VOA标准英语2008年-UN Human Rights Commission Welcomes Nomination

The Human Rights Office in Geneva says it welcomes the nomination¹ of South African jurist, Navanethem Pillay as the new High Commissioner² and looks forward to her leading the organization, which is growing in scope and in importance. Her nomination, which was announced Thursday by the U.N. secretary-general, will be presented for approval by the General Assembly on Monday. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

The post of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is not for the faint-hearted. But, Navi Pillay, one of South Africa's leading female jurists, appears to be eminently³ qualified⁴ to bear the heat that comes with the job.

Past High Commissioners⁵ have been roundly criticized and vilified⁶ after pointing fingers at governments that have been accused of torture, disappearances⁷ and other gross violations⁸ of human rights. But, they also have been commended for speaking out on behalf of the victims.

Pillay has an impressive list of accomplishments⁹. U.N. Human Rights Spokesman, Rupert Colville, says it shows she is clearly qualified.

"As a member of a non-white minority in apartheid South Africa, and as a front-line grassroots lawyer who acted as a defense¹⁰ attorney for many anti-apartheid campaigners and trades unionists, Ms. Pillay has direct personal experience of many of the issues that a High Commissioner for Human rights covers under her mandate¹¹...She has also been involved with a number of other organizations working on issues relating to children, detainees, victims of torture, victims of domestic violence as well as a range of other economic, social and cultural rights," he said.

Pillay is 67 years old. She is of Tamil descent, the daughter of a bus driver from a poor Indian section of Durban, who has marked out an outstanding career as a champion of human rights and justice.

She was the first woman of color in Natal¹² province to start her own firm. She has won victories for those imprisoned¹³ under apartheid, including her husband. She has been a leading advocate for women's rights.

Colville notes Judge Pillay has served on two of the most important international criminal courts. She has spent eight years with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including four years as its President.

And, for the past five years, he says Pillay has served on the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

"Both of these courts deal with the extreme end of the human rights spectrum-war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and they are at the cutting edge of the development of international law in these areas." he said. "Obviously, judges - and especially court presidents - in the international arena¹⁴, have to function in a highly complex and politicized environment, as does the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. So in that respect, Ms. Pillay is exceptionally well-qualified-with a career path quite similar to that of her predecessor¹⁵ Louise Arbour."

Canadian Judge, Louise Arbour, also served on national courts and as Prosecutor¹⁶ for both the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals. She quit her functions as High Commissioner at the end of June after years of service.

Navi Pillay is expected to assume her post as High Commissioner on September 1. The office she will lead will have almost one thousand employees and a budget of nearly $120 million.

 

 

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 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。

3 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 vilified   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was vilified in newspapers. 他在报纸上受到了诽谤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was vilified by the press for her controversial views. 因她持有异议，新闻界对她横加挞伐。 来自互联网

7 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

8 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。

9 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

12 natal   

adj.出生的，先天的

参考例句：

• Many music-lovers make pilgrimages to Mozart's natal place.很多爱好音乐的人去访问莫扎特的出生地。
• Since natal day,characters possess the visual elements such as dots and strokes.文字从诞生开始便具有了点画这样的视觉元素。

13 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

14 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

15 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

16 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。