VOA标准英语2012--Civil Society Pushing for Arms Trade Treaty

Civil Society Pushing for Arms Trade Treaty

 

Final negotiations¹ begin in July on the Arms Trade Treaty. The agreement would control the global trade in conventional weapons from rifles to tanks to warships². This week, the last round of preliminary talks is being held in New York.

In late 2006, the United Nations adopted resolution 61/89 that allowed work to begin on the Arms Trade Treaty, or ATT.

The proposed agreement has the support of 100 civil society groups, including the West Africa Network on Small Arms. Baffour Amoa is president of the NGO.

“It will frustrate³ arms traffickers and make it hard for them to ship and transship arms through naked, corrupt⁴ practices. I think it will boost the impact of existing regional protocols⁵ against small arms and light weapons proliferation. I think arms exporting countries will be more cautious in transferring arms to conflict zones and give peace-making the much needed chance,” he said.

Amoa said, “Transparency, monitoring and accountability in the arms trade may become more stringent⁶.” But he added the ultimate goal is to save lives.

Landmines⁸ and other weapons

The Arms Trade Treaty is broader in scope that the Landmine⁷ Treaty that’s been in effect since the late 1990s.

“The landmine treaty was specific against a particular weapon that many states found unacceptable to use because of its devastating⁹ impact on human lives. The Arms Trade Treaty is really going to cover broader conventional weapons from tanks to rifles and so on and so forth¹⁰,” he said.

However, because it addresses so many types of weapons, it could be harder to enforce than the landmine treaty.

“In every situation you have the good and the bad guys and I guess the bad guys will always take advantage when they find loopholes. Now with the treaty, we’re hoping that exporting countries will be more careful because they will only export after having assessed the risk associated with the transfer according to the treaty provisions. And this may change the situation drastically,” he said.

Bout¹¹

Amoa lent his support to the treaty because of his work in Liberia and Sierra Leone when those countries were engulfed¹² in civil war.

Last year, suspected Russian Arms dealer¹³ Viktor Bout was convicted of conspiring¹⁴ to sell missiles and other weapons in Thailand. He was arrested in a sting operation by U.S. and Thai authorities and is now in prison in New York. Bout has been accused of helping¹⁵ to fuel conflicts in West Africa, but has not been tried on those allegations.

However, Amoa said Bout left a legacy¹⁶ in the region.

“I can say that if one looks at the situation in Nigeria, (if) one looks at the situation in other states like Cote d’Ivoire and so on and so forth, these are countries that cannot be listed or said to be major arms producers. Yet, the kind of sophisticated weapons that were found in these countries and prolonged conflict was definitely the work of somebody, who had impunity¹⁷ to move weapons all over the place. And this could be associated with some of the fallout of Viktor Bout’s activities,” he said.

Amoa described statements made by the large arms producing countries regarding the treaty as “encouraging.” But differences are expected to arise in July during final negotiations in New York.

In October, Secretary of State Clinton said the United States “is committed to actively¹⁸ pursuing a strong and robust¹⁹ treaty that contains the highest possible, legally-binding standards for the international transfer of conventional weapons.” 

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

3 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

6 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

7 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

8 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

12 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

14 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

15 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。

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

17 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。

18 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

19 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。