美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Canadian court considers whether the U.S is a safe place for asylum-seekers

A Canadian court considers whether the U.S is a safe place for asylum¹-seekers

Transcript²

Is America a safe place for asylum-seekers? That's a question Canada's highest court is currently considering.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Is America a safe place for asylum-seekers? That's a question Canada's highest court is currently considering. Advocates there are challenging a bilateral³ agreement on asylum-seekers, as Emma Jacobs reports.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) The United States is not safe for refugees.

EMMA JACOBS, BYLINE⁴: As government lawyers presented their case inside the Supreme⁵ Court in Ottawa yesterday, supporters of the legal challenge gathered outside a Toronto courthouse. At stake - the future of the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement. In effect since 2004, it says asylum-seekers who make it to either country need to apply for asylum where they arrived first. Immigrant advocate Diana Gallego criticized the Canadian government for continuing to defend the agreement under which Canada turns asylum-seekers back to the United States.

DIANA GALLEGO: United States, even with this new president, is not safe country for refugees.

JACOBS: The treaty is about both countries meeting their obligations under international refugee law.

JULIA SANDE: People are placed in solitary⁶ confinement⁷.

JACOBS: Julia Sande says some of those being turned back are being detained and incarcerated⁸ in the U.S. in very poor circumstances. She's a lawyer with Amnesty International, one of the parties challenging the agreement.

SANDE: They're held in really inhumane conditions, subjected to staggering rates of sexual violence, given religiously inappropriate food.

JACOBS: Sande says that the U.S. asylum system is more restrictive, and people who would be eligible⁹ for protection in Canada can be rejected and deported¹⁰.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU: (Speaking French).

JACOBS: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the idea the U.S. is not a safe third country for refugee claimants. In court, the government's lawyers insisted that Canada has safeguards for people who face exceptional threats. There is no timeline for a ruling, but immigrant advocates on both sides of the border will be watching closely.

For NPR News, I'm Emma Jacobs in Montreal.

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 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。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 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。

5 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。

6 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

7 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

8 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

10 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》