VOA标准英语2015--HRW: Release AU Report on S. Sudan

 

HRW: Release AU Report on S. Sudan

A rights group is criticizing the African Union for delaying release of a commission of inquiry¹ report on South Sudan’s conflict. Human Rights Watch says the AU should reverse its decision and immediately publish the findings.

HRW Africa Director Daniel Bekele says the AU has “put justice on hold” in South Sudan. Deferring² action on the report, he says, “casts doubt” on the AU’s commitment to its first ever commission of inquiry. The commission was chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“The recent conflict in South Sudan is one of the most brutal³ wars, which is characterized by massive casualties and destruction of property – by property I mean civilian⁴ property – for thousands of people. And people have basically been targeted and killed for who they are -- for their ethnicity. And thousands of people have died and thousands of people have been displaced,” said Bekele.

He said serious crimes, including war crimes, have been committed in South Sudan since December 2013.

“So the full facts need to come out and those that are responsible for these atrocities⁵ need to be held to account. It is crucial that findings and recommendations of the commission of inquiry need to be made public.”

A power sharing deal was signed February 2nd between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar. Many details need to be worked out. However, if successful, the agreement would form a transitional government of national unity⁶ and end fighting early next month. It raises the question whether the AU delayed the commission of inquiry report so as not to jeopardize⁷ peace talks.

“That seems to be the assumption with the peace negotiators and some of the African Union officials. But we believe that assumption is rather misplaced. We don’t think that a peace process and a justice process are mutually exclusive,” he said.

The Human Rights Watch official said that “failing to take action on justice will embolden⁸ perpetrators to commit more abuses.”

Bekele said the international community has been awaiting the report’s release before taking action on justice in South Sudan.

“This relates to what is the best mechanism⁹ and model to hold perpetrators to account. And there seems to be an understanding that probably South Sudan needs a hybrid¹⁰ court, which consists of South Sudanese, as well, as international members. To establish a judicial¹¹ body, which consists of an investigative unit, a prosecutorial¹² unit and how you provide protection for witnesses.”

Bekele said the “AU has taken precious time and resources to document crimes,” adding “this effort can do little good if it does not see the light of day.”

1 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。

2 deferring   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• Recently, the Supreme Court has focused on an additional reason for deferring to administrative agencies. 最近，最高法院强调了尊重行政机构的另一种理由。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Think of it as deferring part of the compiler's job to runtime. 可以认为这是将编译器的部分工作延迟到了运行时。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 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》

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

8 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

9 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

10 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

11 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

12 prosecutorial   

公诉人的，原告的； 起诉的

参考例句：

• If prosecutorial misconduct results in a mistrial, a later prosecution may be barred. 如果检察官的不轨行为导致审判无效，再行起诉可能会被除数禁止。 来自口语例句
• Prosecutorial supervision is required according to public power attribution of civil litigation. 民事诉讼的个性和检察监督是对立统一的关系，并不排斥检察监督。