VOA标准英语2009年-Africa Signs Off on Intent to Protect Inte

By Peter Heinlein
Kampala
23 October 2009

 
Uganda's Pres. Yoweri Museveni (L) and AU Commission chair Jean Ping in Kampala before opening of AU Summit on Refugees, 22 Oct 2009
An Africa Union summit in Kampala has adopted a landmark¹ convention on the rights of people uprooted² from their homes by conflict or natural disasters. But the occasion was tarnished³ by a lukewarm show of support from member states.

The Kampala Convention on the Rights of Internally Displaced People was signed Friday in an elaborate ceremony at an exclusive resort on the outskirts⁴ of Kampala.

Zambia's President Rupiah Banda was one of the first to affix⁵ his signature. He called the document a great achievement, after years of hard work.

"I believe I speak for everybody in this assembly when I say that the summit has been a distinct success," he said.

The heads of several international humanitarian⁶ organizations witnessed the signing. U.N. High Commissioner⁷ for Refugees Antonio Guterres hailed the document, noting that Africa, which has roughly half the world's displaced people, is the first region to agree on rules for protecting them.

"As you know, the secretary-general, Ban ki-moon is very keen on the so-called Responsibility to Protect," he said. "This convention is the responsibility to protect in action. And I would strongly appeal to other parts of the world to adopt similar instruments for the protection of internally displaced."

But amid all the congratulations, diplomats⁸ and observers noted⁹ with concern that in the end, only five heads of state were on hand for the summit, and only 17 of the 53 AU member states were prepared to sign the final document. They noted that the African Union has in the past approved an important convention, only to see it lie dormant¹⁰ for lack of ratification¹¹.

The summit host, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, however, brushed aside those concerns. He expressed confidence other countries would quickly sign the Kampala IDP convention.

"I don't think there is a deliberate refusal," said Museveni. "Coordinating¹² 53 countries is not easy, because these countries are busy with their internal problems, some of the ratifications¹³ need parliamentary approval."

AU Commissioner for Political Affairs Julia Dolly Joiner has experienced the frustration¹⁴ of seeing high-sounding declarations adopted and then forgotten. A document setting out rules for democratic succession was approved almost three years ago, but has been ratified¹⁵ by only three of the 15 countries needed to take effect. Joiner expressed optimism that this time would be different.

"We are very hopeful with the enthusiasm that has been generated around the convention that has just been adopted," she said. "In fact, the launching of the convention and the opening of the convention for signatures attracted 17 signatures this morning, and this is very encouraging as far as we are concerned so we are definitely very hopeful that this convention will enter into force sooner."

The convention sets out for the first time the obligations of both African states and armed rebel groups to prevent displacement¹⁶ and to provide basic rights for those who are uprooted by wars and natural disasters.

But even its staunchest supporters admit it will have little effect. Uganda's President Museveni admitted that a displaced woman in Sudan, which has the largest displaced population in Africa, would get little comfort from knowing a document had been approved in faraway Kampala.

"So when you say what solace¹⁷ would woman in Darfur get from this," he said. "The solace may not be immediate¹⁸, but the fact that people have got together and put these ideas in a document. I think it's very useful. It may not be immediately apparent to people in Darfur, but in the end it is a contribution towards a solution to their problem."

Other than Mr. Museveni and Zambia's President Banda, the only other African Union member state presidents to sign the IDP convention were Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Mohammed Abdelaziz of the territory of Western Sahara, and Somalia's Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

Somalia, which has been plagued by civil war for nearly two decades, has Africa's third largest IDP population after Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 affix   

n.附件，附录 vt.附贴，盖(章)，签署

参考例句：

• Please affix your signature to the document. 请你在这个文件上签字。
• Complete the form and affix four tokens to its back. 填完该表，在背面贴上4张凭券。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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》

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

11 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。

12 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

13 ratifications   

n.正式批准，认可( ratification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The ratifications shall be exchanged in Berlin. 批准将交换在柏林。 来自互联网
• After receiving the required 60 ratifications, the Court came into being on 1 July 20060个国家批准该规约后，法院于2002 年7月1日成立。 来自互联网

14 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

15 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。

16 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

17 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

18 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。