VOA常速英语2008年-Human Rights Groups Accuse US of Racial Discrim

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
21 February 2008

A coalition¹ of human rights organizations is accusing the United States of persistent² and systematic³ racial discrimination. The U.S.- based groups have submitted a 600-page report to the 18-member U.N. Committee on the Elimination⁴ of Racial Discrimination, which begins a two-day examination of the U.S. record Thursday. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Each of the 173 states that are participating in the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination has to submit periodic reports to the U.N. watchdog committee on its efforts to comply with the Convention. This is only the second time since the United States ratified⁵ the Treaty in 1994 that the committee will examine its record on human rights and race.

The U.S. government has submitted a 115-page report and sent a 25-strong high-level delegation⁶ to Geneva to defend its record.

But, a coalition of more than 250 human rights groups charges the United States has failed to live up to its obligations.

U.S. Human Rights Network Executive Director, Ajamu Baraka weighs in.

"The persistent and systematic issues of racial discrimination have not been addressed by this government," said Baraka. "From Katrina, the ongoing⁷ crisis of Katrina in the Gulf⁸ Coast in the south, migrant rights, the ongoing police brutality⁹, housing issues-we find that these issues have escaped the scrutiny¹⁰ and the readjustment by the U.S. government in their obligation to the CERD (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) treaty."

Assistant Legal Adviser¹¹ for Human Rights and Refugees at the U.S. Department of State, Robert Harris, does not dismiss these charges out of hand. But, he says it is hard to imagine that racial discrimination is worse now than it was 50 years ago.

"You would have to not have a very deep understanding of American history to realize how bad racial discrimination was in the United States 50 years ago," said Harris. "And there have been big steps that have been made to address it, which is not to say that everything is perfect in the United States by any means."

Harris says some criticisms regarding police brutality and racial profiling after the terrorist attacks on September 11 may be justified¹². But, he says the United States holds police who attack people without cause criminally responsible.

And, he says, the United States does not condone¹³ racial profiling and tries to eliminate it. But, he calls charges that the government engaged in ethnic¹⁴ cleansing¹⁵ in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina exaggerated to say the least.

"Whatever one thinks of the U.S. response to Hurricane Katrina, no one can seriously call it ethnic cleansing," said Harris. "When you think of the acts that actually are ethnic cleansing around the world-in the Balkans, in Sudan. I mean, what is happening in New Orleans is not that. So, I think there is a certain element of hyperbole."

Based on previous experience, the U.S. delegation can expect some tough questioning by the 18-member U.N. Expert Committee regarding the actions Washington is taking to eliminate racial discrimination. The United States says it takes the process seriously.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 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。

4 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

5 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

10 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

15 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。