2006年VOA标准英语-New UN Human Rights Council Aims for Legitimacy

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
03 November 2006
 
One of the key reforms under outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was the creation of a new Human Rights Council to replace the discredited¹ Human Rights Commission.

The U.N. resolution establishing the Human Rights Council last March said the new body will be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. In addition, the 47-member council will address human rights violations² around the world.

The new Council replaced the old 53-member Human Rights Commission. Nancy Soderberg, former U.S. alternate representative to the United Nations, says that body was highly politicized.

"The old Human Rights Commission had been hijacked³ by the human rights abusers as a way of blocking any effective action - so you had Cuba, Syria, Iran - all those nations, who did not want the U.N. to shine a spotlight⁴ on their abuses. So, it absolutely had to go," she said.

Michael Doyle, former adviser⁵ to outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, agrees.

"The old Human Rights Commission had turned into a platform for rhetoric⁶ rather than action, rhetoric that was designed to draw lines rather than define common ground," he noted⁷.  "There was a sense that it was a body that was no longer credible⁸ - too many human rights abusers had too much influence. And that was the motivation that led many people to think that we needed a new body to address the issue of human rights, which is what the Human Rights Council is about."

Experts say it is too early to tell whether the new council is better than the old commission. It has already met twice since its creation and plans another meeting before the end of the year. The old commission met only once yearly.

Donald Steinberg, U.N. expert with the International Crisis Group, says there are other positive signs.

"The membership requirements to serve on the council have been toughened up such that you have to agree that, if you are going to serve on the council, that your country will be analyzed⁹ for its human rights standards, and that has discouraged some of the worst human rights abusers from standing¹⁰ for election to the council," said Mr. Steinberg.  "The council now meets regularly throughout the year. It has looked at its mandates¹¹ and reformed many of them. But, again, it is very much a work in progress. It's only been around for about five or six months, and we'll see, over the future, how it responds."

Analysts¹² say one of the key deficiencies of this new council is that the United Sates is not a member. It decided¹³ not to run for a seat on the council.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon says Washington was not a candidate, because it felt the new body did not go far enough to address the shortcomings of the old one.

"We made the decision that this council was a missed opportunity, that it was not constructed in a way that would be definitively¹⁴ better than the Commission on Human Rights, and we decided not to run in the first year," he said.

But Donald Steinberg, of the International Crisis Group, says there may be another reason why the United States decided to stay on the sidelines.

"Many people believe the United States may not have been elected because of the reaction around the world to some of the American initiatives, whether it be Iraq or Guantanamo or elsewhere," he added.

U.S. official Mark Lagon says Washington will decide what to do in the very near future.

"We need to make an assessment¹⁵ soon," added Mr. Lagon.  "There will be an election that takes place next spring for the second year of the council."

Analysts say, whatever the reason for Washington's non-participation¹⁶ in the council this year, it must reverse that policy and run for election next year. They say the chances of influencing the council from within are much greater than trying to do so from the outside looking in. And, they say, without Washington's participation, the credibility of the new Human Rights Council suffers.

1 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

2 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 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。

8 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

9 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

15 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？

16 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。