2006年VOA标准英语-ICC Prosecutors Say the International Criminal

By Nina Maria Potts
The Hague
16 October 2006
 
watch ICC report

International justice needs the support of the international community -- that's the word from chief prosecutors² from the International Criminal Court, and its ad hoc tribunals. Chief prosecutor¹ for the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Carla del Ponte is calling on the permanent ICC to take over trials and nail down major war crimes suspects -- a task she cannot complete if the United Nations cuts the purse strings³.

The seat of global justice: the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and hub of its special tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and now Cambodia.

Here, chief prosecutors gathered to discuss common problems. Not recognized by the United States, the ICC struggles to assert its jurisdiction⁴ over national sovereignties. Funding too is an issue.

Chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte (l) speaks with Serbia's President Boris Tadic (file photo)

Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte warns that perpetrators of Balkan atrocities⁵, including former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, might escape justice, unless the international community comes up with the money.

The United Nations, which spends more than 300 million dollars a year on the court, wants the trials wrapped up by 2008 and the Yugoslav tribunal closed by 2010.

 

In the face of this pressure, Del Ponte says her investigation⁶ may run out of money. "What shall we do? Ask for voluntary contributions? Transfer the cases to third countries?  Or transfer the remaining cases to the countries where the crimes were committed or where the accused reside, despite the lack of preparedness of these jurisdictions⁷ for such big cases?"

Del Ponte acknowledges the trials must be sped up. She says transferring cases to the crime's region may not be the best solution -- the move may be politically acceptable, but a judicial⁸ disaster.

 

Charles Taylor, former Liberian leader and war crimes suspect, was transferred to The Hague because of fears his trial would provoke regional instability. His trial start date is scheduled for April next year -- by then he'll have been in jail for over a year.

Acting⁹ ICC chief prosecutor Christopher Staker, stresses the Taylor case is just one of several. He says the fact the Sierra Leone war crimes tribunal is run out of Freetown, on voluntary contributions, makes for a more focused investigation, and breaks down local misperceptions.

"We are not going to prosecute¹⁰ anybody simply for having been one of the combatants in the armed conflict. But we explain what international law prohibits, within an armed conflict.  It's [It prohibits] for soldiers to attack people who are not participating in the conflict, to attack civilians¹¹, to pillage¹², to loot or plunder¹³, to torture people, to hack¹⁴ off people's limbs with axes.  And when it is explained in those terms, people understand that."

Another African war crimes suspect awaits trial at The Hague. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is accused of recruiting child soldiers who then participated in the mutilation and rape¹⁵ of civilians during the Democratic Republic of the Congo's five-year civil war.

The ICC has in the past been criticized for focusing too much on Africa. It is an accusation¹⁶ Fatou Bensouda, the ICC's deputy prosecutor, rejects. "In the selection of our cases, we look at the grievous crimes, the crimes that have the most gravity at the time they were committed."

The ICC may want to try the worst crimes, but it relies heavily on the co-operation of host countries.

Serbia's reluctance¹⁷ to hand over key fugitives¹⁸, has deeply frustrated¹⁹ chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. "I must tell you the truth, I don't see any signs of reconciliation²⁰.  Not in Bosnia, not in Croatia.  It is true that they are living now a little bit in peace, together, but they are ready to start again fighting each other."

Few illusions, then, for international prosecutors who stress post-conflict reconciliation is not within their scope, but a welcome by-product²¹ of delivering justice.

Instead, chief prosecutors say, trials must be sped up and convictions handed down.  And they need money and international support to achieve that.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

5 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

13 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。

14 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

15 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

16 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

17 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

18 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

19 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

21 by-product   

n.副产品，附带产生的结果

参考例句：

• Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
• The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。