美国社团联合会要求派遣高级代表团参加联合国种族大会（在线收听）

US Group Requests High-Level Delegation for Racism Conference

Breck Ardery

United Nations1

6 Aug 2001 23:00 UTC

A coalition of U.S. civil rights groups says the United States government should send a high-level 1)delegation to the U.N. Conference on Racism and should not be reluctant to discuss the issue of reparations for trans-Atlantic slavery.

The coalition, which includes U.S. non-governmental organizations accredited to the conference, says the issue of reparations for the 2)enslavement of Africans is certainly a 3)legitimate subject for discussion. The United States and some other developed nations are concerned that an international 4)recognition of the legitimacy of reparations could open the door to virtually limitless claims.

But Wade Henderson, director of the U.S. Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, told reporters the U.S. government's position is 5)hypocritical because it has recognized reparations as legitimate in other 6)circumstances.

"In one case our country did support reparations on behalf of Japanese-Americans who were interned in the United States during World War II and we think that establishes a very important 7)precedent," said Mr. Henderson. "Secondly, our government assisted Jewish victims of the Holocaust in making claims against Germany and against some of the corporate powers in Germany to receive 8)recompense for past practices. We believe those precedents should also be applied to the current circumstance of African-Americans and others whom were 9)victimized by the trans-Atlantic slave trade."

Mr. Henderson and other members of the civil rights 10)coalition said the United States should send a high-level delegation to the U.N. conference to demonstrate a commitment to addressing the issues of 11)racism and other types of intolerance. The week-long conference opens in Durban, South Africa on August 31. The U.S. State Department says the decision on whether to send a delegation to Durban, and at what level, will be announced next week.

(1)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(2)      enslavement[In`sleIvmEnt]n.奴役, 强制

(3)      legitimate[lI5dVItImEt]adj.合法的, 合理的, 正统的v.合法

(4)      recognition[rekE^5nIF(E)n]n.赞誉, 承认, 重视, 公认, 识别

(5)      hypocritical[hIpE5krItIk]adj.伪善的, 伪善者的

(6)      circumstance[5s:kEmstEns]n.环境, 详情, 境况

(7)      precedent[5presIdEnt]n.先例

(8)      recompense[5rekEmpens]v.报偿n.报偿

(9)      victimize[5vIktImaIz]v.牺牲

(10)      coalition[kEJE5lIF(E)n]n.合并, 接合, 联合

(11)      racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视