VOA标准英语2008年-Treaty Conference Seeks to Regulate Global Arms

Ministers and civil society leaders from 18 African countries, U.N. disarmament officials, and arms-control advocates are meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to try to form a united position on a proposed treaty to regulate the global arms trade. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from Nairobi, the arms treaty is viewed as a critical element in international efforts to reduce the human and economic cost of conflicts, especially in Africa.

Speaking at the opening of the arms treaty conference on Wednesday, Kenya's Assistant Foreign Minister Richard Onyonka urged quick ratification¹ of the Arms Trade Treaty, saying that unregulated weapons sales posed one of the biggest threats to long-term development in Africa.

"Development and reduction of violence go hand-in-hand. Long-term development is impossible without long-term security. The linkage² could not find a better context than the situation in Africa. The cost of armed conflicts and violence, as well as the concomitant human tragedy here in Africa, is conservatively estimated at $18 billion annually," he said.

The cost is mostly through lost human and economic potential and it is roughly equivalent to the amount of aid that the continent receives from donor³ nations each year.

The proposed treaty would not to ban the sale of conventional arms. But it would establish common standards that all nations would have to abide⁴ by, including prohibiting the transfer of weapons if they are likely to be used to violate human rights and humanitarian⁵ law or if they could fuel an existing conflict or hinder development.

The head of the U.N.'s Conventional Arms Branch for Disarmament Affairs Daniel Prins tells VOA that such standards are urgently needed because the global arms trade is believed to be adding eight million more guns a year to the 650 million in circulation around the world. And 60 percent of those guns are in the hands of civilians⁶, most of them in developing countries.

"Many states do not have a framework of rules under which they would export or import weapons and that is very much needed because we see that the old structure in the world, where you have a few producers and many recipients⁷ of arms, do not count anymore. For instance, we see in the field of small arms that there are now more than 100 countries that produce arms," he said.

At the U.N. General Assembly two years ago, 153 states voted in favor of the Arms Trade Treaty, 24 states abstained⁸, and the world's largest arms exporter, the United States, voted against it. The Bush administration was criticized for arguing that the treaty was unnecessary because the United States and other major exporting countries have strict national rules governing arms exports.

Ambassador Philip Richard Owade from the Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations in Geneva says he believes it is up to countries that suffer the most from arms proliferation to show unity⁹ in favoring the passage of an arms treaty and help move the process toward a global consensus¹⁰. "As you know, treaties quite often do not have to be universal from the word, 'go.' Those who are willing would go ahead and then develop norms that we hope in the end, even those who are against it would be able to embrace," he said.

Under the treaty, governments would also be required to report their arms transfers to an international register, a move which arms control advocates say will lead to greater public scrutiny¹¹ and confidence.

1 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

2 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。

3 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

4 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

5 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。

6 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。

7 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

11 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。