安然无恙？ Safe and sound?

Safe and sound? -- New York
安然无恙？

The UN Security Council is the iconic roundtable heart of diplomacy that decides when to act on some of the globe's most pressing issues. But is the historic body still fit for purpose? We paid a visit to its HQ to find out.
联合国安理会是各国外交的标志性核心，以圆桌会议的形式为地球上一些最紧迫的问题制定出行动时间表。时至今日，这一历史悠久的国际组织还能一如既往、不辱使命吗？我们不妨参观一下该组织的总部，一探究竟。

Writer: Steve Bloomfield
作者：史蒂夫·布卢姆菲尔德
翻译：斯眉

On a humid New York afternoon in late summer, the United Nations Security Council is meeting in private. There is much to debate. The conflict in Gaza is at its height; eastern Ukraine is in chaos; Isis is on the march in Iraq; and the blood-shed in Syria continues. It is hard to recall a summer when so many crises occurred at the same time.
纽约，一个潮湿的夏末午后，联合国安全理事会正在秘密举行。有很多问题需要商讨——加沙地带的冲突如火如荼；乌克兰东部一片混乱；伊斯兰国组织正在进军伊拉克；叙利亚的流血冲突仍在继续。人们很难记起哪一年的夏天有如此多的危机同时爆发。

After two hours of discussions a door opens, the diplomats emerge and the British deputy ambassador, who chaired the session, steps forward to the podium. Behind him are the 15 flags of the Security Council's current members —what's known as the permanent five, plus o elected nations — and the light-blue-and-white logo of the UN. He reads a short statement about a minor peacekeeping operation in Burundi and politely ignores a shouted question on Gaza from the sole journalist present, before shuffling away.
两小时的磋商过后，一扇门打开了，外交官们走出来，负责主持会议的英国副大使迈步向前走上讲台。在他的身后是安理会现任成员国的十五面国旗——十五个国家中包括五个五个常任理事国，还有十个当选国家——以及蓝白相间的联合国标志。他朗读了一段在布隆迪展开小型维和行动的简短声明，一名记者大声提及加沙问题，他礼貌性地未予作答，走下讲台离去。

What is the point of the UN? Born out of the ashes of the Second World War and the failure of its predecessor, the League of Nations, it was launched in 1945 with grand intentions to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war... reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights... promote social progress... to practice tolerance and live together in peace..."
联合国的意义何在？联合国诞生于第二次世界大战的废墟之中，借鉴其前身国联的失败教训，在1945年成立之初就将“使后代免受战祸……重申基本人权……推动社会进步……力行容恕，和平相处”作为崇高意愿。

There are real victories to celebrate, from the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the introduction of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, both of which, while far from perfect, have helped to create a framework for a more peaceful world.
有许多真正值得庆祝的胜利，从创建国际刑事法院到引入国家保护责任理念，虽然两者远非完美，却有助于为更加和平的世界创建出一个框架。

Yet the UN's list of failures, particularly since the end of the Cold War, is better known than its successes: peace-keeping disasters in Somalia, Bosnia and Darfur; accusations of inaction in Rwanda, Palestine and Syria; and an inability to prevent major powers taking military action in locations from Iraq to Ukraine.
不过，联合国的失败——特别自冷战结束至今——比它的成功更为人所知：索马里、波斯尼亚和达尔富尔地区的维和灾害；在卢旺达，巴勒斯坦和叙利亚的不作为；无法防止大国在伊拉克到乌克兰等多个地点采取军事行动。

At the heart of this multi-billion dollar organization with more than 43,000 members of staff around the world — and 96,824 peacekeepers in 17 missions from Haiti to South Sudan — is the UN Security Council. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon can talk but the Security Council — a body of 15 nations — is the group that ultimately makes decisions. Not even the whole council: the five permanent members, each with their own veto, run the show. And if the Council isn't working, the UN isn't working.
联合国在世界各地有超过43,000名工作人员，还在从海地到苏丹南部等地区派驻了96,824名维和人员。该组织的规模达数十亿美元，其核心是联合国安全理事会。秘书长潘基文可以对外发表讲话，但安理会——主体为十五个国家——才是该集团最终的决策者。甚至可以说不是整个安理会，而是五个常任理事国在主宰联合国，因为其中每个国家都可行使否决权。而且，如果安理会停摆，联合国就瘫痪了。

"On the Middle East it's not played a significant role," says the UK's ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, with some understatement. His colleague Michael Tatham, is blunter. "Syria has been a huge failure for the Security Council — there's no getting away from that." Other diplomats , despair over the inability to do anything meaningful about Palestine.
“在中东，联合国没有发挥显著作用，”英国代表马克·莱尔·格兰特说，语气有些轻描淡写。他的同事迈克尔·泰胜则直言不讳。“对安理会而言，叙利亚一直堪称重大失败——无法全身而退。”其他外交官则对联合国在巴勒斯坦问题上的不作为颇感失望。

Over the course of a week in August, MONOCLE has the chance to see the Security Council close up as the UK takes over the rotating presidency of the organization. As one of the permanent members, the UK, like France, tends to take a more active role than the other veto-wielding powers — the US, Russia and China. "They feel the need to prove they have a reason to be there," says Colum Lynch, a UN reporter at Foreign Policy magazine.
在八月的一个多星期，正当英国接任该组织的轮值主席国，《单片眼镜》杂志的记者正好碰上安理会闭会。像法国一样，作为常任理事国之一，英国往往需要比其他拥有否决权的大国——美国、俄罗斯和中国——扮演更积极的角色。《外交政策》杂志驻联合国记者科拉姆·林奇说，“他们觉得有必要向世人证明，自己有充分的理由坐在那里。”

The UK is not going to lose its seat any time soon but debate over the composition of the world's most important organisation has become increasingly heated in recent years. Were the Security Council to be created today it would look very different. Of its five permanent members, the US is the one remaining global power, China can claim to be a regional power that will soon have the world's largest economy. But Russia? The Soviet Union has gone — despite the nation's best efforts to bring it back — and its economy is a mess. Russia's fellow Brics nations India and Brazil would have a far better claim to a seat. Neither the UK or France can say they are the most important nation in western Europe, let alone elsewhere — by any criteria Germany deserves a seat. Japan believes it should be a permanent member while there are also calls for a stronger African presence.
英国不会在短期内失去常任理事国的席位，但近些年来，有一种争论呈现日趋白热化的态势，那就是世界上最重要组织应该由哪些国家组成。相比安理事创建之处，当今的国际形势已经大为不同。在五个常任理事国中，美国是硕果仅存的全球大国，中国可以算得上地区性大国，而且，不久将成为世界上的最大经济体。但俄罗斯呢？苏联已经不复存在了——尽管所有俄罗斯人都竭尽全力使它起死回生，经济上一团糟。俄罗斯的金砖四国伙伴国家印度和巴西更有资格获得一个席位。无论是英国还是法国都不敢自称是西欧最重要的国家，更别说其他地方——无论以任何标准来衡量，德国都应该占据一席之地。日本认为它理应是一个常任理事国，同时，非洲也呼吁提高在安理会的地位。

For the UK there is no better opportunity to show its worth than when it holds the council presidency that is taken up by one of the 15 members once a month. It sets the agenda, chairs the debates and does its best to raise its pro-file, both inside and outside the building. There is a Twitter Q & A with the ambassador that goes as well as you'd imagine, while a red telephone box is shipped over and sits in the lobby.
安理会主席的位置每个月在十五个国家间轮换一次，对英国而言，担任轮值主席国是展示自身价值的最好时机。在此期间，英国负责设置议程、主持辩论、尽力在安理会大楼内外提高国际形象。如你想象，英国代表拥有Twitter账号，可回答提问，一座红色电话亭被运过来，坐落在大厅之中。

The UK's agenda is focused on Africa, particularly the situations — such as political violence in Burundi — that rarely get the attention they deserve. But those events elsewhere, from Israel to Ukraine and Iraq, throw the agenda off course and highlight once again how dysfunctional the Security Council can be. "I'm not an advocate of getting rid of the veto," says Lyall Grant, unsurprisingly. "But I'd like to see it less readily used." The US and Russia wield it regularly: the Americans in defence of Israel, the Russians most recently in defence of Syria. Russia has vetoed four resolutions and its opposition has watered down the three that have passed. "Syria has brought the debate over the veto into sharp focus," says Tatham.
英国的议程集中在非洲，特别是因为当地局势——例如发生在布隆迪的政治暴力——很少得到应有的重视。但是，从以色列到乌克兰和伊拉克等其他地方的一些事件不断冒出，使原定议程偏离轨道，再次凸显出安理会的功能失调可以达到多么严重的地步。“我不提倡取消否决权，”莱尔·格兰特表示，这一点勿庸置疑。“不过，我不希望看到它被轻易使用。”最近，美国和俄罗斯都频频使用否决权：前者为了维护以色列，后者为了维护叙利亚。俄罗斯已经否决了四项提案，他们的反对使业已通过的三项决议胎死腹中。泰胜说，“关于否决权的争论因叙利亚问题而成为大家关注的焦点。”

One way to get around the threat of the veto is to raise the cost of inaction, argues Reza Afshar, a one-time member of the UK team at the UN, who now works for advisory group Independent Diplomat. "In Syria, heavy arming of the opposition that resulted in significant regime losses might make Russia more inclined to let the Council deal more effectively with the situation. We saw an example of Russia changing its calculations when it supported Council action on Syria's chemical weapons when it was clear that the West was poised to strike militarily. No reform of the Security Council will change this fundamental requirement to play the power dynamics."
礼萨·阿夫沙尔是英国驻联合国的一次性成员，现在服务于独立外交官咨询小组。他主张，避开否决权威胁的一种途经是提高不作为的成本。“在叙利亚，反对派的重型武装造成政府军的巨大伤亡，这可能使俄罗斯更倾向于让安理会出台更有效的措施，应对当前局势。之前我们曾经看到过类似的例子：当西方国家准备针对叙利亚的化学武器采取军事打击时，俄罗斯改变了立场，转而支持安理会的决议。无论安理会怎样改革，都无法改变权力至上的基本要求。”

Midway through the first week of the UK's presidency a debate is held on the Democratic Republic of Congo, a less controversial topic that all of the permanent members are happy to talk about. At times the chamber is like a theater where both on and offstage can be seen at the same time. Around the horseshoe table the 15 ambassadors take part in the public performance: reading their own prepared speeches and listening (or giving the appearance of listening) to everyone else's. Behind them are a further two rows of chairs filled with advisers; there are more rows of adviser-filled seats stage right. It is here, and in the corners of the chamber, where the offstage action takes place. Notes are passed; urgent conversations are whispered.
英国的第一周轮值主席国任期已过半程，就刚果民主共和国的问题召开了一次辩论会，这是一个不太有争议的话题，所有常任理事国都乐于谈论。有时，安理会大厅像一座剧院，两侧台上台下的人都可同时看到彼此。呈马蹄形的桌子四周端坐着十五国代表，参加公开演出：阅读自己准备的讲稿、聆听（或作出聆听的姿势）其他人的发言。他们身后摆着另外两排椅子，坐满了顾问；在舞台右侧还有更多排座椅，供顾问使用。在这里和大厅的几个角落，台下的人们也没闲着：传递纸条、压低声音紧急交谈。

Lyall Grant passes a note to his US counterpart, Samantha Power. Later he gets up to speak to his deputy, Peter Wilson, in the corner. Wilson then walks over to the French ambassador, taps on his shoulder and whispers in his ear. Another note is passed to the Americans. While all this is going on, the Rwandan ambassador is reading out a lengthy statement on his government's concerns over recent fighting in Congo.
莱尔·格兰特向美国同行萨曼莎·帕沃递过一张纸条。随后他站起来，在角落里与副手彼得·威尔逊窃窃私语。接着，威尔逊走到法国驻联合国代表那边，轻拍后者的肩膀耳语起来。另一张纸条传给了几位美国人。当这一切进行之时，卢旺达代表正在宣读该国政府针对近期刚果的交战事态而发表的一份冗长的声明。

Sometimes though, it is just boring. "It can be mind-numbing," says Tatham. When ambassadors leave their chair at the table, another member of their team has to fill it. For the UK that's often Tatham. "I end up listening to countless other speeches. It's a paradox. I've had some of my dullest and most exciting days of my career here." Some of those diplomats who look to be busily scanning the BlackBerry admit they are just as likely to be checking Facebook.
不过，有时候这种议程真是无聊。“它可以让人混沌麻木，”泰胜说。当桌边的代表们离开自己的椅子，他们团队中的另一位成员必须填补空缺。在英国代表团，这是泰胜的职责。“我听过的其他代表的发言不计其数，自相矛盾的是，我职业生涯中一些最乏味不堪和最令人兴奋的时刻都是在这里度过的。”另外一些忙着查看黑莓手机的外交官则坦承，他们只是喜欢三不五时查看一下Facebook。

Even when the debates aren't boring they can still be frustrating. "Some of the debates are over tiny little things that mean nothing," says Philip Reed, the UK's humanitarian officer.
即使辩论不太无聊，它们仍可以令人沮丧。英国人道主义官员菲利普·里德表示，“有些辩论的主题微不足道。”

Tatham adds, "You score some minor procedural victory over Russia and you feel great — then you think, does it actually matter?"
泰胜补充说，“针对俄罗斯，你取得了一些微小的程序性胜利，感觉好极了——接着你会认为，这有实际意义吗？”

Watching the UN work it is easy to feel dispirited but at times agreements can still be reached. "On some of the big issues they may have deadlock but they still all have an interest in the ship still sailing," says Lynch. "They try to find a way not to blow up the whole machine. You have these moments where you think the council can't do anything - and then all the stars align. The council can do amazing things."
观看联合国的工作过程很容易让人萎靡不振，但有时仍会达成协议。“在一些大问题上，他们可能会对峙，有僵局，但让整艘船继续航行下去，有利于所有人的利益，”林奇说。“他们试图找到一种方法，别让整台机器陷入瘫痪。有些时候你认为安理会无所事事——接着又觉得所有人步调一致了。安理会能做出不少令人惊叹的事。”

What the Security Council does or doesn't do on Gaza, Iraq or Syria will garner headlines but it is sometimes those less high-profile cases where the council can have the biggest influence. That press briefing on Burundi received absolutely no coverage any-where other than Burundi itself but that in itself makes it worthwhile.The Security Council warned of "politically motivated violence", called for free and fair elections and made it clear to Burundi's leaders that they were watching.
无论对加沙、伊拉克和叙利亚能否有所作为，安理会的决议都将成为头条新闻，但有时候，在某些不太高调的事件中，安理会反而可以发挥最大的影响力。在关于布隆迪的新闻发布会上，媒体的报道重点仅限于布隆迪本身，却没有提及这个中非小国为什么值得如此关注。安理会警告说，该国正在爆发“出于政治动机的暴力事件”，呼吁自由和公正的选举，并明确示意布隆迪领导人，联合国正在注意他们的动向。

As part of the UK's presidency it brings over a troupe of actors from Shakespeare's Globe theater in London, which is partway through a world tour of Hamlet. The UK team had originally hoped to put it on in the Security Council chamber itself but Russia vetoed it -- instead it's next door in another chamber. It's a pleasant piece of soft power and if based only on the fact that the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, sits next to Lyall Grant and seems to enjoy himself, it was probably worth it.
作为轮值主席国工作的一部分，英国代表们从伦敦的莎士比亚环球剧院带来了一些演员，当时这个演员剧团正在《哈姆雷特》世界巡演途中。英国代表团原本希望让演员们在安理事会的会议厅里表演，但遭到了俄罗斯代表的否决，因此，演出只能在隔壁的房间进行。这是软实力的体现，整个过程令人愉快，因为俄罗斯大使丘尔金的座位就在莱尔·格兰特的旁边，如果能让丘尔金乐在其中，那么，些许让步可能是值得的。

Before the performance, the actors and director give a press conference. It's an incongruous setting: a director in ripped jeans and an actor in shorts and Hawaiian shirt sat behind a desk in the sterile UN media center. At the end they are asked whether they think Hamlet has a message for the UN. "We're just here to tell a story," says the Hawaiian shirt-clad actor Rawiri Paratene, doing his best to avoid saying anything-controversial. But then he pauses before adding: "I don't envy the people here. I don't envy their task. It's very easy to be critical of a large organization such as this and many people are but I certainly don't envy the task. I genuinely support the effort and the principles of what this place represents and I wish it the best."
演出前，演员和导演举行了一场记者招待会。现场设置相当不协调：导演身着破洞牛仔裤，演员们穿着短裤和夏威夷衬衫，坐在一尘不染的联合国新闻中心办公桌后面。最后有人问道，他们是否认为《哈姆雷特》将向联合国传递出一种信息。“我们只是在这里讲一个故事，”穿着夏威夷衬衫的演员拉维利·帕拉特恩说，竭力避免说出任何可能招致争议的言辞。但他停了一下，随后表示：“我不羡慕这里的人，不羡慕他们的工作。在这种大型机构干活很容易遭人议论，许多人喜欢被人指指点点，但我肯定不羡慕这份工作。我真心支持他们的努力，也支持这个地方所代表的原则，我祝愿它万事一切顺利。”


The UN around the world
Aside from the 38-floor United Nations Headquarters at the UN Plaza in New York, the UN has three other bases in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi, while Rome, Montreal, London and Paris also house different parts of the organization. There are some 15 agencies, 11 programmes and funds, four research institutes and six other entities. On top of all this there are currently 17 peacekeeping operations, most of which are in Africa.
世界各地的联合国组织
除了位于纽约38层联合国广场内的联合国总部，联合国还在日内瓦、维也纳和内罗毕设有三个基地，另有一些分支部门在罗马、蒙特利尔、伦敦和巴黎办公。联合国共有十五家机构、十一个项目和基金、四个研究所和六个实体。除了上述这些，联合国目前开展了十七项维和行动，其中大部分是在非洲。

Fixing the UN
重振联合国

End the veto
It prevents progress on some of the biggest issues of the day - Russia has blocked countless attempts to take action on Syria; likewise, the US won't allow any pressure to be put on Israel.
终止否决权
这可以防范当前一些最大问题——俄罗斯无数次阻止联合国对叙利亚采取行动；同样的，美国也不允许联合国对以色列施压。

Don't expand the council
Fifteen nations are already too many to be effective. Increasing it to 25, as the UK and US among others are proposing, is lunacy.
不要扩大安理会
就工作效率而言，十五个国家已经够多了。如果按照英国、美国以及其他国家的提议、将安理会的规模扩大到二十五国，则无异于精神错乱。

Change the way the agenda is agreed
This seems minor and procedural but will have a major impact on the way the council works (or in this case, doesn't work).
更改达成决议的方式
这似乎是微不足道的程序性问题，但将对安理会的行动（或在某次事件中，不行动）方式产生重大影响。