VOA标准英语2010年-UN Piracy Chief: More Countries Should

With piracy¹ on the rise off the east-African coast, a top U.N. advisor² has called for the international community to ease the burden placed on Kenya to try and jail convicted hijackers. The statement comes just weeks after Kenya announced its international agreements to detain Somali pirates had expired.

During a brief stop in Nairobi, the U.N. secretary general's special adviser⁴ on piracy issues, Jack³ Lang, weighed in Tuesday on Kenya's reluctance⁵ to try any more piracy suspects captured in the Indian Ocean. Lang told reporters that Kenya has provided an example in dealing⁶ with the growing problem of piracy, and urged the international community to provide better support to the east African nation.

The Special Adviser's stop was part of a three-month tour begun in August to investigate new ways to deal with the increasing numbers of hijackers launching from the Somali coast.

Kenya, along with the Seychelles, is the only country in east Africa that has agreed to prosecute⁷ pirates captured in the Indian Ocean by international patrols. Kenya has signed agreements with the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, European Union, Denmark and China to try suspected pirates in return for support, but the country increasingly complained it is facing the burden alone.

The move to hold Somali pirates also has been unpopular among Kenya's politicians, who argue the agreements placed excessive costs and security risks squarely on Kenya's shoulders.

The Director of the Seafarer's Assistance Program in East Africa, Andrew Mwangura, said the agreements diverted resources from Kenya's already strained court system. "In Mombasa Courts we have got only 11 court prosecutors⁸," said Mwangura. "And these prosecutors have to carry other cases, like murder cases, robbery crime and domestic violence. Apart from that, Kenya has got a backlog⁹ of about 185,000 cases countrywide. And also, there is parliament, because they are using taxpayer's money to keep these people in our prisons."

On September 30th, the Kenyan government announced the agreements to try pirates had expired and it would no longer accept pirates. Western countries have been negotiating with Kenya to renew the deal, but officials have not specified¹⁰ publicly what Kenya needs to receive to continue trying suspects.

Since 2009, Kenya has convicted an estimated 43 pirates and holds about 100 more. Despite the expiration¹¹ of the agreements, Kenya has continued to take on pirates captured in the past two weeks.

The United States Navy transferred nine Somali's into Kenyan custody¹² Tuesday after capturing them last month in the Gulf¹³ of Aden.

In Nairobi, Lang called for new ideas to deal with the issue of piracy, and he called on new partners to detain and prosecute suspected pirates.

The Special Adviser is visiting the region amidst a rise in hijackings in recent weeks. On Sunday, Somali pirates hijacked¹⁴ a Japanese cargo¹⁵ ship off the coast of Kenya along with 20 members of the crew. At least 61 sailors have been captured by Somali pirates since the last week of September.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for more than 20 years. Lang said any solution to the piracy problem would have to involve a commitment to stability in Somalia.
 

1 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 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。

5 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

8 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

9 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

10 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

11 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

12 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

13 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

14 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。

15 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。