2006年VOA标准英语-Rights Groups Urge UN to Seriously Address Viol

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
17 September 2006

Human-rights organizations are calling for the U.N. Human Rights Council to protect the victims of abuse by naming and shaming those countries that violate their rights. On the eve of its second session, rights advocates are urging the Council's 47 members not to turn a blind eye to the world's most serious human-rights crises. 

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Unlike the first meeting in June, this one will get right down to business. There will be no high-level segment, no dignitaries expressing their views and hopes for this newborn organization.

Mexican Ambassador and council president, Luis Alfonso de Alba, says the U.N. Special investigators¹ will present the reports they had prepared for the now defunct² Human Rights Commission. A first set of reports will deal with so-called thematic issues.

"Question of torture, children, rights of women. The need to protect human rights in the fight against terrorism, indigenous³ rights, etc. Those reports include specific recommendations on things that need to be done. A second set of reports refer to specific country situations," he said.

This will include the human-rights records of countries such as Somalia, North Korea, Cuba, Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Sudan. Reports on the U.S.-run detention⁴ center for terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay and on the situation in Lebanon also will be presented.

An international coalition⁵ of 41 non-governmental organizations has issued a statement criticizing the council for failing to uphold democratic values. It accuses the U.N. body of the kind of politicization that stripped the U.N. Human Rights Commission of its moral authority.

The executive director of the rights group U.N. Watch, Hillel Neuer, says he welcomes the investigators' reports, but adds reports are not enough.

"I am actually not aware of a single country that is preparing to introduce any resolution for Darfur or the victims of any other violation," he noted⁶. "Now that is deeply disappointing. We need resolutions that single out violations⁷ in countries like North Korea, Burma, Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. The message that has gone out to the world is that the first three months of the council, not a single country is being addressed except for the anti-Israel resolutions."

Neuer is referring to two special sessions held by the council that concerned Israel's attack on Gaza and the invasion of Lebanon. Ambassador de Alba calls the special sessions fully⁸ justified⁹ because they dealt with critical human-rights issues.

"I think the Council should fight selectivity. But, selectivity does not mean not to address an issue. It means to address any relevant issue," he continued. "The criticism that has come with stronger voices in terms of the balance that the resolutions need to have."

Some governments and rights groups criticize these resolutions as being entirely¹⁰ one-sided. They say Israel is politically condemned¹¹, but no mention is made of provocative¹² actions committed by either the Palestinians or Hezbollah militia¹³.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。