2007年VOA标准英语-S. Africa Sees Important New Role as Member of

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
03 January 2007

South Africa is attending its first meeting of the U.N. Security Council as a one of its new non-permanent members. The government says Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is going to New York for a Council debate next week on threats to international peace and security. It is an indication of the importance the government is placing on its new role, as we hear from correspondent Scott Bobb in Johannesburg.

U.N. Security Council

South Africa's Foreign Affairs ministry¹ issued a statement Tuesday pledging to work with the U.N. Security Council and other regional organizations for peace and stability in all parts of the world.

It said the government is convinced that the multi-lateral system of global governance remains² the only hope for the challenges facing humanity today. And it declared its readiness to serve what it called the peoples of Africa, the South [the developing world] and the World.

An analyst³ for Johannesburg's Center for Policy Studies, Francis Kornegay, says this is a timely opportunity.

"South Africa has a tremendous amount to offer," he said. "And given the critical nature of a lot of the African issues that need to be dealt with, I think it is the best timing⁴ for South Africa to be on the Security Council."

He says priorities are the conflicts in Somalia and the Darfur region of Sudan, negotiating peace and elections in Ivory Coast, and consolidating⁵ stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi.

South African leaders in recent years have mediated⁶ numerous crises on the continent, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast.

But they say they want to voice African points of view on other disputes and in particular to present alternatives to what is seen as a world diplomacy⁷ dominated by a few major powers.

But Kornegay says South Africa is likely to take a less prominent approach in these areas.

"These are issues that can be dealt with in a manner that does not expose South Africa to the full light of media glare of how the cut and thrust of its diplomacy is going," he said.

Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, North Korea and Burma are some of these issues likely to appear on the Security Council agenda.

South Africa was among four other countries, Indonesia, Italy, Belgium and Panama, elected last October to two-year terms on the Security Council. They joined five other non-permanent members - Congo Republic, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia, which each have one year remaining in their terms.

The Council is dominated by its five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, which have the power to veto its resolutions.

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 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 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 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。

5 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

6 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。