2006年VOA标准英语-EU, Africans Agree to Address Migration Problem

By Sabina Castelfranco
Tripoli
23 November 2006

Ministers of the African Union and European Union Thursday ended a conference on migration¹ and development in the Libyan capital Tripoli with a declaration blaming poverty for migration. Sabina Castelfranco reports for VOA from the Libyan capital.

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Flags of EU, AU participating states in the immigration and development conference wave in Tripoli, 23 Nov. 2006

Over two days in Tripoli, ministers from the African Union and the European Union and representatives of international organizations discussed ways to stem the increasing flow of illegal immigrants towards Europe. They agreed that the fundamental causes of migration are poverty and underdevelopment.

The ministers acknowledged that migratory² movements occur essentially³ in Africa and towards developed countries. Delegates at the conference said that illegal immigration cannot be addressed solely⁴ by security considerations but must be based on development strategies.

The director general of the International Organization for Migration, Brunson McKinley, said the fact that such a conference was held was encouraging because a few years ago this would not have been possible.

McKinley said that now there is a common realization⁵ in Europe and Africa that the issues of migration and development must be addressed together.

"With a combination of regular migration, that is opening legitimate⁶ places for foreigner workers, better identity and other controls in transit⁷, and in particular the development or co-development element which is to try to find ways to identify people at risk of losing their livelihoods⁸ in poorer countries and then targeting those areas and those people with assistance, whether they're pre-migratory or post-migratory because there is an element of return and re-integration in all of this - that's the common strategy that now I think more and more unites all of the parties to this debate," he said. 

After hours of negotiation⁹, delegates agreed on a final joint¹⁰ declaration laying out measures to address migration.

But it took the delegates much discussion to reach an agreement on two issues: the creation of a fund by the EU to combat illegal immigration and the pledge by African nations to readmit its citizens caught living in Europe illegally.

In the end, it was agreed that the feasibility of setting up the fund would be examined by a joint AU-EU working group. In addition, agreements would be reached to ensure the readmission of illegal migrants to their countries of origin.

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

5 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

6 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 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。