VOA英语2010年-Clinton Urges Enhanced OSCE Role on Human Ri

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Summit in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, has urged an enhanced OSCE role in settling regional conflicts and promoting human rights. Clinton also sealed an agreement under which Belarus will give up its enriched uranium stockpile.

The summit comes amid observances of the 35th anniversary of the Helsinki accords which, gave birth to the OSCE structure. Clinton joined other delegates here in urging a renewal¹ of the 56-nation grouping's role in promoting human rights and regional peacemaking.

The summit is the first for the OSCE since 1999 and the first to be held in a former Soviet² republic. It is being used by the Kazakh government to showcase its new capital and economic advances, despite its widely-criticized performance on human rights.

At a meeting with civil society activists³ and students on the eve of the summit, Clinton pressed Central Asian states to expand democratic freedoms and mentioned the case of a jailed Kazakh rights defender⁴, Yevgeny Zvotis.

In her policy message to the summit plenary, Clinton said all OSCE members need to "make good" on the human rights commitments they undertook with the OSCE's founding.

"It is not enough for a constitution to guarantee freedom of the press if, in reality, journalists are put under pressure and even assaulted," said Secretary Clinton. "In fact, it is not enough just to hold elections. The whole process must be free and fair, with the benefit of monitoring by the OSCE. And once in office, elected officials must govern democratically and build strong institutions. Yes, the list is long. But we're not asking participating states to accept new principles and rights, only to honor existing commitments."

Clinton is urging the OSCE to play a greater role in supporting the Afghan government and says the organization needs to be empowered to respond more effectively to conflicts within the OSCE itself.

She is calling for the early resumption of talks aimed at resolving the issue of the separatist Moldovan region, Transnistria, and renewed efforts to settle the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Clinton says it is encouraging that Russia has recently endorsed⁵ expanded capabilities⁶ for the OSCE, but laments⁷ Moscow's exclusion⁸ of OSCE monitors from the breakaway Georgian areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia following its brief conflict with Georgia in 2008.

"It is regrettable that a participating state has proposed to host a mission and the OSCE has not been allowed to respond," she added. "We here at this table must let this organization do its job, and restore a meaningful OSCE presence to Georgia. We also call on all parties to fully⁹ respect and implement¹⁰ the August and September 2008 ceasefire arrangements."

After a meeting on the sidelines of the summit, Clinton and Belarus Foreign Minister Sergey Martynov announced an agreement under which Belarus will eliminate, with American assistance, its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

When the United States hosted Nuclear Security Summit in April, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country had hundreds of kilograms of such material and that it would not bend to international pressure to give it up.

The announcement marks another step in a recent thaw¹¹ in U.S. relations with the authoritarian¹² Lukashenko government.

A joint¹³ statement after the Clinton-Martynov meeting said both acknowledged that enhanced respect for democracy and human rights "remains¹⁴ central" to improved relations.

It said the United States looks for substantial progress from the country's presidential election December 19th, and that the Minsk government's decision to allow "robust¹⁵" international monitoring is a welcome step.

1 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 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》

4 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

8 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 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。

15 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。