美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. What does it plan to do about it?

U.S. accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. What does it plan to do about it?

Transcript¹

The U.S. is openly accusing Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. Legal scholars say don't expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to face trial anytime soon.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We have a story on the difference between saying and doing. It's the difference between saying Russia committed war crimes and getting those claims into court. Vice² President Harris did the first part the other day. She attended the Munich Security Conference and said Russia committed crimes against humanity, quote, "we have the evidence." NPR's Deborah Amos reports on the second part.

DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE³: The vice president's words are rooted in international law. Crimes against humanity, when acts of war are widespread, systematic⁴ and intentionally⁵ targets civilians⁶. In the early weeks of the war, President Biden called Vladimir Putin a war criminal. But a year later, the U.S. has yet to translate its rhetoric⁷ into prosecution⁸, says human rights lawyer Reed Brody.

REED BRODY: Ukraine has made this a priority.

AMOS: Brody wrote "Catching⁹ A Dictator," a book about the conviction of a brutal¹⁰ African leader. Catching a Russian president is even harder.

BRODY: Nobody's going to be putting the handcuffs on Vladimir Putin anytime soon. But these are crimes that have no statute¹¹ of limitations.

AMOS: There is some good news here, says David Scheffer, who served as the first ambassador for war crimes issues in the Clinton administration.

DAVID SCHEFFER: Never before in the history of humankind has a situation of mass atrocities¹² been investigated so quickly by so many individuals.

AMOS: Still, even as the vice president vowed¹³ accountability in Munich, conversations around that security conference shows countries in the global south are not yet on board, says Brody.

BRODY: As somebody who worked in Africa for the last 30 years, I'm just so aware of this perception, particularly in the global south, that international justice only kicks in against enemies and outcasts, that there's one justice for the West and there's one justice for enemies of the West.

AMOS: For Ukraine, the enemy is Russia. And Ukraine's leaders insist on justice in their national courts and at the International Criminal Court at the Hague. But their ultimate aim is even higher, an international war crimes tribunal with the jurisdiction¹⁴ to judge Russian aggression¹⁵. That law was created for the Nuremberg tribunals 80 years ago. The crime of aggression, also called the leadership crime, targeted those who planned and carried out World War II.

(APPLAUSE)

AMOS: Ukraine's prosecutor¹⁶ general, Andriy Kostin, was in Washington a few weeks ago to lobby the Biden administration for backing

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANDRIY KOSTIN: Being optimistic, we will have it. And then our idea will be real.

AMOS: His to-do list is a challenge. For starters, international trials get a mixed political reception in Washington. For example, the U.S. didn't join the International Criminal Court, but used its political muscle to weaken it, says Brody.

BRODY: Britain, France and the United States were able to limit the ICC's jurisdiction so that it can't prosecute¹⁷ aggression by citizens of non-consenting states, like Britain, France and the United States - but also like Russia.

AMOS: An international war crimes tribunal could be created by a majority vote at the U.N. General Assembly.

JAMES GOLDSTON: Not to date. We'll see.

AMOS: That's James Goldston with the Open Society in New York. He says a U.N. vote is far from clear.

GOLDSTON: There has been resistance to the notion that this is a global problem, with the suggestion by some that this is a European problem or a northern problem.

AMOS: Again, Reed Brody.

BRODY: There already is a lot of justice in Ukraine. I mean, there are massive war crimes investigations¹⁸ that will work their way up. He will not get off, justice wise, whether or not there is a tribunal for aggression, the supreme¹⁹ international crime.

AMOS: International justice is often uneven²⁰, takes years and rarely delivers accountability. Yet Ukraine's victims will settle for nothing less than documenting their trauma²¹ in an international court of law.

Deborah Amos, NPR News, New York.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 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。

5 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

6 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。

7 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

15 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

16 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

17 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

18 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

19 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

20 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

21 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。