VOA标准英语2008年-UN: Human Rights Violations in Sudan's Darfur P

The U.N. Special Investigator¹ for Sudan reports an overall deterioration² in the country's human rights conditions. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA the investigator has submitted a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
　
Sima Samar (2007 file photo)

Afghan Human Rights Expert, Sima Samar was appointed Special Investigator for Sudan three years ago. Since then she has visited the country six times.

During her last visit in June and July, she says she saw more violations³ in human rights and more security breeches than before. She says the human rights situation in conflict-ridden Darfur Province was particularly bad.

"In my last visit actually, I have to say that there was, unfortunately, much more aerial bombardment and ground attack on the villages on civilians⁴," she said. "And, also on the access to humanitarian⁵ services, unfortunately, compared to last year, it was also attacks on humanitarian workers and convoys⁶ or car-jacking was doubled. WFP [World Food Program] already announced that they will cut off the rations⁷ by half because of lack of security in the area."

The war in Darfur erupted in February 2003 between the Sudanese-backed Janjaweed Arab militia⁸ and African rebel groups.

The United Nations reports at least 200,000 people have died from violence or indirect causes of the war, such as starvation and disease.

An estimated two million civilians are displaced and living in camps. Another 200,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Chad.

On her recent trip to Darfur, Samar says she received reports of killings⁹, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention¹⁰. Yet, from the evidence she was able to gather, she says no one has been prosecuted¹¹ for these crimes.

She says a culture of impunity¹² for serious crimes remains¹³ prevalent. She says the government has not taken sufficient measures to prevent human rights violations, nor has it provided any meaningful redress¹⁴ for victims.

"I think the violations are done by all sides of the conflict. But, I feel that the government is in the main responsible," she said. "As a state, they have the responsibility to protect the civilians. It is their job. It is their responsibility to protect and promote the human rights situation in the country. So, whatever the rebel group or insurgency¹⁵ does, the government should not repeat it."

Sima Samar's mandate¹⁶ as Special Investigator for Sudan ends in December. The Sudanese government is pressuring other countries in the U.N. Human Rights Council to abolish the mandate. Sudan's government says it is establishing its own Human Rights Commission that will closely watch the situation in the country.

But Samar says if a country has nothing to hide, then why is it afraid to have a special investigator or other monitors for its human rights situation.

 

1 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

2 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

3 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。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 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。

6 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

7 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

8 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。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

10 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。

11 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》。

12 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。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

15 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

16 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。