VOA常速英语2008年-UN Urged to Pressure Sudan on Darfur War Crimes

By Tendai Maphosa
London
31 March 2008

Senior international legal experts and human rights activists¹ say the U.N. Security Council should pressure Sudan to hand over two suspected war criminals to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The two are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. Tendai Maphosa has details from London.

Darfuri and international legal experts have signed a letter to the Security Council, urging it to pressure Sudan's government to hand over for trial Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb. The two are accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur in 2003 and 2004.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the two men almost a year ago.

Nick Donovan heads the Darfur campaign at the Aegis² Trust, a Britain-based non-governmental organization focused on the prevention of genocide. Donovan tells VOA the United Nations has several options available.

"The U.N. Security Council can take some concrete steps such as imposing³ targeted sanctions like freezing the bank accounts of those who are protecting Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb, the two suspects," Donovan said. "In this way they can put pressure on those who are refusing to hand them over to the International Criminal Court."

But the spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London, Khalid al Mubarak, dismisses the letter as part of a campaign to demonize Sudan. He tells VOA the suspects will not be handed over to the ICC.

"The International Criminal Court is itself controversial and highly discredited⁴; for one reason, which is this that many countries including the United States are exempted⁵ from the rules relevant to the International Criminal Court," Mubarak said. "Over and above that, Sudan is not party to it, it has not ratified⁶ anything relevant to it."

Mubarak says Sudan's judiciary is quite capable of trying its own accused.

He says that some people accused of human rights abuses in Darfur have been tried in Sudan and received heavy sentences. He says Kushayb and Harun are not up for trial because there is no evidence against them. He also dismisses the evidence that led to their ICC indictment⁷ as vague reports and accusations⁸ by people who are not credible⁹.

Sudan Humanitarian¹⁰ Affairs Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun was state interior minister at the height of the Darfur conflict. He is accused of helping¹¹ to recruit Janjaweed militias¹³ and contributing to the commission of crimes against humanity. Ali Kushayb, was a senior militia¹² leader.

It is estimated more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, when southern rebels launched an attack against a government garrison¹⁴. The government responded with a harsh crackdown, using regular troops and Janjaweed militias.

Among those who have signed the letter to the Security Council are Carla del Ponte and Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutors¹⁵ for the ICC tribunals for Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, Salih Mahmoud Osman, Darfuri winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize and members of the Darfur Bar Association.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 aegis   

n.盾；保护，庇护

参考例句：

• Medical supplies are flied in under the aegis of the red cross.在红十字会的保护下，正在空运进医药用品。
• The space programme will continue under the aegis of the armed forces.这项太空计划将以武装部队作后盾继续进行。

3 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

4 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

5 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

6 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。

7 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

13 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

14 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

15 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。