[英文]联合国2013年度回顾

?[英文]联合国2013年度回顾-口译网

UNITED NATIONS YEAR IN REVIEW 2013

2013 – Amid continuing turmoil and crises, it was a year of major strides for diplomacy as the United Nations worked to negotiate peace, instill hope and define a sustainable future for all.

Civil War in SYRIA – After two years, more than 120.000 people have been killed, 2 million people left the country and millions more are running out of food and water inside. The UN and its agencies did everything to assist the people – despite tremendous security and logistical challenges. The World Food Program, for example, used brief lulls in the fighting to send food to the trapped civilians.

In August, the world was shocked to hear about a large-scale chemical weapons
attack, killing civilians and even children. After months of deadlock, the Security Council finally united to endorse the expeditious destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons program and to call for all parties to negotiate a political solution to the crisis.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “This is not a licence to kill with conventional weapons. All the violence must end. All the guns must fall silent.”

UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague: “The failure of the council to tackle the crimes committed on a daily basis has resulted in a culture of impunity in which a brutal regime believed it could get away with murdering its own men, women and children.”

Syrian Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari: “All states have to abide by this resolution. All states including those neighbouring countries of Syria who are providing haven and supporting the terrorists and armed groups into my country.”

The UN established a joint mission with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, to secure and destroy Syria’s arsenal – an operation on a scale that had never been tried before. The deadly chemicals would be shipped outside Syria for destruction – yet finding a country to TAKE them was no easy task at all. Just before starting their dangerous mission, the inspectors woke up to a surprise:

OPCW inspector Kieran Carey: “The OPCW as an organization has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize, Peace Prize. Congratulations! Now get back to your tasks, there are tight deadlines to meet.”

The first-ever high-level Meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament heard a keynote address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani: “The world has waited too long for nuclear disarmament. The indefinite possession of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated, nor can their complete elimination be further delayed.”

US President Barack Obama urged that words must be matched by actions: “But I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship – one based on mutual interests and mutual respect.”

After lengthy negotiations, six world powers an

d Iran reached an initial agreement in November that calls on Iran to limit its nuclear activities in return for limited relief from sanctions.

Another Historic Landmark: The adoption of the International Arms Trade Treaty, aimed at reducing the illicit flow of weapons to war lords and criminals. More than half of the member states have signed the treaty, including the largest arms exporting country in the world, the United States.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry: “This is about keeping weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue actors. This is about reducing the risk of international transfers of conventional arms that will be used to carry out the world’s worst crimes.”

Terror attacks from Boston to Nairobi shocked and saddened the world. Fear of terror led to distrust and provided an excuse for widespread internet and cell phone surveillance programs which affected ordinary citizens and world leaders alike.

Brazil called on the UN to play a leading role in protecting privacy in cyber space. President Dilma Rousseff:“Tampering in such a manner in the affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and is an affront to the principles that must guide the relations among them, especially among friendly nations.”

Middle East Peace Talks – SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon returned from the region encouraged by the seriousness of Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct negotiations. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the UN to stop Israeli settlement building on Palestinian soil: “Time is running out. The window of peace is narrowing. Opportunities are diminishing. The current round of negotiations is to be a last chance to realize a just peace.”

Progress in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: New fighting displaced 100.000 people in the Kivu province, the ongoing crisis left 6 million people in need of food and assistance.

The Security Council approved the creation of the first ever robust intervention brigade to neutralize the notorious M23 movement and allow UN peacekeepers to concentrate on protecting civilians. After the defeat of the M23 rebels, the Congolese army regained control over the area. Council members travelled to Goma to show their support for a UN brokered peace accord for the region.

Political progress in SOMALIA – after 20 years of anarchy. Two years after the Islamic militants of Al-Shabaab were forced out of Mogadishu, increased security and a democratically elected president have brought more stability to a formerly failed state.

Still there are setbacks – like an AlShabaab suicide attack on the UN compound in Mogadishu, which claimed the lives of 15 people.

The UN Security Council authorized to increase the African Union Peacekeeping force to 22.000 soldiers and expand logistical support to combat insurgency in the Horn of Africa.

The UN Mine Action Service trained the Somali police to detect and safely destroy 15.000 bombs and othe

r remnants of war. Businesses and foreign investments now boom in Mogadishu – and Somalia has officially begun to export livestock again – for the first time in 20 years.

Progress in MALI – Massive turnout in presidential elections showed the will of the Malians to move on after the recent occupation of the North. In June, government and rebel Tuaregs signed a peace accord and the UN’s integrated stabilization Mission helped to protect civilians in a still volatile security situation on the ground.

In the fragile SAHEL region, people need peace, development - and jobs. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim travelled to the area and pledged 1.5 billion dollars in investments for an integrated Sahel strategy.

Forgotten Crisis in the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – the complete breakdown of law and order left millions of people cut off from assistance. The African Union sent an African-led support mission in October and in December, the Security Council authorized the deployment of new forces to stem suffering, insecurity and violence.

Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the High Commissioner for Refugees, urged the Security Council to have zero tolerance for sexual violence: “Rape, as a weapon of war, is an assault on security and the world in which these crimes happen is one in which there is not, and never will be peace.”

Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zeinab Bangura:“Today it is still largely cost-free to rape a woman, child or man in conflict. Sexual violence has been used through the ages precisely because it is such a cheap and devastating weapon.”

Women and girls are raising their voices for their rights – MALALA Yousoufzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban a year ago for claiming her right to go to school, celebrated her 16th birthday, now called Malala Day, at the United Nations.

Malala: “Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are our most powerful weapons, One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”

Tragedy in the Mediterranean – Hundreds of African Migrants died when their ship sank near the island of Lampedusa. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to call for countries to protect the human rights of migrants and stop abuse and exploitation.

Progress against hunger – 20 million people reached food stability in 2013 – yet one in eight humans still faces chronic hunger. And yet each year, according to a UN report, more than a billion tons of food goes to waste, worth 750 billion dollars, the equivalent of the GDP of a developed country.

The first World TOILET Day was celebrated in November to remind that 2.6 billion people live without proper sanitation. More people have access to cell phones than to a toilet. India’s “Total Sanitation” campaign uses the winning slogan: “No Toilet – no bride!”

“When my parents decided on my marriage, they made sure my husband has

a toilet in his house.”

Roughly a third of the world’s countries have reached the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty and hunger. A new development agenda is emerging to set sustainable goals with respect to the environment and social justice.

The biggest Typhoon ever recorded in history hit the Philippines and left a trail of death and destruction. Whole cities were wiped away, thousands of people lost everything they had. Three million people need shelter. The World Food program set up a logistics base to airlift food and supplies, UNICEF and other UN agencies created relief hubs to reach as many people as fast as possible. With so many underfunded emergencies in the world, the relief agencies are stretched to the max to deliver.

A Small Breakthrough: At the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw - “We can fix this, we can stop this madness, right now, right here.”- rich and poor countries fought hard for a consensus on how to finance recovery from climate disasters. Much more needs to be done to achieve the goal to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

Sad news from South Africa – former President and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela passed away in December. His legacy inspires the whole world.

"We feel especially honoured and privileged to have the possibility today to stand at this particular place to speak to all of you who represent the peoples of the world."

Then and now - Only united, nations can find solutions to the problems that affect them all.

“We speak often of hope. Our duty is to turn hope into action through hard work, commitment, skill and integrity. With passion, but most of all with compassion we can build a future your people want and that our world needs.”