2007年VOA标准英语-Human Rights Experts Call for Strong Protection

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
09 May 2007

The human rights organization, Amnesty International, has presented an appeal from 147 countries to the United Nations to maintain an independent and effective system of human rights experts. A petition signed by more than 12,500 people calling for stronger measures to help victims of human rights abuse was presented to the president of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA.

Amnesty says the so-called system of special procedures is under threat, with a number of countries trying to get the UN Human Rights Council to do away with the current system of independent experts.

The experts monitor the human rights records of countries such as Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cuba. They investigate alleged¹ incidents of torture, arbitrary detentions² and disappearances³ around the world. They report their findings to the Council, which adopts resolutions aimed at protecting victims of abuse.

Golden Misabiko is a human rights activist⁴ from Congo. He says he personally benefited from the special procedures.

Misabiko says the first time the UN special rapporteur for Congo, Roberto Garreton, came to Kinshasa, he told the government he was looking for Golden Misabiko who was reported missing. Thanks to the UN expert's intervention⁵, Misabiko says he was eventually released from prison where he says he had been held, tortured and starved.

Secretary General of Amnesty International's Canadian section, Alex Neve (r) presents the petition to President of the UN Rights Council Luis Alfonso de Alba

But the Secretary General of Amnesty International's Canadian section, Alex Neve, says a code of conduct, which was introduced by the African members of the rights council, would weaken the special procedures by regulating information, urgent appeals and missions that are allowed.

"These proposals, if accepted, would render the special procedures considerably⁶ less effective," said Alex Neve. "There is also a proposal that the mandate⁷ holders⁸ be elected by member states of the Human Rights Council. In our opinion, and on the basis of other elections to human rights bodies that we see at the UN, this would result in a politicization of the process and the selection of individuals who would not be sufficiently⁹ well-qualified or independent."

The President of the UN Rights Council, Mexican Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, says he is not worried about the dangers facing the special procedures system or the experts, known as mandate holders.

"I can reassure¹⁰ you that we are working for the strengthening of the system," said Luis Alfonso de Alba. "And, I, as president, I do not see a major threat today. I have a greater level of confidence at this stage that we will be able to strengthen the system, to maintain and strengthen it."

De Alba says he believes a resolution maintaining the integrity of the special procedures system will be adopted unanimously during the next session of the Council in June.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

3 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

7 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。

8 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

9 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。