VOA常速英语2007-Coalition Urges UN to Call For Moratorium on Exe
时间：2019-02-06 作者：英语课 分类：2007年VOA常速英语（十月）
New York
11 October 2007
A coalition 1 of 60 non-governmental organizations is urging the United Nations to adopt a resolution that calls for a global moratorium 2 on the death penalty. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York Bureau that supporters believe such a resolution has enough support to pass.
In 2003, The World Coalition Against The Death Penalty designated October 10 as the "World Day Against the Death Penalty.
At a news conference in New York Wednesday, the group said more than 90 countries nations have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, 131 have done so in practice and 66 retain it.
The U.N. General Assembly is considering a resolution that will ask countries to impose a moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards abolishing it worldwide.
The resolution is co-sponsored by countries including Brazil, East Timor, Gabon, Mexico, the Philippines and Portugal. The spokesman for the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Michel Taube, says he is hopeful the initiative will be adopted.
"I think there is quite a lot of support at the moment. But let's let the diplomacy 3 and the organizations continue it's work and I'm sure the number of sponsors will continue to grow, grow, grow," he said.
The coalition, which includes groups like Amnesty International and the International Federation 4 of Human Rights League, says the use of the death penalty is declining overall.
But, it says in some countries, including Iran, more people are being put to death.
In Afghanistan Monday, 15 prisoners were executed by gunfire, ending a three-year moratorium on the death penalty in that country.
Taube said he thinks recent images, including those of Saddam Hussein's hanging last December, have bolstered 5 international opposition 6 to the death penalty. "In all the world today there are initiatives, on five continents, in many countries, to ask for the abolition 7 of the death penalty. We think the moment has come."
Amnesty International says six countries were responsible for 91 percent of all known executions worldwide last year: China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and the United States.
The death penalty is a controversial issue in the United States. The U.S. Supreme 8 Court ruled in 1976 that the death penalty is not unconstitutional. Currently, 38 of the 50 states allow the death penalty, as does the federal government.
- 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。
- The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
- We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。
- The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
- This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
- It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
- Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
- He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
- The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。