VOA标准英语2013--Amnesty Warns of Misuse of Traded Weapons

 

Amnesty Warns of Misuse¹ of Traded Weapons

Amnesty International says women and girls are often targeted in armed conflict. But it says very often, even after the conflict ends, they continue to be victims of violence. On International Women’s Day (3/8), the human rights group says controlling the arms trade could help reduce that violence.

Widney Brown says the effects of conflict on women and girls have been well-documented.

“We’ve done a lot of research in which we’ve understood how much women, as civilians², are often caught in the middle of a conflict – sometimes the unintentional victims and sometimes the targeted victims,” she said.

Brown, Amnesty International’s senior director of international law and policy, said, “Where I first became aware of it was in Bosnia, in the former Yugoslavia, where I think the women’s rights activists³ were very well organized – were very articulate – in talking about this.”

Just because a conflict has ended, does not mean violence has stopped.

“Many of the men, who were combatants, often keep their weapons. And, if you think about it, a lot of them are themselves traumatized. But they’ve also been living sometimes for months, sometimes for years, in which using their weapon is sort of the solution to the problem. And so violence becomes rather normative in their societies. And in these cases, what happens, it’s often in the private sphere of the family that you end up seeing a lot of violence against women,” she said.

She added, however, that conflict or post-conflict violence against women is not isolated⁴ to domestic situations.

Brown said that governments and private brokers⁵ should be aware that the weapons they sell could end up in the wrong hands.

“Are they actually looking at where those weapons are ending up and who’s actually at the lethal⁶ end of those weapons?”

Amnesty proposes that governments and arms dealers⁷ conduct an assessment⁸ of countries or groups before finalizing⁹ the sale of weapons.

Brown said, “The assessment is: is there substantial likelihood that these arms will be used to commit atrocities¹⁰. So that’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide. For instance, much of the arms flowing into the Democratic Republic of Congo are actually being diverted from the intended user – picked up by groups like M23, who are quite notorious for their current practice and historical practice of intense violence against women.”

M23 is one of the many rebel groups in eastern Congo.

The United Nations will soon work on the final text of the proposed arms trade treaty. It’s scheduled to meet from March 18th through the 28th in New York. The meeting was called after intense negotiations¹¹ late last year failed to reach agreement.

Brown said that the arms trade is a $60 billion a year industry. The U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France -- five permanent members of the Security Council – are also major arms suppliers. Nevertheless, she said governments have an interest in making sure the weapons are not diverted.

“So the U.S. doesn’t want to find out that weapons it ships to Egypt end up in the hands of a group they think might turn around and target the U.S. Equally true, Russia doesn’t want to ship arms to Syria and find out that they actually got diverted and are being sent to rebels in the Caucuses¹². China doesn’t want to send weapons to Zimbabwe and find out they ended up in Xinjiang. So there is a self-interest level to this treaty.”

The arms trade treaty is not a weapons ban, like the landmine¹³ or cluster munitions¹⁴ conventions. Amnesty International says it recognizes the right of nations to self-defense. However, it says women and girls suffer due to the “proliferation and misuse of arms.”

1 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

2 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。

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 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 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

6 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

7 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

10 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》

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

13 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

14 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。