2006年VOA标准英语-UN Debate Ends, Focus Switches to Search for Ne

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
27 September 2006

The annual U.N. General Assembly debate has ended in New York, clearing the way for the final stage of the process of selecting a new secretary-general.  The field of candidates for the job of diplomat¹-in-chief remains² wide open.

----

The 61st General Assembly debate is likely to be remembered more for theater than substance. While world leaders addressed issues of war, poverty and disease, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez stole headlines with a personal attack on President Bush.

 
Hugo Chavez before UN General Assembly, Sept. 20, 2006
  
Speaking through an interpreter, he called Mr. Bush "the devil".

"Yesterday, the devil came here, right here, and it smells of sulfur³ still today," he said.

Chavez received warm applause as he left the rostrum to continue his campaign to win Venezuela a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Veteran diplomatic observers say Venezuela's candidacy has strong support from the bloc⁴ of mostly developing countries that comprise the majority of U.N. member states.  

Pictures of former UN secretaries-general   
  
With the annual debate over, the focus of attention at the U.N. headquarters turns to the selection of the world body's next leader. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term in office expires at the end of the year.

The choice is made by the 15-member Security Council, which by tradition submits the name of a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval. Two informal polls among Security Council members have provided few clues as to who the next secretary-general might be.

If the U.N. tradition of geographical⁵ rotation⁶ is followed, this is Asia's turn to lead the world body, and six of the seven announced candidates are Asian men. The seventh is an Eastern European woman, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. All seven are actively⁷ campaigning for the job.  

Ban Ki-moon (file photo)  
  
South Korea's foreign minister, Ban Ki-Moon, is considered the frontrunner. He has scored highest in preliminary polls. In a speech to the General Assembly last week, he spoke⁸ of his vision for the world body's future.

"If the U.N.'s primary task in the 20th century was to curb⁹ inter-state conflict, its core mandate¹⁰ in the new century must be to strengthen states and to preserve the inter-state system in the face of new challenges," he said.

The field of hopefuls also includes the Indian author and U.N. Undersecretary General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor, Thailand's former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, Jordan's U.N. ambassador, Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the Sri Lankan diplomat and former Undersecretary-General for Disarmament Jayantha Dhanapala and former Afghan finance minister, Ashraf Ghani. 

Members of the Security Council who will choose the eventual¹¹ nominee¹² have been tight-lipped about whom they might favor. But when asked about the South Korean candidate, America's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said he knows Mr. Ban well, and respects him.

John Bolton    
  
"I've known him for over 15 years, and think very highly of him," Bolton said.

Bolton has been a harsh U.N. critic at a time when the world body has been rocked by scandals, including corruption¹³ in the Iraq oil-for-food program and sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers. Many U.S. lawmakers have blamed the failures on weak leadership.

Bolton says Washington's chief criterion for a new secretary-general is that he or she has strong administrative¹⁴ skills.

"The charter tells us what the job description is," he said.  "The secretary-general is the chief administrative officer of the organization. And we want someone who will follow that job description. Chief Administrative Officer, which implies clearly that the job of the secretary general is to administer the secretariat. So that is the ideal candidate from our point of view."

Bolton and China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, have been pushing for an early decision, but have encountered opposition¹⁵ from other Council members who have asked for more time to consider their choices. Bolton told reporters this week he is ready to vote.

"It's now late September. It's going to be early October next week. It's time to come to a decision, and the reason for that timing¹⁶ is we want the next secretary-general to have a full and adequate transition period," he said. 

Despite the U.S. and Chinese push for an early vote, veteran U.N. watchers caution against predicting the final outcome.  They note that past secretaries-general have sometimes been last-minute compromises. They also point out that according to the rules, it is never too late for new candidates to enter the race.

There is no firm date by which a new U.N. chief must be chosen, though Secretary-General Annan's term expires December 31.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 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。

3 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

4 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。

5 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

6 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 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。

9 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

15 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。

16 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。