VOA标准英语2009年-UN Special Rappoteurs: Human Rights Abuses

By Margaret Besheer
United Nations
22 October 2009

 
Vitit Muntarbhorn 
The U.N. Special Rappoteur for North Korea warned Thursday that the human rights situation in that country remains¹ "abysmal²" because of the Pyongyang's repressive government. Vitit Muntarbhorn says in his latest report that the North Korean people are subject to abuses, including persecution³, collective punishment, torture and arbitrary executions. 

Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn estimates that nearly a third of North Korea's 24 million people are denied one of the most basic human rights - the right to food.

"The country is not poor," said Vitit Muntarbhorn. "Their volume of export and trade last year was several billion [dollars]. And where does the money go? The country is not poor, and yet the money is not spent on the people."

After briefing the U.N. General Assembly committee that deals with these issues, Muntarbhorn told reporters that food aid is important, but that it should come with a "no access, no food provision". He urged the Pyongyang government to change from a "military first" approach to one of "people first".

Muntarbhorn is an independent investigator⁴ whose mandate⁵ comes from the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He has been the Special Rapporteur for North Korea since 2004, but has never been granted permission to enter the country and has not received cooperation from the country's government.

He expressed deep concern about the pervasive⁶ fear and repression⁷ in North Korea.

"Well, regrettably, people are not freed or free from fear because we are dealing⁸ with a non-democratic system," he said. "And so, you have all the transgressions⁹ which are listed, not just in my report but in many other reports - persecution, clampdown, collective punishment, torture, arbitrary executions, public executions, et cetera - despite various formal guarantees in the constitution and in criminal law."

Also briefing the General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian¹⁰ and Cultural Affairs Committee was the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Burma, which is also known as Myanmar.

Afterwards, Tomas Ojea Quintana told reporters that the human rights situation in Burma remains "serious" and "alarming," and that it has worsened in some areas.

"There is a pattern of widespread and systematic¹¹ violations¹² that the prevailing¹³ impunity¹⁴ allows for the continuation of those violations," said Tomas Ojea Quintana. "I urge the government to take prompt measures to establish accountability and responsibility with regard to those widespread and systematic human rights violations."

He said that although Burma exports rice, food scarcity¹⁵ is an acute problem in several regions, and nearly five million people are in need of food aid.

The Special Rapporteur for Burma urged that next year's elections be fair and transparent¹⁶, and that all political prisoners be released ahead of the vote. He also called for the review and reform of the Burma's judiciary to ensure its independence and impartiality¹⁷, and reform of the country's military to respect international humanitarian law in conflict areas and the rights of civilians¹⁸. 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

3 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 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。

6 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

7 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

14 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

15 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

16 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

17 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

18 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。