VOA标准英语2009年-Sudan Envoy: UN Peacekeepers Will Be Safe if IC

A senior Sudanese diplomat¹ says the safety of United Nations' peacekeepers in his country will not be in jeopardy², if the International Criminal Court, or ICC, grants a request for an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. A decision from the pre-trial judges at The Hague is expected later this month.
　
Omar al-Bashir (file photo)

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, said Thursday that Khartoum would abide³ by its international obligations.

"The safety of the peacekeepers is not at all an issue here. The issue is the safety and security of the entire people of Sudan," he said. "So the people should not look to the issue like isolated⁴ islands or separate islands. We know, as I said before, the obligations of Sudan towards the U.N. presence in Sudan. But equally, the U.N. should demonstrate its commitment to safeguard their own personnel as well as the lives of the Sudanese."

Later this month, the International Criminal Court is expected to decide whether to grant its chief prosecutor⁵'s request for an arrest warrant for President Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities⁶ committed in Sudan's Darfur region during the past five years.

Sudan has been pressing member states to call for a deferment⁷ of the case under what is known as Article 16. That would require at least nine of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor of the deferment, with none of the five veto-wielding members voting against it. The African Union and the League of Arab States have thrown their support behind that request.

Following closed-door consultations⁸ on Thursday, British Ambassador John Sawers said he does not believe the support for an Article 16 deferment currently exists within the Security Council.

"There certainly were not nine voices this morning," he said.

The U.N. Security Council referred the case to the International Criminal Court in March 2005. Costa Rican Ambassador Jorge Urbina, whose country has been very vocal⁹ on issues of impunity¹⁰ on the Security Council, said there should be no dilemma¹¹ between peace and justice in Sudan.

"It is our belief that since the council referred the case of Sudan to the ICC, the council took the decision that justice was part of peace in Sudan," he said. "We believe that it is the duty of the council to help and promote durable¹² peace in Sudan. And we believe that durable peace can only be the result of the reconciliation¹³ of peace and justice."

The Costa Rican ambassador pointed¹⁴ to the Dayton Process in the former Yugoslavia,saying that when it began in 2005, many politicians, diplomats¹⁵ and analysts¹⁶ argued that justice would interfere¹⁷ with the path to peace. But, he said, they have been proven wrong.

Ambassador Urbina's words angered Sudan's Ambassador Abdalhaleem.

"It is very ironic¹⁸ that countries far from our region, like the country of the former ambassador who spoke¹⁹ to you, are now giving lectures about justice and peace," he said. "We need no lessons and lectures from ambassadors like the Costa Rican one. His statements here in front of you are totally unacceptable and they reflect in no uncertain terms his defeat because they have no logic²⁰ and they have no consideration for priorities of peace in the Sudan."

The Sudanese ambassador also referred to the court's chief prosecutor as "crazy" and said that if the ICC granted the request for the arrest warrant, it would be like "giving birth to a dead rat that is smelling and of no use at all". He said Sudanese authorities are not worried about it and he predicted it would "die a natural death".

But United Nations officials are concerned about the ramifications²¹ a possible arrest warrant could have on their peacekeeping missions in Sudan, one in Darfur and the other in the south. A senior U.N. official said contingency²² planning has been underway at several levels within the organization.

Earlier, the Security Council had a briefing from the U.N.'s top envoy²³ in Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, on the state of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended a long and bloody²⁴ civil war between north and south Sudan.

He said the agreement has achieved much in the past four years, but that it has a great deal more to accomplish in the remaining two years before a scheduled referendum on whether the country will remain unified²⁵. The U.N. envoy warned that the agreement is vulnerable and that if it unravels²⁶, conflicts and instability in Sudan are likely to escalate²⁷ dramatically.

1 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。

2 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

3 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。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 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。

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 deferment   

n.迁延，延期，暂缓

参考例句：

• The bank do not allow further deferment of his payment. 银行不容许他再次推迟付款。 来自互联网
• Students are to refer to the regulations governing course deferment, refund and withdrawal the Student's Handbook. 学生需要参考学生手册上有关推迟入学、退费和退学的相关规定。 来自互联网

8 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

10 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。

11 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

12 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

13 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

15 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》

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

18 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

19 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

20 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

21 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

23 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。

24 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

25 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

26 unravels   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的第三人称单数 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• Khrushchev's Cold War unravels the tangled contradictions in his leadership of the Communist Party. 赫鲁晓夫的冷战》这本书揭示出赫鲁晓夫作为共产党的领袖，面临着一些棘手的问题。

27 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。