2006年VOA标准英语-Human Rights Group Calls for Spotlight on N. Ko

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
01 November 2006

A privately¹ produced report says international attention should be paid to the human rights situation in North Korea, which the report's authors say amounts to crimes against humanity.

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North Korean boys eat lunch at government-run orphanage² in Sariwon city, North Hwanghae province  
  
The report says humanitarian³ concerns in North Korea - including widespread starvation and political oppression - should no longer take a back seat to security issues.

The report was commissioned by three prominent human-rights campaigners: former Czech President Vaclav Havel, former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel.

International attention is again focused on North Korea after it agreed Tuesday to rejoin six-nation talks on its nuclear program. Three weeks ago North Korea defied international warnings and conducted its first nuclear test. 
 

Jared Genser  
  
Attorney Jared Genser of the D.L.A. Piper law firm in Washington, D.C., headed a team of 20 lawyers that worked with the independent U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea to compile the report.

He told reporters in Tokyo that the international community - concerned that pressuring Pyongyang could endanger progress on security negotiations⁴ - has overlooked the humanitarian crisis in North Korea.

"And indeed by detonating a nuclear weapon, Kim Jong Il has made clear he will do what he wants with respect to the security issues, regardless of whether the international community decides that it will not raise human rights and humanitarian concerns," Genser said.

The report calls for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a non-punitive resolution, requesting Pyongyang to allow access to humanitarian relief programs in the country and to release political prisoners.

Genser acknowledges that getting the Security Council to act will be "very difficult," but says the alternative is a continuing nightmare for the North Korean people.

Human rights attorney Jared Genser listens as Debra Liang-Fenton speaks to reporters  
  
"And if we do nothing then the results we will get are already very clear," he said. "We will have ongoing⁵ suffering of people starving to death in the country by the tens, if not hundreds of thousands, up to millions. We will have hundreds of thousands of people in a gulag system where systematic⁶ crimes are being committed against them."

The report describes North Korea's brutal⁷ treatment of its citizens and blames government policies for causing famine and malnutrition⁸. North Korea has consistently denied that it abuses its citizens.

1 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

2 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

3 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。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。