美国国家公共电台 NPR--Olexandra Matviichuk is fighting for accountability for war crimes in Ukraine

Olexandra Matviichuk is fighting for accountability for war crimes in Ukraine

Transcript¹

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Ukrainian human rights lawyer Olexandra Matviichuk speaks with NPR's Morning Edition about Russian war crimes and accountability.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A recipient² of the Nobel Peace Prize says she is determined³ to record the atrocities⁴ of war. Olexandra Matviichuk heads the Centre for Civil Liberties based in Kyiv, Ukraine.

OLEXANDRA MATVIICHUK: We have an ambitious goal to document in chronological⁵ order each episode of war crimes which was committed by Russian troops in the smallest village in each oblast in Ukraine.

INSKEEP: She's been doing this work since Russia first seized Ukrainian territory back in 2014. This year, she's had far more to do. And this week, she visited Washington to talk about her work.

MATVIICHUK: All Russians who have committed these crimes, as well as Putin and the rest of senior political leadership and high military command, will be brought to justice. The law doesn't work, but I do believe that it's temporary.

INSKEEP: To the extent that you can say, without endangering someone who gave you information, of course, what is an example of how you learn of an incident behind enemy lines and then how you go about trying to document it?

MATVIICHUK: We received information from people who left these territories and can provide us the firsthand information about their experience. So we monitor open sources. These need verification, and there is a special protocol⁶ when you verify information. A lot of digital tools exist, which people couldn't even dream during the Second World War. Now when you have your phone, you can make your own photo and video, which can be very essential evidence in the future courts. But what has not developed so quickly as a technology is international criminal responsibility. Here we have a gap in which we're working on for current moment.

INSKEEP: What is the gap?

MATVIICHUK: The gap is in situation when Ukrainian legal system is overloaded⁷ with an extreme amount of crimes. And the best office of general prosecutor⁸ in the world couldn't cope with 42,000 of criminal proceedings⁹. And International Criminal Court will limit its investigation¹⁰ only for several select cases. And this is a question which - here on the table (ph) - for whom do we document all these episodes of war crimes for? Who will provide justice for hundreds of thousands of victims who will not be lucky to be selected by International Criminal Court?

INSKEEP: And when you say the International Criminal Court is not enough and the Ukrainian courts are not enough, do you want some new or different tribunal to be created for this situation?

MATVIICHUK: I will try to emphasize that the activities of International Criminal Court is important, but they will focus on it of several cases in total. And international tribunal is a model, how to make national systems stronger because it can be designed like a platform where national investigators¹¹ work together with international investigators. National judges work together with international judges.

I spoke¹² with hundreds of people who survived Russian captivity¹³, and they told me horrible stories about how they were beaten, how they were raped¹⁴, how they were smashed into wooden boxes. And I know for sure from my work that these people, they need to restore not only their broken life, broken families, broken vision of the future; they need to restore their belief that the law exists and that justice is possible, even though a delay in time. And that's why my team work on the mechanisms¹⁵, like a complex strategy, how to provide chance for justice for all, not only for those horrible selected by International Criminal Court or who will be took like a priority for national legal system, but for all because the life of each person matters.

INSKEEP: When you think about the future, it's entirely¹⁶ plausible¹⁷ that this war could still be going on a year from now or two years from now. When you think about that possibility, do you think that the Ukrainian people can take it?

MATVIICHUK: I'm looking in future with optimism. I don't see the future easy. It will be difficult. But every bit of us know for what we are fighting for. We are fighting for freedom and for our democratic choice. And this means that the success of Ukraine will have a huge impact to the whole region and to the democratic future of Russia itself.

INSKEEP: Olexandra Matviichuk, recipient of the Nobel Prize, of the Centre for Civil Liberties in Kyiv. Thank you so much.

MATVIICHUK: Thank you.

INSKEEP: Did I miss anything important that you wanted to say or get anything wrong?

MATVIICHUK: Maybe it's important to highlight what Ukraine needs...

INSKEEP: What does Ukraine need?

MATVIICHUK: ...If it's possible?

INSKEEP: Yes.

MATVIICHUK: Maybe I will tell a story just to describe this. I would like to tell one story about my friend Andriana Susak. When Russia started this war in 2014, she stopped her commercial career and joined Ukrainian Armed Forces. When large-scale invasion started, she was among those Ukrainian defenders¹⁸ who liberated¹⁹ people in Kharkiv region. And she was in Washington just recently to inform congressmen and American people about Russian atrocities and needs of Ukrainian army to stop it. And these days, she was severely²⁰ injured, and now doctors are fighting for her life. And she was injured because she used civilian²¹ car during the war. So...

INSKEEP: She didn't have access to an armored vehicle, you're saying.

MATVIICHUK: Yes, yes, because Ukraine's still waiting for them. And that's why so many people are dying - because they use civilian car to fulfill²² military tasks. So in order to stop this torture and murder of civilians²³, Ukrainian army need military assistance.

INSKEEP: I can hear how upsetting that story is to you. I'm sorry to hear of your friend and fellow citizen.

MATVIICHUK: Thanks.

INSKEEP: And thank you for adding that. That gives a lot of perspective. I really appreciate it.

MATVIICHUK: Thank you, Steven.

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 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

3 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。

4 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》

5 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

6 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

7 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

8 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。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

14 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

15 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

17 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

18 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

20 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

21 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

22 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

23 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。