VOA标准英语--HRW Documents Ethnic Killings in S. Sudan 南苏丹种族残杀

 

HRW Documents Ethnic¹ Killings² in S. Sudan 南苏丹种族残杀

People displaced by the fighting in Bor county, stand by their belongings³ after arriving in the port of Minkaman, in Awerial county, Lakes state, in South Sudan, Jan. 14, 2014.

A human rights group says appalling⁴ crimes have been committed against civilians⁶ in South Sudan for no other reason than their ethnicity. It’s calling on the U.N. to support an independent commission of inquiry⁷ to investigate alleged⁸ crimes.

Human Rights Watch began collecting reports of ethnic targeting shortly after fighting broke out in December between government and opposition⁹ forces.

“What we’re seeing, in part, is the reopening of old wounds and old scars that have really been ripped open in the past few weeks -- scars that were created by past atrocities¹⁰ during the long civil war in Sudan that were never adequately addressed -- either in peace negotiations¹¹ -- or in the last few years when South Sudan became independent,” said Leslie Lefkow, the group’s deputy director of the Africa division.

Human Rights Watch focused primarily on Juba and Bor.

She said, “The patterns differ slightly. For example, in Juba, much of the violence was concentrated in the first few days after the conflict that started on December 15th. In Bor, civilians have been the victims of crossfire¹², of fighting that has swept through Bor because the town has changed hands several times in the last month.”

Lefkow gave an example of some of the group’s findings.

“We documented very serious crimes in Juba when Nuer men were being sought out in various neighborhoods by soldiers from the SPLA, who were going house to house and rounding-up and sometimes shooting Nuer men primarily based on their ethnicity.”

She said that Dinka have been targeted as well.

“In Akobo, for example, early on, the U.N. base was attacked and a number of Dinka individuals, who had gone there for shelter, were killed. The details of that attack still remain very unclear, but there’s no doubt that people were killed, partly at least, on the basis that they were Dinka,” she said.

Three U.N. peacekeepers from India were also killed in that attack.

Human Rights Watch also has documented cases of looting – not only of civilian⁵ property, but that owned by U.N. agencies.

“This can very long-term ramifications¹³. It has serious implications for the ability of humanitarian¹⁴ aid agencies to operate in places -- for the WFP, the World Food Program  -- and other agencies, to distribute food when their vehicles and their warehouses¹⁵ have been looted. And civilians desperately¹⁶ need this assistance in the coming days and weeks given the massive scale of displacement¹⁷ that’s taken place,” Lefkow said.

More than 400,000 have been displaced within South Sudan and nearly 100,000 have fled to neighboring countries. U.N. and U.S. officials said thousands may have been killed since December.

The Human Rights Watch official says several key steps need to be taken. It calls on the leaders of both sides to issue orders against targeting civilians. Next, she says an international commission of inquiry should be set-up.

“This inquiry needs to be staffed by independent experts – people who have experience with South Sudan – with human rights investigation¹⁸ – with arms and munitions¹⁹ investigations²⁰ – and forensic²¹ experience. And this kind of inquiry if done credibly²² and independently I think would be an important step towards the long-term healing, reconciliation²³ and justice process,” she said.

 

Human Rights Watch said such a commission should report to both the African Union and the United Nations. Last month, the AU agreed a commission of inquiry should be established.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 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。

3 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

4 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 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。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

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 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

13 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》

14 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。

15 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

16 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

17 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。

18 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

19 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。

20 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

21 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

22 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

23 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。