VOA常速英语2016--蓄意网络中断威胁网络自由

The growing trend of intentional¹ shutdowns of the Internet and mobile networks threaten Internet freedom. According to estimates, some 25 governments on almost every continent have intentionally² prevented or disrupted access to such networks more than fifty times since the beginning of 2016, a rate of at least once every six days.

The United States earlier this year joined the consensus³ at the United Nations Human Rights Council in passing a resolution condemning⁴ intentional disruptions of access to or dissemination⁵ of information online, in violation⁶ of human rights law. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor⁷ Tom Malinowski noted⁸ that this Internet freedom resolution echoes a Freedom Online Conference joint⁹ statement from 2011 that labeled “mandatory blocking” of social networking technologies and platforms to be “an extreme measure” strictly¹⁰ subject to human rights law.

These network disruptions have a major economic impact. A Brookings Institution report estimates Ethiopia suffered an $8.5 million loss for an April Internet shutdown. More recently, in October, Ethiopia initiated¹¹ a new shutdown as part of the government's ongoing¹² state of emergency, which may have cost the Ethiopian economy just under half-a-million U.S. dollars a day in lost GDP.

It is particularly alarming that elections-related Internet shutdowns are becoming increasingly common. In February, the government of Uganda ordered mobile phone and Internet service providers to block access to social media sites on the day of contested national elections. Weeks later, the government of the Republic of Congo ordered a nationwide shutdown of mobile phone networks in the lead up to national elections.

But not all the news is bad. In August, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama publicly reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to protect freedom of expression online and refrain from restricting social media use in the lead up to national elections in December.

The United States government commends the initiative taken by Ghana to reaffirm its support of human rights online. The U.S. urges the government of Ethiopia to follow suit and restore access to the global Internet for all its citizens. Likewise, all governments must protect and promote the rights to freedom of expression and association as guaranteed under international human rights commitments.

蓄意中断互联网和手机网络的情况愈演愈烈，这威胁着网络自由。据估计，自2016年年初以来，几乎每个大陆都有近25个政府曾有不下50次蓄意阻止或中断过接入这些网络的情况，相当于每六天就至少出现一次。

今年早些时候，美国与联合国人权理事会达成共识，通过了一项谴责蓄意中断接入互联网或在线散布信息的行为，这种行为违反了人权法。美国负责民主、人权与劳工事务的助理国务卿提出，这项互联网自由决议与2011年网络自由大会(Freedom Online Conference)的共同声明不谋而合，后者以“强制”让社交网络技术和平台成为严格服从于人权法的“一种极端措施”而著称。

这些网络中断的情况会产生重大的经济影响。布鲁金斯学会(Brookings Institution)的一则报告估计，埃塞俄比亚在四月的网络中断中损失了850万美元。最近的例子还有10月份，埃塞俄比亚又实行了新一轮网络中断，以作为埃政府现行的国家紧急状态的一部分措施，这可能已给埃塞俄比亚造成每天50万美元GDP的经济损失。

尤其令人警醒的是：与选举有关的网络中断变得越来越普遍。今年2月份，乌干达政府命令手机和网络服务供应商在大选辩论当天阻止用户接入社交媒体网站。数周后，刚果政府又下令在大选前夕中断手机网络服务。

但现状并非处处狼藉。今年8月份，加纳总统约翰 德拉马尼 马哈马(John Dramani Mahama)曾公开确认，加纳致力于保护网络言论自由，会抑制在12月大选前夕出现限制使用社交媒体的情况。

美国政府赞扬加纳政府重申其支持网络人权的举动。美国敦促埃塞俄比亚政府效仿加纳，为市民恢复对全球互联网的接入。同样地，各国政府必须保护并提升言论自由和结社自由的权利，这也是国际人权法的承诺。

1 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

2 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 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。

10 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

11 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。