VOA常速英语2014--Samantha Power On Civil Society 萨曼莎·鲍尔谈公民社会（在线收听）

Samantha Power On Civil Society 萨曼莎·鲍尔谈公民社会

The end of the Cold War ushered in an era of unprecedented growth in democracy and with it civil society.  But in recent years, democratic growth has stagnated, said U.S. United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power, and the reaction against civil society has been formidable.

冷战的结束使得民主和公民社会得到了史无前例的发展。但是最近几年，美国驻联合国大使萨曼莎·鲍尔认为，民主增长已经停滞，以及对于公民社会的反应比较可怕。

Within the last five years, dozens of countries have enacted new laws or regulations aimed at restricting the activities of civil society. Ukraine's parliament approved legislation that would restrict freedom of speech and assembly, constrain independent media, broaden the definitions of libel, and hinder non-governmental organizations that receive foreign assistance.

最近的五年，数十个国家为了限制公民社会的活动实施了新的法律法规。乌克兰议会通过了一项议案，该议案会限制公民的言论和集会自由，限制独立媒体，扩宽自由的定义，阻碍有外国资助的非政府组织的发展。

The response to these restrictions, said Ambassador Power, should be to strengthen civil society networks, develop new strategies, and outthink the enemies of freedom. For its part, the United States has placed support for civil society into the mainstream of its foreign policy.  Every day, American diplomats make known the United States' backing for the right of people to organize peacefully for change.

萨曼莎·鲍尔认为，对于这些限制的反应应该是加强公民社会网络，发展新的战略，以及在思想上超越自由的敌人。就其本身而言，美国对于公民社会已经在其主流外交政策中提高了支持。美国外交官每天都在宣扬其对人民和平组织追求改变的权利的支持。

The struggle to defend civil society is not carried on in support of an abstract principle; it is a struggle waged on behalf of men and women across the globe.  People like Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski who is serving a multi-year prison sentence on trumped-up charges.  And activist Sonia Garro of the peaceful Cuban pro-democracy Ladies in White Movement, who was arrested prior to the Pope's visit in 2012 and remains in prison along with her husband Ramon Munoz.

保卫公民社会之战不只是对抽象原则的支持；它是代表全球人类而发动的一场斗争。白俄罗斯人权活动家比亚利亚茨基，他曾因为一些凭空捏造的控诉被判多年监禁。白色运动中的古巴民主活动家索尼娅·加罗的和平女士，2012年在教皇的访问前被捕，并且一直和她的丈夫拉蒙·穆尼奥斯留在监狱中。

In Iran, authorities have detained an estimated 500 or more human rights defenders subjecting many to torture, abuse, and violations of due process.  And in China an estimated 160 peaceful activists have been arrested in the past year.  Other beleaguered civil society defenders reside in countries such as Nigeria, Bahrain, and Sudan.  And in North Korea, the most extreme case, there is no civil society at all.

在伊朗，当局已经拘留了大约500个人权保卫者，让他们屈从于酷刑、虐待和违反正当程序。在中国，去年大约有160位和平积极分子被捕。其他一些陷入困境的公民社会保卫者主要发布在像尼日利亚、巴林和苏丹这样的国家。在朝鲜，是最为极端的地区，毫无公民社会可言。

The United States remains committed to supporting and defending civil society worldwide and calling out countries that seek to silence the freedom of expression, online and offline, and to restrict civil society’s ability to organize and assemble.

美国一直致力于支持和保卫世界范围内的公民社会，并且呼吁那些企图沉默线上、线下表达自由、限制公民组织和集会权利的国家加入。