2007年VOA标准英语-UN Report Criticizes Iraq on Human Rights

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
25 April 2007

An Iraqi displaced woman attends a photo exhibition in Karbala, for the victims of violence who were killed in the province, 25 Apr 2007

A new United Nations report says violence in Iraq is continuing to claim lives at very high levels. But the U.N. says it can no longer give numbers to back up its assessment¹, because Iraq's government has refused to release statistics on violent deaths for inclusion in the U.N.'s quarterly review. VOA Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

The U.N.'s first quarterly human rights report to be released since the start of the Baghdad security plan says sectarian violence continues at a high level.

The 30-page report lays heavy blame for the deteriorating² security situation on insurgents³ and armed groups, saying the Iraqi government faces immense security challenges.

But it also expresses unease about some aspects of the government's own behavior, notably⁴ the treatment of detainees held by the ministries⁵ of defense⁶ and interior. The U.N. says torture and ill-treatment of detainees is a matter of "utmost concern," and the government's continuing failure to stop it "can only encourage the climate of impunity⁷ that prevails today."

It also condemns⁸ the deliberate targeting of schools, universities, teachers and students, as well as troubling attacks on religious and ethnic⁹ minorities.

The Iraqi government immediately hit back. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's office issued a statement calling the U.N. report "inaccurate¹⁰" and "unbalanced," and said it calls the U.N.'s credibility into question.

For the first time, the U.N. report did not include official statistics on the number of people killed, saying the Ministry¹¹ of Health has refused to provide them.

The U.N. urged the government to reconsider, calling it "a matter of regret" that the most reliable death figures are no longer available. U.N. human rights officer Ivana Vuco says government transparency is crucial to establishing stability.

"We find the decision to be rather unfortunate, because the figures I think were helping¹² us, and you as well, to understand the scope of the problem," said Vuco. "And in our view, it is the government's responsibility and they are probably the only ones with the real capacity to gather the figures in a systematic¹³ manner."

The previous report, issued in January, said more than 34,000 civilians¹⁴ were killed last year, more than 6,000 of them in November and December alone. The U.N. disputes Iraqi allegations that those figures were exaggerated, saying they were official numbers issued by the government itself.

Vuco and another U.N. official say the government did not give an official reason for its refusal to release the figures.

"Officially, we were not told the reasons why we could not get the government figures for this report," she added. "Unofficially, however, in a number of follow-up meetings to the decision, we were told that they were concerned that people would construe¹⁵ the figures to portray¹⁶ the situation very negatively, and that would further undermine their efforts to establish some kind of stability and security in the country."

The U.N. report also expresses concern about recent developments in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. It says there were infringements¹⁷ on freedom of expression in the region. It notes "a lack of due process with regard to detainees held by Kurdish security forces."

It also says there was a worrying rise in violence against women in three regions, Duhok, Irbil and Sulimaniya, especially so-called "honor killings," in which a woman is killed by close relatives for actions that allegedly dishonor the family.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

5 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

8 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 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。

14 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。

15 construe   

v.翻译，解释

参考例句：

• He had tried to construe a passage from Homer.他曾尝试注释荷马著作的一段文字。
• You can construe what he said in a number of different ways.他的话可以有好几种解释。

16 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

17 infringements   

n.违反( infringement的名词复数 )；侵犯，伤害

参考例句：

• It'seems to me we've got to decide on wider issues than possible patent infringements. 我认为我们不能只考虑侵犯专利可能性这一问题，要对更大的一些问题做出决策。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)
• Wikipedia relies on its users to correct errors and spot copyright infringements. 维基百科主要依靠用户来纠正错误，并发现版权侵权行为。 来自互联网