VOA常速英语2014--IS的大屠杀构成种族灭绝吗?

 

Are Mass Killings² by IS Group Genocide? IS的大屠杀构成种族灭绝吗?

WASHINGTON— 

The extremist Islamic group known as the Islamic State - also called ISIS or ISIL - and groups connected with it - are believed to have killed thousands of civilians³ in Iraq and Syria, as well as having executed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi security forces. To a lay person, this would seem like a clear-cut case of genocide. But is it genocide under international law? And if so, what can or should be done about it?

伊斯兰国极端组织以及同他们有牵连的组织据信杀害了上千名伊拉克和叙利亚平民，处决了数以百计的伊拉克和叙利亚的安全部队成员。在一般人看来，这似乎是典型的“种族灭绝”。但是，根据国际法的规定，这是否算是“种族灭绝”？如果是的话，应该如何处理？

In 2014 alone, the United Nations says Islamic State militants⁴ systematically⁵ killed and injured more than 24,000 civilians, enslaved women, recruited children, and conducted a brutal⁶ campaign of violence across Syria and Iraq.

联合国表示，仅仅在2014年，伊斯兰国激进分子就有组织地杀害和打伤了超过2.4万名伊拉克和叙利亚平民。他们还奴役当地的妇女、征召儿童，并且在各地进行残忍的暴力活动。

Horrific on-line images of beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions of soldiers - as well as reports of torture - are testimony⁷ to the group's code of terror.

网上关于斩首、钉十字架、集体处决士兵和酷刑折磨的可怕的图片都是伊斯兰国组织恐怖行为的证据。

Earlier this year, the Sunni extremist group targeted ethnic⁸ Iraqi Yazidis, killing¹ the men and publicly defending the enslavement of the women. But they have also targeted other Muslims, especially Shia.

今年年初，这个逊尼派极端团体将目标瞄准了伊拉克的雅兹迪族群。他们杀害男人，并公开对奴役妇女的行为进行辩护。但穆斯林、特别是什叶派，也是他们的攻击目标。

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner⁹ Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein says the Islamic State is out to destroy anyone who does not agree with them.

联合国人权事务专员扎伊德?拉阿德?侯赛因说，伊斯兰国试图消灭所有与他们观点不同的人。

"Alternative view-points - indeed, any form of individual thought outside of their closed, unyielding logic¹⁰ - is rejected by them. Those dissenting¹¹ humans must be murdered, their memory, culture, every shred¹² of their existence, destroyed," said al-Hussein.

他说：“事实上，任何跟他们顽固封闭的思维逻辑不同的看法，他们都拒绝接受，他们一定要杀害这些持不同意见的人，摧毁他们的记忆、文化以及表明他们存在的每一丝痕迹。”

The U.N. says the actions of the Islamic State have met three out of the five criteria¹³ that define genocide under the international Genocide Convention.

联合国表示，伊斯兰国的行为已经符合《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》对于“种族灭绝”的五条标准中的三条。

U.S. Undersecretary of State Richard Stengel says the group is "ruthless."

美国国务次卿理查德?斯坦格尔说，伊斯兰国组织 “残酷无情”。

“They are a genocidal organization, I would say, in a sense that they are determined¹⁴ to wipe out whole groups of people indiscriminately, innocent people; so, their ideology¹⁵ I believe is genocidal and what they are doing is just despicable in every way,” he said.

他说：“我认为，他们是一个种族灭绝组织。他们不加选择地消灭掉整个群体的人，包括那些无辜的人。我相信他们的意识形态就是种族灭绝性质的，他们的所作所为只能说是卑劣的。”

The Genocide Convention says anyone guilty of the crime "shall be punished" -- but it speaks primarily of legal action. Where the Islamic State is concerned, an international coalition¹⁶ has been conducting air strikes against the group since August, and is supporting Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling the extremists on the ground.

在种族灭绝公约中，任何有罪的人都要“受到惩罚”，但这里主要指的是法律行动。 就伊斯兰国而言，国际联盟从8月起就一直在对他们发动空袭，支援伊拉克和库尔德武装在地面战场抗击极端分子。

The question now is whether that will be enough, says Daniel Serwer of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

约翰霍普金斯国际研究学院的丹尼尔?瑟沃尔说，目前的问题是，这些措施是否足够。

“What we are doing now, seems to me, has had a certain effectiveness in blocking the expansion of the Islamic State, it’s protected some populations that would otherwise have been at risk, but it’s doing nothing yet to really collapse¹⁷ the Islamic State. We’re not. We may be degrading it, but we’re not defeating it as yet,” he said.

他说：“在我看来，现在我们所做的努力阻止伊斯兰国扩张是有效的，保护了一些可能受到威胁的人们。但是对于真正瓦解伊斯兰国仍旧无效。我们可能削弱了它，但是还没有打败它。”

Meanwhile, Islamic State militants have captured large areas of Syria and Iraq, declaring the region a caliphate that all other Muslims should follow.

同时，伊斯兰国激进分子攻占了叙利亚和伊拉克的大片地区，宣布建立伊斯兰哈里发，并要求当地区所有其他穆斯林都必须服从。

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

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 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。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 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。

8 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。

9 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

10 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。

11 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

12 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

13 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。