VOA标准英语2009年-UN Report Describes 'Terrible' Year for Ch

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
16 September 2009

The U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict says the past year has been terrible for children in war-torn regions. In a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the Special Representative highlights the grave situation of child soldiers and other children in a number of conflicts around the world.

On a positive note, the United Nations estimates the number of child soldiers worldwide has fallen to 250,000 compared to 300,000 five years ago.

U.N. Special Representative Radhika Coomaraswamy says during the past year, a significant number of child soldiers were released by the National Liberation Forces in Burundi and more children are to be released in the Central African Republic and the Philippines as a result of active intervention¹ by the United Nations.

 
A Palestinian woman sits in the rubble² of her home in the eastern area of Jebaliya after Israeli troops withdrew from the northern Gaza Strip, 18 Jan 2009
But for the most part, she says negative developments far outweigh³ the positive ones. In particular, Coomaraswamy highlights the plight⁴ of child soldiers in ferocious⁵ conflicts in Gaza, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In all of these conflicts, she says child soldiers and other children have suffered high casualty rates and grave violations⁶. Many have become internally displaced.

She says the situation of children in internment⁷ camps in Sri Lanka is a matter of real concern.

"We feel that they should be allowed freedom of movement and reunited with their families and given complete access to humanitarian⁸ assistance," said Coomaraswamy. "We also feel that former child soldiers should be given assistance and be quickly reunited with their families rather than kept in detention⁹."

In her report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the special representative catalogues the terrible violations against children in Gaza, noting what they have suffered is beyond words.

She says fighting between government and Hutu rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in a great many children being killed and maimed.

She says many children in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan have been forcibly recruited by the militants¹⁰ and allegedly trained to become informants, fighters or suicide bombers¹¹.

Coomaraswamy says she is also very concerned about the changing nature of conflict, especially in the fight between terrorism and counter terrorism.

"Children, many of them are used as suicide bombers as well as fighters, on the one hand, that girls schools are attacked on the other. But, we also have a situation where large numbers of children are arrested and detained in the counter-terrorism activity," she said. "And, this is of concern to us. We also are concerned about the collateral¹² damage that often results with child victims."

Coomaraswamy says it is critical for the international community to remain steadfast¹³ and determined¹⁴ to make those who violate the rights of children be held accountable. She says those who commit these crimes should be punished. 

1 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

2 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

3 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

4 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。

5 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

6 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。

7 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

11 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

13 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。