国际组织动向—联合国增席尚未达成一致

No Agreement on UN Expansion Formula

联合国增席尚未达成一致

 

Four countries seeking permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council have failed to reach agreement with African nations on a formula for Council enlargement. The failure puts a damper on hopes for speedy approval of an expansion proposal.

 

Brazil, Germany, India and Japan say they will not ask the U.N. General Assembly to vote on their Security Council expansion plan until at least the end of the month, while they try to win African support.

 

The announcement came after top foreign ministry¹ officials of the so-called G-four countries met with African Union foreign ministry officials Sunday in New York. Backing of the 53-nation African bloc² is critical to passage of the G-four resolution.

 

India's U.N. Ambassador Nirupam Sen said efforts to bridge the gap between a G-four plan and a competing AU plan would continue.

 

Nirupam Sen: For that purpose, a committee has been set up, a joint³ mechanism⁴ between the AU and G-four has been set up, we'll see how the two texts can be merged⁵, it will produce results which will be examined by foreign ministers of AU and G-four on 25 of July.

 

The agreement to keep talking is a setback⁶ to plans by Brazil, India, Germany and Japan to win quick General Assembly approval of their expansion proposal. The plan would add 10 new seats to the 15-member Security Council, including four seats which presumably would go to them, and two others that would be reserved for African countries.

 

Germany's Ambassador Gunter Pleuger had earlier said it is critical that a vote on the G-four measure be held before the end of July. He had downplayed differences between the two sides, saying in the end, the G-four proposal is the only alternative.

 

But Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji of AU president, Nigeria, suggested to reporters after Sunday's meeting that African countries would insist in having their views included.

 

Oluyemi Adeniji: When you wait until you see the results. When you negotiate you don't count on one side to do all the giving and one side to do all the taking.

 

Mr. Adeniji and other participants in Sunday's meeting expressed confidence the differences could be worked out. But the eight-day delay is nevertheless a blow to the G-four timetable for approval.

 

Last week the G-four proposal came in for harsh criticism from many quarters during two days of debate. The United States urged nations to vote against it. Other permanent Council members China and Russia also spoke⁷ in opposition⁸.

 

Security Council enlargement is one of a package of U.N. reforms that Secretary-General Kofi Annan is hoping to have approved when world leaders gather in New York in September to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the world body.

 

Most nations have agreed for years that the Council's membership reflects the world's post-World War Two power structure, and needs to be updated for the 21st century.   But changing the Council is difficult. It requires ratification⁹ by the legislatures of two-thirds of the 191 member states, including all five permanent members.

 

Peter Heinlein, VOA news, the United Nations.

 

注释：

formula [5fC:mjulE] n. 方案

bloc [blCk] n. 集团

ambassador [Am5bAsEdE] n. 大使

mechanism [5mekEnizEm] n. 机构

downplay [5daunplei] vt. 忽略，不予重视

blow [blEu] n. 突然的打击

ratification [7rAtifi5keiFEn] n. 批准，认可

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 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。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。