voa标准英语2008-DRC Talks Resume in Nairobi

Delegations² from the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the rebel National Congress for Defense³ of the People, or CNDP, gathered for a second day of talks at the U.N. compound in Nairobi.

Mediators have expressed high hopes for the U.N.-backed talks, but the closed-door meeting has not included the leaders of either side. A rebel spokesman has said that substantive⁴ negotiations⁵ have not yet started, with discussion limited to establishing a framework for future talks between the two sides.
　

Former Nigerian president and special UN envoy6 Olusegun Obasanjo and Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula during opening of Congo peace talks in Nairobi, 8 Dec. 2008

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula, who is hosting the meeting along with U.N. special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, responded to concerns that neither Congolese President Joseph Kabila, nor CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda, have come to Nairobi.

"When you have talks like this you do not start with the principal players," he said. "You start with other players. President Kabila has sent in a cabinet minister. Mr. Nkunda has sent in his team. I do not personally know them, but they look to be responsible people. S o I think that those are sufficiently⁷ responsible people to engage in these discussions."

The government team is led by International and Regional Cooperation Minister Raymond Tshibanda, while the rebel delegation¹ is headed by Serge Kambasu Ngeve, a deputy to Nkunda.

The conflict in eastern Congo has seen a succession of failed peace efforts. The government and the CNDP signed an agreement in January, but fighting resumed in late August, with about 250,000 people so far displaced.
　

Two boys, fleeing from the town of Kibumba, walk as a tank of the Congolese army moves on the road, about 35 kilometers north of Goma, 27 Oct 2008

Rebel forces advanced to within a few kilometers of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and for the past month remained in a tense standoff with government forces.

Nkunda claims he is protecting the country's ethnic⁸ Tutsi community from attacks by the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu militia⁹, one of about 20 armed groups operating in Eastern Congo.

Friday, the governments of Congo and Rwanda agreed to pursue the FDLR. At a meeting in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Monday, Congo's representative to the Great Lakes region, Seraphin Ngwej, repeated Congo's intention to send the FDLR back to Rwanda.

It is not clear if the Congolese government has the capacity to go after the militia, and such action may require assistance from the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.
　

A patrol of United Nations peacekeepers prepares to leave a road in Goma (File)

The United Nations has 17,000 peacekeepers in the country, most of them in the East, but they are spread thin. The U.N. Security Council has approved the deployment¹⁰ of an additional 3,000 troops, but it could take up to six months for them to arrive.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has asked the European Union to contribute a temporary force of 3,000 troops until the U.N. reinforcements arrive. Belgium and France have endorsed¹¹ the idea, but others, including Britain and Germany have been skeptical¹².

European foreign ministers discussed the issue Monday in Brussels, and top EU diplomat¹³ Javier Solana said a decision could come this week. EU Development Commissioner¹⁴ Louis Michel, is also scheduled to travel to Eastern Congo later in the week.

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 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。

4 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 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。

8 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。

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

13 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

14 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。