THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 10, 2016- Topic 2
The United Nations Security
Council’s broad consensus in nominating
António Guterres for the post of Secretary-General is an auspicious start to what could be a more
assertive UN in wrestling with the many crises of the world. Last week, 13 of
the 15 members of the Council, including the five veto-wielding permanent
members, sent the name of the former Portugal Prime Minister to the General
Assembly for final approval. If the Assembly passes his nomination, then as the
UN’s ninth Secretary-General Mr. Guterres will have to expediently attend to a
number of pressing issues, including the worsening international refugee crisis
and the scourge of terrorism, both in part linked to the debilitating Syrian
war. His experience as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will come in handy
as he goes about negotiating to find shelter for and rehabilitate refugees from
Syria, who at last count numbered well above four million worldwide. At the
UNHCR, Mr. Guterres is said to have focussed on organisational reform and
innovation by taking funding out of the headquarters and pushing more money out
to the field. It is clear that he is passionate about the cause of refugees; he
has frequently appealed to the international community over the migrant crisis
and has vowed to continue being their spokesman.
An equally challenging
agenda point facing Mr. Guterres is to find creative ways to bridge the chasm
between Western powers on the one hand and Russia and China on the other.
Ironically, owing to his very commitment to address the refugee crises, he may
be considered an “activist”. This could be a recipe for stasis, if not
disaster, in any campaign to broker a peace deal in Syria. Mr. Guterres can ill
afford such obstructionism. As an institution, the UN is frequently accused of
being “bloated and bureaucratic”, and has come under fire over allegations of
sexual abuse by its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. Although he
has a reputation for being an instinctive strategist, Mr. Guterres will have to
hand-pick a capable team of advisers. But has he already struck bargains with
China or Russia over who will get some key political posts? Will he stay true
to his promise, made earlier, to ensure that the higher echelons of the UN have
50 per cent women employees? That goal, set 20 years ago by the UN, is far from
being met. In fact, Mr. Guterres’ own candidacy came as a disappointment for
some, given that there were no fewer than seven women in the race and not one
of them even came close to winning.
Vocabulary
Auspicious: conducive to success;
favorable.
Example: It was not the most auspicious moment to hold an election
Synonyms: favorable, propitious, promising, rosy, good, encouraging, opportune
Assertive: having or showing a confident and forceful personality.
Example: Patients should be more assertive with their doctors
Synonyms: confident, self-confident, bold, decisive, assured, self-assured
Wield: hold and use (a weapon or tool).
Example: A masked raider wielding a handgun
Synonyms: brandish, flourish, wave, swing, use
Expedient: a means of attaining an end, especially one that is
convenient but considered improper or immoral.
Example: The current policy is a political expedient
Synonyms: measure, means, method, stratagem, scheme, plan
Scourge: a whip used as an instrument of punishment.
Example: Begone, or shall I be required to chastise you with the whip and the
scourge once more?
Synonyms: whip, horsewhip, lash, strap, birch, switch, bullwhip, rawhide
Debilitating: make someone weak and infirm.
Example: A weakness that debilitates him despite his overwhelming physical might
Passionate: showing or caused by strong
feelings or a strong belief.
Example: Passionate pleas for help
Synonyms: intense, impassioned, ardent, fervent, vehement, heated, emotional
Chasm: a deep fissure in the earth, rock, or another surface.
Example: The movie also shows a panoramic view of the mountains, deep chasms and
valleys going into oblivion and the sounds of crackling icicles and snowstorms.
Synonyms: gorge, abyss, canyon, ravine, gully, gulf, defile, couloir, crevasse, fissure
Stasis: a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium.
Example: During such periods of stasis , most species exhibit no directional change.
Obstructionism: the practice of deliberately
impeding or delaying the course of legal, legislative, or other procedures.
Example: The party surely dread the kind of obstructionism they themselves practiced
during the last Congress.
Bloated: make or become swollen with fluid or gas.
Example: The fungus has bloated their abdomens
Synonyms: swollen, distended, tumefied, bulging, inflated, enlarged
Instinctive: relating to or prompted by
instinct; apparently unconscious or automatic.
Example: An instinctive distaste for conflict
