VOA常速英语:2016年人权报告

In early March, the U. S. Department of State released its Country Reports On Human Rights Practices for the year 2016.
3月初，美国国务院发布了“2016年国别人权报告”。

“As in recent years, the 2016 reports document continued narrowing space for civil society,”said a high-level State Department official at the Report’s introduction.“Both state and non-state actors have taken steps to restrict civil society activity;to limit media and internet freedom; to suppress opposition voices;and in the worst cases, kill people or drive them from their homes.In many countries, we’ve seen governments crack down on the fundamental freedoms of expression and association by the use of direct and overt means,such as controlling political activity or banning or limiting political opposition,or by using laws or burdensome bureaucratic requirements to restrict civil society functioning.”
“同近些年一样，2016年报告文件中显示，公民社会的空间在不断缩小，”国务院高级官员在报告的导语中如是说道。“政府和非政府当权者都在采取措施限制公民社会活动;限制媒体和互联网自由; 压制反对声音; 甚至不惜使用杀戮手段或将公民驱逐出境。在许多国家，我们都能看到政府使用直接和公然的手段限制公民言论和结社的基本自由，如控制政治活动，封杀或限制政治反对派，或通过法律手段或官僚主义的繁文缛节来阻碍民间社会运作。”

The Reports are not meant to point fingers or judge the actions of sovereign nations.Nor are these U.S. policy documents.The 199 nations and territories covered in these Reports are in no way ranked or compared to each other.The Reports do not draw legal conclusions.
该报告并不是为了指责或批判主权国家的行为。同样，美国政策文件的目的也不在于此。报告绝对没有涉及到对199个国家和地区的排名或比较，也不会得出法律结论。

Indeed, the Reports were first mandated by the U.S. Congress when it became clear that some regimes that received U.S. aid had perpetrated gross abuses of human rights.That was 41 years ago.Since then, U.S. State Department Human Rights officials have tapped credible sources all over the world,from local and international human rights organizations to resources in the media, government, diplomatic, and intelligence agencies.All year, they collect, analyze and synthesize the information.
事实上，第一份报告是由美国国会发布的，当时接受美国援助的国家存在严重侵犯人权的情况遭到曝光。这是41年前的事了。此后，美国国务院人权官员在世界各地挖掘可信的情报，从地方和国际人权组织，到媒体，政府，外交和情报机构。他们每年都忙于收集、分析和综合信息。

The reports are meant to respond “to specific questions, such as whether there were credible reports of torture during 2016,whether security forces are held accountable for human rights violations,and whether there were reports of politically motivated disappearances,” said the official.
这些报告旨在回应“具体问题，例如在2016年期间是否有可信的酷刑报告，安全部队是否应对侵犯人权行为负责，以及是否有公民因政治原因而失踪的报告，”官方对外称道。

That’s because, in the words of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson,“U.S. leadership demands action specifically focused on improving the conditions of people the world over.The annual Human Rights Reports are a part of that endeavor.”
说到发布报告的原因，国务卿雷克斯·蒂勒森表示，“美国作为领导者，需要特别注重改善世界各地人们的生活状况。年度人权报告正是这项努力的一部分。”