VOA常速英语2007年-Red Cross: Sexual Violence in DRC's North Kivu

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
29 November 2007

The International Committee of the Red Cross says sexual violence against women and girls in the North Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo is among the worst it has ever seen. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Red Cross headquarters in Geneva the agency says it plans to significantly increase assistance to the victims to meet accelerating needs.

The International Committee of the Red Cross calls the humanitarian¹ consequences of the fighting in North Kivu province alarming.

Red Cross Deputy Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart visited the region and says the armed violence against the civilian² population has reached a scale and intensity³ that has not been seen since the height of the war in 2000.

He says the fighting has been accompanied by serious violations⁴ of international humanitarian law. He says these include rape⁵, forced recruitment, pillaging⁶ of civilian property and destruction of infrastructure⁷ essential for the population's survival.

"What really shocked me personally most is the systematic⁸ violence, especially against women and girls which is producing immense suffering in the Kivu ... I have rarely seen myself a context where this particular phenomenon is so widespread and produces so much suffering with the population," said Stillhart.

Fighting resumed earlier this year between government troops and forces loyal to renegade leader Laurent Nkunda. Since then, more than 370,000 people have been displaced, about 145,000 in the past three months.

Stillhart says much of the ongoing⁹ conflict is ethnically¹¹ based. And this type of conflict, he notes often results in a higher degree of violence against civilians¹², including rape and other sexual abuse.

"That type of violence is a weapon of war. It is a weapon of terrorizing the population," he said. "It is a weapon of intimidating¹³ the population. And, we see not only one group, but all the armed groups, and the problem is that there are so many armed groups with different agendas very often linked to one ethnic¹⁰ group that are operating in this territory. That makes it so difficult for the civilian population that has been suffering tremendously for the past 15 years."

Stillhart says not many populations have been repeatedly victimized by this type of violence for such a long period.

The Red Cross plans to significantly increase its aid to the victims in North Kivu. Stillhart says protection and efforts to prevent sexual violence is the agency's number-one priority.

He says the Red Cross also will provide essential supplies to displaced people and will support medical facilities treating war-wounded people.

1 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。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 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。

6 pillaging   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rebels went looting and pillaging. 叛乱者趁火打劫，掠夺财物。
• Soldiers went on a rampage, pillaging stores and shooting. 士兵们横冲直撞，洗劫商店并且开枪射击。 来自辞典例句

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 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。

9 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。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。