VOA标准英语2008年-ICC Prosecutor Says He Will Next Go After Darfu

The chief prosecutor¹ of the International Criminal Court says he will pursue charges against rebel groups that attacked African Union peacekeepers in Darfur last September, killing² 10 of them. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.
　
Luis Moreno-Ocampo addresses a press conference on the occasion of the 10th aniversary of the Rome Statute³ of the ICC at UN Headquarters in New York, 17 Jul 2008

Just days after bringing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Sudan's president, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Thursday he would next seek charges against rebel leaders in the war-torn Darfur region.

Moreno-Ocampo said he has information about the names of two Darfur rebel commanders who were allegedly responsible for the attack at Haskinita in south Darfur last year that killed 10 African Union soldiers. He called on the rebel groups to cooperate with the court.

"I think it is a good opportunity for me to urge the rebels -- the rebels cannot commit crimes, they have to control their people, and they have to help the Court," said Moreno-Ocampo. "In fact, the Security Council called on all the actors - they have to help the court -- provide it evidence against those who committed the attacks in Haskinita and even arrest them."

He added that all attacks against peacekeepers come under his jurisdiction⁴, including the July 8 one, that killed seven peacekeepers from the joint⁵ AU-U.N. force known as UNAMID.
　
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (file photo)

In addition to charging President Omar al-Bashir this week, the chief prosecutor won arrest warrants last year against two Sudanese in connection with crimes in Darfur. One suspect, Ahmad Haroun, is a minister in President Bashir's government. The other, Ali Kushayb, is a former Janjaweed militia⁶ commander. Sudan does not recognize the court, and has not handed over either man.

Moreno-Ocampo says President Bashir's public statements saying he would not hand over Haroun because he was following his orders implicate⁷ the Sudanese leader.

"Bashir said publicly in 2007 that Haroun was following his instructions," he said. "That he would never hand over Haroun because Haroun was following his instructions. So it is like a confession⁸, a public confession, what he did. So I cannot sit on my evidence. I have to present the evidence to the judges, and that is what I did."

But some Western diplomats⁹ have suggested that, if President Bashir cooperates with the court and hands over Haroun and Kushayb, the court could set aside its charges against him. When asked if that could happen, Moreno-Ocampo replied, "ask the judges."

Moreno-Ocampo was at U.N. headquarters Thursday to participate in events marking the 10th anniversary of the Rome Statute, which created the court.

The ICC is an independent, permanent court based at The Hague, that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern -- namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Currently 107 countries have ratified¹⁰ the treaty recognizing the court. The United States has not signed the treaty.

　

 

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

4 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 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。

7 implicate   

vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌

参考例句：

• He didn't find anything in the notebooks to implicate Stu.他在笔记本中没发现任何涉及斯图的东西。
• I do not want to implicate you in my problem of the job.我工作上的问题不想把你也牵扯进来。

8 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。