2007年VOA标准英语-Military Leaders From Nearly 60 Countries Learn

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
13 August 2007

Senior Workshop on International Rules governing Military Operations (SWIRMO)

Military Leaders from 56 countries are taking a brush-up course on the rules of war as defined in the Geneva Conventions. Senior officers from European, American, Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries are being taught how to integrate international humanitarian¹ law into warfare². They are being taught to train their foot soldiers how to run a war without abusing or harming civilians⁴ caught in armed conflict. The two-week workshops, the first of their kind, are co-hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss army. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

Organizer of the course, Timothy Yates guides me through the gray Swiss Army barracks. He is a retired⁵ British army officer and military adviser⁶ to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He says participants are taught the law of armed conflict and how these rules are to be applied⁷ to real situations.

"So, our course is different in that we emphasize the law and we go through that. That is what the lecture is before hand; to go through where you find the law and what it says and then to have a series of events where there is a development of a situation which is the sort of thing that soldiers will face on the ground," he said. "And how do you deal with that?"

This first course for senior military leaders coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Additional Protocols⁸ to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which spell out rules on the conduct of hostilities⁹. They draw a distinction between civilians and combatants and between civilian³ property and military objectives.

The laws prohibit attacks on civilians. They outlaw¹⁰ abusive treatment such as murders, rapes¹¹ and pillaging¹². Torture and degrading treatment of prisoners of war also violate international humanitarian law.

Brigadier General Silver Kayemba is from Uganda. He is a big man who wears his national uniform and medals with pride. He says soldiers who are taught the laws of armed conflict, behave properly in fields of battle.

"So, I believe if there are some abuses, in most cases people do not know that what they are doing is not the right thing," said Kayemba. "And, it is a great idea if they are given that opportunity to learn and get exposed to such situations when they are prepared."

Kayemba was a division commander in Uganda before becoming Chief of Operations and Training. He fought against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, which, he says gave him the opportunity to test and implement¹³ his knowledge of the Geneva Conventions. Now, he oversees¹⁴ a small force of Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia. He admits his soldiers are limited in what they can do.

"We are there as peacekeepers, not peace enforcers," he added. "We strictly¹⁵ live by the rules of engagement that were given to us. I cannot tell you about them. But, we have strict rules of engagement that apply when we have such situations."

Participants say the nature of armed conflict has changed. International or conventional wars between states have largely given way to civil conflicts. Red Cross studies show civilians are the main victims of the current 80 conflicts worldwide.

Participants also agree the nature of the threat has changed since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. They say the so-called war on terror has complicated the situation.

"There are certainly a lot of academics and there are some officials, as you say, in different governments that have made those arguments that perhaps the Geneva Conventions do not apply in this sort of new type of war that we are fighting," said Corey.

U.S. Lieutenant¹⁶ Colonel, Ian Corey teaches the law of war to U.S. army personnel. He believes the Geneva Conventions are relevant and remain the base line of treatment to be applied.

He says when soldiers are not taught the rules of armed conflict they can go astray, as happened in the case of Abu Graib prison in Baghdad, where American soldiers abused prisoners.

"I think there you had a situation with soldiers who probably did not receive the training that they should have," continued Corey. "And, some of the investigations¹⁷ have indicated that there was a lack of oversight¹⁸, a lack of leadership involvement. And, the army and I think, the other services probably as well, has taken all those learned from those investigations into account and tried to fix any of those short comings."

Timothy Yates says what happened in Abu Graib shows the law can work because there are clear rules against this kind of behavior.

"In this particular case though, investigations have been carried out and people have been brought to account for their behavior there," said Yates. "And, this is indeed how the law should work. So, if this course helps to achieve this kind of aim, that kind of result, then, of course, it would have been of value."

The senior officers consider the interchange of ideas to be one of the most valuable aspects of the workshop. They say the opportunity to share experiences and concerns, to seek alliances and reflect on important issues with so many culturally diverse individuals is extraordinary.

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 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

3 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。

4 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。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

10 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

11 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

12 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

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

15 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

16 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

18 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。