2007年News broadcast(3/3)-英语听力

[00:01.30]The United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Charter on Monday, [00:06.99]with speakers addressing the UN General Assembly. [00:10.29]UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the UN had both successes and failures in carrying out the pledges in the Charter. [00:18.62]The UN Charter is the constitution of the organization. [00:22.10]It was signed in San Francisco on June 26th,1945 by the 50 original member countries. [00:29.64]It took effect on October 24th,1945, after being approved by the five founding members: [00:37.20]China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, [00:43.07]and a majority of the other countries that signed the Charter. [00:47.05]The Charter is a constitutional treaty. [00:50.03]All countries that signed it are bound by its articles. [00:53.50]It states that the Charter comes first above all other treaties. [00:58.97]Its main purposes include the prevention of new conflict, [01:03.00]building peace and protecting human rights and social progress. [01:07.70]The most important chapters are those dealing with the enforcement powers of UN bodies. [01:13.77]They describe, for example, the Security Council's power to investigate and mediate disputes. [01:20.35]They also describe its power to authorize economic, diplomatic and military sanctions [01:26.70]as well as the use of military force to resolve disputes. [01:31.07]The UN, late last year, revealed a proposal to overhaul the organization including the Security Council. [01:38.97]This could be the most comprehensive UN reform since its foundation.