UN Faces Multiple Challenges in Iraq

 

By Patricia Nunan

This week, the U.N. Security Council is continuing its discussions on its mission in Iraq, where the world body has been mandated¹ to help coordinate² nationwide elections in a security situation still fraught³ with danger. VOA's Patricia Nunan spoke⁴ to the deputy chief of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, Ross Mountain, who shared his somewhat-sober view on the situation the United Nations faces there.

It has been more than a year since the United Nations suffered one of its worst tragedies: the murder of 22 staff members in a suicide truck bombing at its Baghdad headquarters. For some, the question of whether the United Nations has recovered is hardly even debated.

Ross Mountain is the deputy head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

"No, the United Nations hasn't recovered," he said. "And, for many of us who lost friends, colleagues at that time, it will take a long time to recover. The institution, itself, in terms of dealing⁵ with Iraq, is still very much preoccupied⁶ with what happened. But we're back."

Since the bombing, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has restricted the number of international workers deployed⁷ in Iraq to just 35 individuals, working with a few hundred local staff. In addition to humanitarian⁸ work, UNAMI is tasked with helping⁹ Iraq's newly formed electoral commission organize nationwide elections by the end of next January.

It is a daunting¹⁰ task. Iraq remains¹¹ plagued by insecurity, which officials say is the work of Saddam Hussein loyalists, the al-Qaeda terror group or any of an array of militant¹² groups fighting the occupation. The result is near-daily mortar¹³ and rocket attacks on international offices; the abduction and at times murder of scores of laborers¹⁴, aid workers and journalists; and car-bomb attacks aimed at coalition¹⁵ troops or members of the Iraq's interim¹⁶ administration. Some areas in the country remain virtual "no-go" territories for coalition forces, given the strength of the insurgent¹⁷ groups based there.

But Mr. Mountain says elections may still be held on time.

"My colleagues who are working in support of the Independent Electoral Commission are confident that -- provided that there are no untoward¹⁸ incidents, and that really is in the area of security -- then it should be feasible to hold the elections on time. Obviously security is a big 'if,'" he added.

There are multiple dimensions to the security problem for the United Nations, which has a long history in Iraq. Mr. Mountain says many people may only associate the United Nations with the economic sanctions and political will imposed on Iraq by the international community throughout the regime of former President Saddam Hussein -- a perception he says which must be overcome.

"We are however very aware that we have been linked, associated with the embargo¹⁹ that's been on Iraq, and indeed the arms inspections²⁰ which doesn't necessarily make us the most popular institution in the world in Iraq," he noted²¹. "We need to explain better the kind of work we're doing; not just in the political field, but also in terms of water supply, in terms of health, in terms of providing the food that goes into the public distribution system, the field of electricity and so on. I think we've probably been rather poor at that so far."

On another level, Mr. Mountain acknowledges it may also prove difficult to assert the United Nations' independence in Iraq. That is because the protection of its personnel is largely dependent on the multinational²² forces, which are headed by the Iraqi government, but largely consist of American and other coalition troops.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has called on member states to contribute some 480 military personnel to form special protection units for U.N. staff and facilities. So far, few nations have agreed to participate.

"That is one of the reasons that the Security Council has sought to have a dedicated²³ force to provide support for the United Nations in its operations in the country," he said. "But, with or without that force, the United Nations is an independent institution."

Since the United States invaded Iraq last year, without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, critics have charged that the United Nations has lost some of its legitimacy²⁴ as an international arbitrator. Mr. Mountain disagrees. He says he feels no special burden to redeem²⁵ the United Nations through its Iraq mission.

"There are some of us who don't believe that the United Nations needed to redeem its stature," he explained. "We were operating in Iraq as we do in all too many countries before the conflict, during the conflict and after the conflict. It's unfortunate that often there are some member states that do not understand the way we work and do not understand the global legitimacy of the institution. We're looking ahead to try to bring the support of the institution and its capacities to work for the benefit of the Iraqi people."

Mr. Mountain said that despite all the difficulties, the United Nations is in Iraq to stay.

Patricia Nunan, VOA News, Baghdad.

注释：
suicide 自杀
Baghdad 巴格达
United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq 联合国伊拉克援助团
humanitarian 人道主义的
daunting 使人畏缩的
plague 折磨
mortar 迫击炮
interim 临时的
insurgent 叛乱的
Independent Electoral Commission 独立选举委员会
untoward 麻烦的，不幸的
feasible 可行的
multiple dimensions 多维
economic sanction 经济制裁
regime 政权
embargo 禁止出入港口
in terms of 根据，依照
U.N. Security Council 联合国安全理事会
legitimacy 合法性
arbitrator 仲裁人

 

1 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

2 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

3 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

4 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。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

14 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

17 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

18 untoward   

adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的

参考例句：

• Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
• I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

19 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

20 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

22 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

23 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

24 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

25 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。