rights. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
　

New UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, speaks during a press briefing about launch of 'Dignity and Justice for Detainees Week' in Geneva, 02 Oct 2008

The U.N.'s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, says arbitrary arrest and unlawful imprisonment is widespread and global. She says problems relating to detention exist in almost all countries.

But, while unlawful detentions⁷ have been going on for a long time, she says they have been made worse in recent years by the so-called war on terrorism.

"Many more individuals have been placed in detention as a result of these anti-terrorism initiatives by governments in many parts of the world," said Pillay. "So, the trend in new anti-terrorism legislation in some countries appears to allow the police to detain people for longer and longer periods prior to their being charged."

In the past, people normally were detained without charge for 48 hours. Now, they often are held incommunicado for months without charge, making them more vulnerable to torture.

Pillay says she attaches great importance to the rights of all detainees to have their cases reviewed by an independent and impartial⁸ tribunal. She says she is concerned that the human and legal rights of hundreds of suspected terrorists detained by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay are being trampled⁹.

But, the High Commissioner welcomes the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme¹⁰ Court confirming the constitutional right of habeas corpus for detainees in Guantanamo. Habeas Corpus places the burden of proof on those detaining the person to justify¹¹ the detention.

While Guantanamo commands headline news, Pillay says it must not be forgotten that millions of people around the world suffer unjust imprisonment, or unjust treatment in prison.

"Every day around the world, there are hundreds of new cases of men, women and children being placed in detention, when they should not be - sometimes in quite inhumane conditions," she added.

The U.N. High Commissioner says people are detained for political reasons or because they are immigrants and asylum¹² seekers. She says the poor, the disabled, orphans¹³, women who are trafficked and sexually abused are frequently imprisoned¹⁴.

She says the initiative her office is launching aims to shine the light on these forgotten victims of abuse and promote their cause for justice.

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 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

5 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

8 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

9 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

13 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

14 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。