VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Pushes UN Resolution to Curb Viole

By David Gollust
United Nations
25 September 2009

 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talks about women's rights at the United Nations
 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday urged global action to curb¹ conflict-related violence and sexual exploitation against young women and girls. Clinton is to chair a special session of the U.N. Security Council on the issue next Wednesday.

Clinton says preventing the exploitation and marginalization of girls is no longer an afterthought but a core foreign policy objective of the United States, which is co-sponsoring a Security Council resolution on the issue next week.

The secretary of state joined her counterpart from the Netherlands, Maxime Verhagen, at a meeting at U.N. headquarters Friday previewing next week's council meeting.

On an Africa trip last month, Clinton met with women and girls raped³ and otherwise abused by soldiers and irregular forces in the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the DRC.

She told U.N. delegates and women activists⁴ here that the harrowing testimony⁵ she heard only underscored for her the point that societies cannot reach their full potential if half the population, women and girls, are oppressed and subjugated⁶.

"When women are accorded their rights and afforded equal opportunities and education and health care and employment and political participation⁷, they invest in their families, they lift them up, they contribute to their communities and their nations," Clinton said. "When they are marginalized, when they are mistreated, when they are ignored, when they are demeaned, the progress is not possible, no matter how rich and well-educated the elite⁸ may appear."

Clinton said the United States is pressing DRC authorities in Kinshasa "very hard" to bring to justice five military officers who have either been directly implicated⁹ in rape² and violence against young women, or created the environment in which the abuses could occur.

She also decried¹⁰ dowry-related murder and so-called "honor killings¹¹" of young women, and selective abortion¹² and infanticide of females in many countries that has created the phenomenon of millions of "missing women."

Dutch Foreign Minister Verhagen, for his part, said the abuse of young women is not limited to developing countries as evidenced by recent highly publicized cases of murder, long-term abduction and exploitation of young women in Europe and the United States.

"Human rights apply to all people, in all places, at all times, including the world's children," Verhagen said. "They applied¹³ to Rowena, Savannah, Elizabeth, Jaycee, Fawzia and to so many more girls whose names and faces we do not know. Where does responsibility begin? It begins here in this room, with all of us. Where does it end? It does not. Our responsibility as politicians never ends."

The U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution, expected to win easy approval next week, will create a special representative to the U.N. secretary-general to lead, coordinate¹⁴ and advocate efforts to end gender-based violence in armed conflict.

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

6 subjugated   

v.征服，降伏( subjugate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The prince had appeared and subjugated the poor little handmaid. 王子出现了，这使穷苦的小丫头不胜仰慕。 来自辞典例句
• As we know, rule over subjugated peoples is incompatible with the gentile constitution. 我们知道，对被征服者的统治，是和氏族制度不相容的。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

9 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。