中东巴以之争成为联合国种族大会焦点

 

 

Mideast Overshadows Other Issues at Racism¹ Conference

Challiss McDonough

Durban, South Africa

3 Sep 2001 

 

Human-rights organizations are urging delegates at the World Conference on Racism to stop 1)squabbling over the Middle East and 2)get down to business.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has 3)dominated attention at the racism conference. International human-rights groups say the issue has pushed other critical issues aside.

Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch says the 4)plight of the Palestinians is very important. But he says some countries, including the United States, are using the dispute over the Middle East to avoid having to talk about the real issues, and to avoid taking a stand on racism around the world. "There are so many issues at this conference, [for example] refugees: 150 million people today live in countries that are not their countries of origin. Many of them have fled because of racism," he said. "Most of them suffer racism in their host countries. Those are issues we need to address. We need to address issues of caste, of the 160 million 5)untouchables in India, who live in a daily 6)segregation," he continued. "We need to deal with the question of indigenous² people. These questions are being 7)overshadowed by the highly politicized question of the Middle East."

Human Rights Watch and several other similar organizations are urging the conference delegates to 8)adopt, what Mr. Brody calls a "forward-looking plan of action." He says he wants nations to make 9)concrete 10)commitments to deal with racism inside their own borders, commitments that can be 11)verified by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

"I think behind the scenes, there are some governments, particularly Latin American governments, who are working with the Human Rights Commission on follow-up mechanisms³, on concrete programs to combat racism," said Mr. Brody. "Unfortunately the energy of many of the big countries, like the United States, the European Union, have been elsewhere, and hopefully in the five-days that remain in this conference, they will get down to business."

Despite the groups' urging, Day Four of the conference saw yet more attention focused on the Middle East. The leader of the Israeli delegation⁴ blasted the draft declaration to be adopted when the meeting ends Friday. Mordechai Yadid said the document contains fundamentally anti-Semitic language. "Can there be a greater 12)irony than the fact that a conference convened⁵ to combat the scourge⁶ of racism should give rise to the most racist⁷ declaration in a major international organization since the Second World War?" he asked.

Mr. Yadid made the remarks 13)on behalf of Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who chose not to attend the conference in protest over the declaration language. Sunday, Mr. Yadid warned that the entire Israeli delegation could walk out of the conference if the language is not 14)softened.

 

 

(1)      squabble[5skwRb(E)l]v.争论

(2)      get down to one's work静下心来工作

(3)      dominate[5dRmIneIt]v.支配, 占优势

(4)      plight[plaIt]n.情况, 状态, 困境, 盟誓(婚姻)vt.保证, 约定

(5)      untouchable[Qn5tQtFEb(E)l]adj.禁止触摸的,管不着的,独特的,不可及的

(6)      segregation[se^rI5^eIF(E)n]n.种族隔离

(7)      overshadow[EJvE5FAdEJ]v.遮蔽, 使...失色

(8)      adopt[E5dRpt]vt.采用, 收养

(9)      concrete[5kRNkri:t]adj.具体的, 有形的n.混凝土

(10)      commitment[kE5mItmEnt]n.委托事项, 许诺, 承担义务

(11)      verify[5verIfaI]vt.检验, 校验, 查证, 核实

(12)      irony[5aIErEnI]n.反话, 讽刺, 讽刺之事

(13)      on behalf of adv.代表...

(14)      soften[5sRf(E)n]v.(使)变柔软, (使)变柔和

 

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 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》

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

6 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

7 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。