International bodies Flashcards
1
Q
AIIB?
A
- AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond
- Members:
- 57 founding members
- more than 100 members nw.
- Fourteen of the G-20 nations are AIIB members including France, Germany, Italy and the UK; Japan and USA not members
- Membership in the AIIB is open to all members of the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank and is divided into regional (within Asia and Oceania) and non-regional members.
- Unlike other MDBs AIIB allows for non-sovereign entities to apply for AIIB membership, if their home country is a member. eg China Investment Cooperation is a member
- hqr: Beijing
- commenced operation in 2016
- shareholding and voting rights:
- initial total capital is USD 100 billion divided into 1 million shares of 100 000 dollars each
- China largest: 50Bn; 26% voting share
- Indian 2nd largest 8.4Bn; 7.6% voting share followed by Russia and Germany
- recipients of AIIB financing may include member countries (or agencies and entities or enterprises in member territories), as well as international or regional agencies concerned with the economic development of the Asia-Pacific region.
- Bank can lend outside Asia provided that it supports connectivity with Asia or it is for a global public good and that the loan significantly benefits Asia with a ceiling for non-regional loans 25%
- first annual meeting of AIIB held in Beijing and third in Mumbai
- India is the largest beneficiary of AIIB financing for infra projects with more than 1Bn$ loan
2
Q
UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements?
A
- “UNCISA resulting from Mediation” aka “Singapore Convention on Mediation” adopted by UNGA in Dec 2018
- Features:
- akin to the framework that the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958) (the “New York Convention”)
- provides a uniform and efficient framework for the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation and for allowing parties to invoke such agreements
- defines two additional grounds upon which a court may, on its own motion, refuse to grant relief i.e.
- dispute would not be capable of settlement by mediation or
- would be contrary to public policy.
- Benefit: Signing of the Convention will boost the confidence of the investors and shall provide a positive signal to foreign investors about India’s commitment to adhere to international practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
3
Q
Initiatives to promote ADR Mechanisms by GoI?
A
- to encourage international commercial arbitration in India, to evolve a comprehensive ecosystem of arbitration the Government is establishing the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) as a statutory body.
- The Commercial Courts Act, 2015, has been further amended and legislative exercise to further amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is currently underway.
- A new Chapter (IIIA) has been inserted in the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, for mandatory pre-institution mediation and settlement in certain category of cases.
- Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements (UNISA) resulting from mediation (“Singapore Convention”)
4
Q
Global coalition to protect pollinators?
A
- formed three yrs ago
- to follow up on the findings of IPBES Assessment on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production, which found that many of the world’s pollinator species are on the decline.
- initiative to form a coalition was taken by the Netherlands in 2016 at the Conference of the Parties–Convention of Biological Diversity held in Mexico.
- The coalition now has 28 signatories including 17 European countries, five from Latin America and the Caribbean and four from Africa. {0 frm Asia thus INDIA NOT A MEMBER}
- In Africa, in chronological order, nations who joined are: Ethiopia, Burundi, Morocco and Nigeria (latest)
- Need:
- as per IUCN, About 16.5 % of vertebrate pollinators are threatened with global extinction
- 75 per cent of food crops in the world and nearly 90 per cent of wild flowering plants depend, at least to some extent, on animal pollination.
- Pollinator-dependent species are major sources of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals to humans.
- Around 5-8% of current global crop production is directly ascribed to animal pollination, which equates to somewhere between 235-577 Bn $
5
Q
Asian Development Bank?
A
- ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966, hqrd in Manila, Philippines; aims to promote social and economic development in Asia
- admits the members of the UNESCAP and non-regional developed countries
- modeled closely on WB and has similar weighted voting system
- 31 founding members, including India, nw has 68 members
- largest shareholders:
- Japan and USA- each 15.6%, Japan jst a bit more
- china 6.4%
- India- 6.3%
- australia- 5.8%
- is an official UN observer
- Strategy 2030 sets the course for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to respond effectively to the region’s changing needs. includes objectives like eradicate extreme poverty. ADB invests in infrastructure, health, public administration system, helping nations to reduce the impact of climate change and to manage natural resources.
6
Q
T/f: All BRICS members are members of AIIBas well.
A
F
Brazil and South Africa NOT
7
Q
aiib supported projects in india?
A
AIIB has approved financing projects in India in a host of sectors like energy, transport and water including the Bangalore metro rail project (USD 335 million), Gujarat rural roads project (USD 329 million) and Phase 3 of the Mumbai urban transport project (USD 500 million)
8
Q
Who determines Currency manipulation status internationally?
A
- US Department of the Treasury publishes a semi-annual report in which the developments in global economic and exchange rate policies are reviewed.
- If a US trade partner meets three assessment criteria, the US labels it a currency manipulator:
- significant bilateral trade surplus with the US is one that is at least $20 billion.
- Second, a material current account surplus is one that is at least 3% of GDP.
- Third, persistent, one-sided intervention reflected in repeated net purchases of foreign currency and total at least 2% of an economy’s GDP over a year.
-
Implications of being declared Currency Manipulator:
- When the US Treasury labels a country a currency manipulator – as it has done here with China – the next step would normally be for negotiations to begin between the two countries. America may later impose tariffs
- Under the 1988 Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act, the U.S. will have to negotiate with China or take its case to the International Monetary Fund. Potential penalties by the U.S. include:
- Banning the Overseas Private Investment Corporation — an American government agency that invests in developing countries — from financing China.
- Excluding China from U.S. government procurement contracts.
9
Q
Who were the UNSC members who oversaw Resolution 47 on Kasmir?
A
- UN Security Council increased the size of the investigating council to include six members along with permanent members of the UNSC.
- Along with the five permanent members, China, France, UK, US & Russia, non-permanent members included
- Argentina,
- Belgium,
- Canada,
- Colombia,
- Syria and
- the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
10
Q
World Bank Group: members? goals?
A
WB= IBRD + IDA
WBG=WB+ IFC + MIGA + ICSID
goals:
- ending extreme poverty by 2030
- boosting shared prosperity of the poorest 40% of the population in all countries
11
Q
World Bank Group: history?
A
- Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference led to creation of the IBRD and IMF. IBRD later came to be known as WB along with other institutions
- Originally, its loans helped rebuild countries devastated by World War II. In time, the focus shifted from reconstruction to development
- With the founding of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 1956, the institution became able to lend to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries
- Founding of the International Development Association (IDA) in 1960 put greater emphasis on the poorest countries
- International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) founded in 1966 settles investment disputes between investors and countries.
- Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) founded in 1988 insures lenders and investors against political risk such as war.
12
Q
WBG- IBRD?
A
- only finances sovereign governments directly or projects backed by sovereign governments.
- focuses its services on middle-income countries or countries where the per capita income ranges from $1,026 to $12,475 per year.
- has provided more than $500 billion in loans to alleviate poverty around the world since 1946
13
Q
WBG-IFC?
A
- largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries
- has set two goals for the world to achieve by 2030: end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in every country.
- IFC makes loans to businesses and private projects generally with maturities of seven to twelve years.
14
Q
WBG-IDA?
A
- helps the world’s poorest countries by providing loans (called “credits”) and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities, and improve people’s living conditions.
- To borrow from the IDA’s concessional lending programs, a country’s gross national income (GNI) per capita must not exceed $ 1,145 (the fiscal year 2019)
- IDA also provides significant levels of debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI)
15
Q
WBG-ICSID?
A
- established in 1966 by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention)
- ICSID provides for settlement of investor-State disputes by conciliation, arbitration or fact-finding.
- An ICSID award according to Article 53 of the ICSID Convention is final and binding and immune from appeal or annulment, other than as provided in the ICSID Convention
16
Q
WBG-MIGA?
A
- its mandate is to promote cross-border investment in developing countries by providing guarantees (political risk insurance and credit enhancement) to investors and lenders.
- provides insurance against non-commercial risks (currency inconvertibility and transfer restriction; government expropriation; war, terrorism, and civil disturbance; breaches of contract; and the non-honouring of financial obligations) in developing countries.
17
Q
WBG: membership?
A
- To become a member of the IBRD, under the IBRD Articles of Agreement, a country must first join the IMF
- Membership in IDA, IFC, and MIGA are conditional on membership in IBRD.
- Membership in ICSID is available to IBRD members, and those which are a party to the Statute of the ICJ
- India was one of the forty-four original signatories to the agreements reached at Bretton Woods that established the IBRD and IMF. It was also one of the founding members of the IFC in 1956 and the IDA in 1960. India later became a member of the MIGA in January 1994.
- India is not a member of ICSID. India claimed ICSID Convention is not fair, convention’s rules for arbitration leaned towards the developed countries. In ICSID, the Chairman (Chairman of the WB), appoints the arbitrators. If the arbitration award is not satisfactory, then the aggrieved party would appeal to a panel, which will also be constituted by the ICSID. There is no scope for a review of the award by an Indian court, even if the award is against public interest.
- India is currently classified as a “blend” country — defined as one in transition from lower middle-income to middle-income — and is creditworthy for lending from both IDA and IBRD.
- India is the largest IBRD client of the World Bank. Between 2015 and 2018, the World Bank lent around $10.2 billion to India.
18
Q
MIGA Performance standards?
A
are environmental and social standards which help to structure and implement sustainable projects.
For Indian market, one of the options is a breach of contract insurance which MIGA would offer to investors. In case the government doesn’t perform its obligation, under the contract arrangement, then MIGA can come and cover that risk for investment.
19
Q
World Bank reforms?
A
- Some argue that WB really caters to the agenda of World Capitalism in the garb of its “Structural Adjustment Programme’ (SAP) and continues to be dominated by rich countries.
- It is argued SAP policies have increased the gap between rich and poor in both local and global terms.
- The emerging new economic powers, particularly India and China, and some other Asian and Latin American countries of the world should be given due place and role.
- emergence of challenging institutions like AIIB by China
20
Q
Role and Significance of UNSC?
A
- UN’s most powerful body, with “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
- Its powers include
- the establishment of peacekeeping operations,
- the establishment of international sanctions, and
- the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
- It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. Under the UN Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council s decisions.
21
Q
UNSC Reforms: Key demands?
A
- categories of membership,
- the question of the veto held by the five permanent members,
- regional representation,
- the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and
- the Security Council-General Assembly relationship.
- There is also a proposal to admit more permanent members.
22
Q
SPECIAL PURPOSE TRUST FUND?
A
- SPTF is a specific fund housed within the UN Secretariat.
- It has been established to receive, consolidate, manage and account for all contributions and financial transactions of the new Resident Coordinator (RC) system, in a transparent and effective way.
- Funding sources include three streams:
- Voluntary contributions from Member States.
- The doubling of cost-sharing amounts from UN entities who are members of the United Nations development system.
- A 1% levy applied to contributions for UN development-related activities earmarked to a single agency, single programme or project.
23
Q
UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR?
A
- UN Resident Coordinator (RC) system encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development, regardless of their formal presence in the country.
- The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level.
- Role: Resident Coordinators lead UN country teams in 129 countries and are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations.
- to receive, consolidate, manage and account for all contributions and financial transactions of the new Resident Coordinator (RC) system, in a transparent and effective way, Special Purpose Trust Fund is Established
24
Q
significance of BASIC?
A
- They are a bloc of four large newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
- The signatory nations have a broadly common position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and raising the massive funds that are needed to fight climate change.
- The BASIC countries constituted one of the parties in the Copenhagen Accord reached with the US-led grouping; the Accord, was, however, not legally binding. The four committed to act jointly at the Copenhagen climate summit, including a possible united walk-out if their common minimum position was not met by the developed nations.
- The BASIC group wields considerable heft purely because of the size of the economies and populations of the member countries.
- findings of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming make it incredibly clear that the impacts of an already warming world are significant, and that impacts at 2°C are catastrophic compared to those of 1.5°C. Yet, the BASIC ministers recalled the Paris goal of limiting the temperature rise to well under 2°C, and aspiring to limit it to 1.5°C, suggesting their continued pursuit of 2°C as the target temperature limit.
- BASIC countries also contend that NDCs have demonstrated “a high level of ambition in the context of poverty and sustainable development”.
25
Q
IAEA?
A
- origins can be traced back to an address of the former US President Dwight Eisenhower to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1953, called ‘Atoms as Peace’. It was named as such when established formally in 1957.
- hqr in Vienna; it is a UN agency. Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UNGA and UNSC
- India became a member in 1957 itself.Currently, it has 171 members. The latest member is Saint Lucia which joined the IAEA in 2019.
- obj: promoting safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies
- in recent years, the IAEA is also active in dealing with climate change, pandemic containment and in prevention of Zoonotic diseases.
- IAEA, along with its former Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
26
Q
IAEA: criticisms?
A
- questions about the Agency’s ability to work independently, without being drawn into big power rivalries.
- when Pakistan pursued a nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s and despite overwhelming evidence in possession of the American authorities, they did not pursue the case effectively through the IAEA because of the cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan on the Afghan front.
- Though towering personalities lke Mohammed El Baradei, stamped their independence as well for eg. he and IAEA did not bow to USA’s pressure to declare that Saddam Hussain was housing WMD
- There were controversies in the case of inspection of Iranian nuclear installations when Iran’s then Intelligence Minister had accused the IAEA of sending intelligence operatives who engaged in espionage against the interest of the Islamic Republic.
27
Q
IAEA role in Iran Nuclear Deal?
A
Iran nuclear deal, proved that the IAEA can emerge beyond its mandate of being a monitoring and inspection agency and, in fact, play a key role in finding solutions to tense international crises.
Post the withdrawal of USA from Iran nuclear deal, in the Biden administration, Recently, the IAEA and Iranian diplomats struck a “temporary” deal to continue inspection of Iran’s nuclear plants for three more months, which keeps at least the diplomatic path to revive the deal open.
28
Q
International Criminal Court (ICC)?
A
- ICC, located in The Hague
- is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
- It is the first permanent, treaty based, international court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
- Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002.
- Funding: Although the Court’s expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it also receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.
Composition and voting power:
- The Court’s management oversight and legislative body, the Assembly of States Parties, consists of one representative from each state party.
- Each state party has one vote and “every effort” has to be made to reach decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions are made by vote.
- The Assembly is presided over by a president and two vice-presidents, who are elected by the members to three-year terms.
Criticisms:
- cannot arrest suspects and depends on member states for their cooperation.
- some argue that there are insufficient checks and balances on the authority of the ICC prosecutor and judges and insufficient protection against politicized prosecutions or other abuses.
- been accused of bias and as being a tool of Western imperialism, only punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes committed by richer and more powerful states.
- ICC cannot mount successful cases without state cooperation is problematic for several reasons. It means that the ICC acts inconsistently in its selection of cases, is prevented from taking on hard cases and loses legitimacy.
29
Q
ICC vs ICJ?
A
30
Q
Sustainable Development Network Solution?
A
SDSN, launched in 2012, mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for the SDGs and Paris Climate Agreement
established under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General.
The SDSN and the Bertelsmann Stiftung have been publishing the annual SDG Index & Dashboards Global Report since 2016.
31
Q
BIMSTEC?
A
- 1977-Bangkok declaration
- members: India, Nepal,Bhutan, BN, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka
- importance:
- 22% of world’s pop
- combined GDP of 2.7Tn$
- 25% of world’s traded goods cross the bay every yr
- six focus areas: trade, tech, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries
- first summit held in Thailand, Sri Lanka is the current chair
32
Q
Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)?
A
- SDDS is an IMF global benchmark for disseminating macroeconomic statistics to the public.
- SDDS subscription indicates that a country meets the test of “good statistical citizenship.”
- Countries that subscribe to the SDDS agree to follow good practices in four areas:
- the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data;
- public access to those data;
- data integrity; and
- data quality.
- The highest tier in the Fund’s Data Standards Initiatives is SDDS Plus and builds on the progress achieved under the SDDS.
- It is open to all SDDS subscribers, although it is aimed at economies with systemically important financial sectors.
- In addition to the requirements under the SDDS, the SDDS Plus emphasizes stronger data dissemination practices to enhance data transparency and help strengthen the international financial system.
33
Q
SDDS and INdia?
A
According to the IMF’s “Annual Observance Report of SDDS fr 2018”,India failed to comply with multiple requirements prescribed in SDDS
- first deals with delays in data dissemination from the periodicity prescribed in the SDDS.
- The second occurs when member countries do not list a data category in their Advance Release Calendars (ARC) despite the category being mandated by the SDDS.
- The third deviation occurs when data is not disseminated at all for a particular period.
34
Q
G7?
A
- G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.
- Members:
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Japan
- UK
- USA
- decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.
- 2019 summit hosted by France; Theme: reducing inequality
35
Q
Eastern Economic Forum?
A
- established by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2015.
- takes place each year in Vladivostok.
- serves as a platform for the discussion of key issues in the world economy, regional integration, and the development of new industrial and technological sectors, as well as of the global challenges facing Russia and other nations.
36
Q
World Youth Conference on Kindness?
A
- First such conference organised in New Delhi
- by UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, MHRD
- Theme: ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World: Celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’.
37
Q
Possibilities of ICJ’s jurisdiction if Pakistan takes the Kashmir issue to the ICJ??
A
Pakistan can take Kashmir issue to ICJ under two provisions of ICJ statute
- Art 36 (1) which extends ICJ’s jurisdiction to
- all cases which the parties refer to it and
- all matters specially provided for in the Charter of the UN or in treaties and conventions in force: like Shimla agreement or Lahore declaration
- UN Charter contains no specific provision of itself conferring compulsory jurisdiction on the Court. As far as 1948 UN resolution on Kashmir is concerned, Pakistan didn’t withdrew its troops completely. So that makes it meaningless
- Also Shimmla agreement and 1971 UN resolution reiterate finding bilateral solutions and rejects any third party intervention
- Art 36(2): India has made a declaration on 18 September 1974 where it has kept itself being reserved from ICJ jurisdiction on two instances, inter-alia, i.e.,
- that preventing the Court from entertaining cases involving two members of the Commonwealth (Article 2 of the declaration) and,
- its multilateral treaty reservation (Article 7 of the Declaration).
38
Q
NATO?
A
It is an intergovernmental military alliance.
Established by Washington treaty.
Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
Headquarters — Brussels, Belgium.
It constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”
Objectives:
Political – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
Military – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
39
Q
“A pragmatic engagement with NATO must be an important part of India’s new European orientation”?
A
- During the Cold War, India’s refusal was premised on its non-alignment. Since then, NATO has built partnerships with many neutral and non-aligned states incl Russia and China
- An India-NATO dialogue would simply mean having regular contact with a military alliance, most of whose members are well-established partners of India. India has military exchanges with many members of NATO — including the US, Britain, and France — in bilateral and minilateral formats.
- If Delhi does military exercises with two countries with which it has serious security problems — China and Pakistan — under the rubric of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), why should talking to NATO be anathema
- New initiatives in dealings with europe; deepening maritime partnership with France since 2018, Joining the Franco-German Alliance for Multilateralism in 2019
- Modi’s first summit with Nordic nations in 2018 was a recognition that Europe is not a monolith but a continent of sub-regions. So was the engagement with Central Europe’s Visegrad Four.
A sustained dialogue between India and NATO could facilitate productive exchanges in a range of areas, including terrorism, changing geopolitics; the evolving nature of military conflict, the role of emerging military technologies, and new military doctrines.
40
Q
commonwealth war graves commission?
A
- CWGC is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars.
- commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during World War II
- The commission was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission
41
Q
World health assembly?
A
WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states.
It is the world’s highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
The members of the World Health Assembly generally meet every year in May in Geneva, the location of WHO Headquarters.
The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
42
Q
Refugee convention 1951?
A
- It is a UN multilateral treaty that defines who is a refugee, and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.
- grants certain rights to people fleeing persecution because of race, religion, nationality, affiliation to a particular social group, or political opinion.
- India not a member
- The Convention also sets out which people do not qualify as refugees, such as war criminals. The Convention also provides for some visa-free travel for holders of travel documents issued under the convention.
- core principle is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.
- UNHCR serves as the guardian of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
- The USA and Venezuela are parties only to the Protocol.
- Countries that have ratified the Refugee Convention are obliged to protect refugees that are on their territory, in accordance with its terms.
- The Convention builds on Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries.
43
Q
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)?
A
It is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Monitored by the UNHRCommittee (diferent from UNHRC)
The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial. Even though the refugees are foreigners in the country of asylum, by virtue of Article 2 of the ICCPR, 1966, they could enjoy the same fundamental rights and freedoms as nationals
The ICCPR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
It became effective in 1976.
44
Q
CEE 17+1 mechanism?
A
- The 17+1 initiative is a China-led format founded in 2012 in Budapest with an aim to expand cooperation between Beijing and the Central and Eastern European (CEE) member countries, with investments and trade for the development of the CEE region.
- The framework also focuses on infrastructure projects
- platform is largely seen as an extension of China’s flagship BRI
- initiative includes twelve EU member states and five Balkan states — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
- Recently Liithuania pulled out of ‘17+1’. Factors at play-
- ‘17 plus one’ format became a divisive forum; it was supposed to act as Europe’s one strong voice.
- Tensions between China and Lithuania have been building up over a number of issues: Lithuania’s new ties with Taiwan, its Parliament’s resolution on Uighurs, and then Chinese sanctions on Lithuanian and EU politicians.
- China has also decided to impose entry bans and sanctions against some European politicians and academics, and that has had an impact on EU-China relations.
45
Q
What is the Human Rights Council??
A
- The HRC is an intergovernmental body that reports directly to the UNGA. It is a distinct entity from UN Human Rights (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), which is part of the UN Secretariat answering to the Secretary-General.
- UN Human Rights provides technical, substantive and secretariat support to the Council.
- The Human Rights Council was established on 15 March 2006 by the General Assembly to replace the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights.
- The Council, consisting of 47 State representatives
46
Q
What is Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI)?
A
It is a global coalition of public and private organisations who are working to stimulate demand for low carbon industrial materials.
In collaboration with national governments, IDDI works to standardise carbon assessments, establish ambitious public and private sector procurement targets, incentivise investment into low-carbon product development and design industry guidelines.
Coordinated by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Members: The IDDI is co-led by the UK and India and current members include Germany and Canada.
47
Q
Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM)?
A
It was established in December 2009 at the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change conference of parties in Copenhagen.
CEM is a high-level global forum to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy.
29 countries are part of CEM including India.
48
Q
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons?
A
- It is an international organization established by the Chemical Weapons Convention, 1997 to implement and enforce the terms of the non-proliferation treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, or transfer of chemical weapons by signatory states.
- By the 2001 Relationship Agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations, the OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the Secretary General.
- The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”.
- The OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.
49
Q
Chemical Weapons Convention?
A
- The treaty entered into force in 1997
- prohibits the large-scale use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons and their precursors, except for very limited purposes (research, medical, pharmaceutical or protective)
- As of March 2021, 193 states have become parties to the CWC and accept its obligations. Israel has signed but not ratified the agreement, while three other UN member states (Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan) have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty.
- In September 2013, Syria acceded to the convention as part of an agreement for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons
- convention distinguishes three classes of controlled substance (chemicals that can either be used as weapons themselves or used in the manufacture of weapons)
- Schedule 1 chemicals have few, or no uses outside chemical weapons. These may be produced or used for research, medical, pharmaceutical or chemical weapon defence testing purposes but production at sites producing more than 100 grams per year must be declared to the OPCW. A country is limited to possessing a maximum of 1 tonne of these materials. Examples are sulfur mustard and nerve agents,
- Schedule 2 chemicals have legitimate small-scale applications. Manufacture must be declared and there are restrictions on export to countries that are not CWC signatories. An example is thiodiglycol which can be used in the manufacture of mustard agents, but is also used as a solvent in inks.
- Schedule 3 chemicals have large-scale uses apart from chemical weapons. Plants which manufacture more than 30 tonnes per year must be declared and can be inspected, and there are restrictions on export to countries which are not CWC signatories. eg. phosgene
50
Q
UN Global Compact initiative?
A
- It is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation.
- Launched in 2000.
- It is a principle-based framework for businesses, stating ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.
- Under the Global Compact, companies are brought together with UN agencies, labor groups and civil society.
- Cities can join the Global Compact through the Global Compact Cities Programme.
51
Q
WTO: about?
A
- The WTO is the world’s largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 98% of global trade and global GDP
- Successor of GATT, which was created in 1947. The ITO (planned to replace GATT, but never materialised) was initially envisaged, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, as one of the key pillars of post-World War II reconstruction and economic development.
- GATT focused almost exclusively on goods—though much of agriculture and textiles were excluded
- Following the completion of the Uruguay Round (1986–94) of multilateral trade negotiations, the WTO began operations on January 1, 1995, pursuant to Marrakesh Agreement.
- India has been a member of the WTO since January 1995 and also had been a member of the WTO’s forerunner General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)since July 1948
- Components:
- GATT 1947: the original GATT and all changes to it introduced prior to the Uruguay Round
- GATT 1994: which comprises the modifications and clarifications negotiated during the Uruguay Round
- GATS: for trade ins services
- TRIPS
- The WTO has six key objectives: (1) to set and enforce rules for international trade, (2) to provide a forum for negotiating and monitoring further trade liberalization, (3) to resolve trade disputes, (4) to increase the transparency of decision-making processes, (5) to cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic management, and (6) to help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system
- Main Agreemnets:
- Reduction of Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers
- TRIMS: forbids the host country to discriminate against investments from abroad vis-a-vis domestic investment
- TRIPS (covered in f/c S&T)
- Agreement on Agriculture (covered in f/c agri)
- MultiFibre Agreement: This agreement is no longer applied. It was valid until 2004 only. It had essentially placed quotas on the amount of textile and clothing exports from developing to developed countries. The developed countries, including the USA and the EU, had this in place to protect their own domestic producers. As a result of this agreement being dismantled, a huge opportunity has opened up for developing nations such as India.
52
Q
WTO: Doha Agenda?
A
In a bid to bring major reforms in the international trading system and trading prospects of the developing nations, the Doha Round was launched in 2001 by WTO. It is the 9th round of talks under GATT-WTO Framework.
- Geneva Round: First round in 1947, led to formation of GATT
- Uruguay Round: 8th round, led to formation of WTO
- Thus, Doha round is the first since WTO formation, and the first of the nine rounds to put the development of developing nations at the centre stage.
- The major subjects for negotiations that are covered in Doha Round are:
- Multilateral environmental agreements
- Trade barriers on environmental goods & services
- Fisheries subsidies
- Issue of the Geographical Indications is the only intellectual property right issue included in the Doha Round.
- The Doha Round is formally not completed.
- One of the focus points of Doha Round was to put the development of the developing and lesser developed countries at the heart of the trade negotiations. Special and differential treatment for the developing countries made the core of the Doha Development Agenda.
- The Doha Declaration clarified that in a public health emergency, governments could compel companies to license their patents to manufacturers, even if they did not think the offered price was acceptable. This provision, commonly referred to as “compulsory licensing”, was already built into the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha declaration only clarified its usage
53
Q
WTO: Doha Agenda: India’s stand?
A
- It supports Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) to protect its farmers from the import surge.
- It is a mechanism used by countries to put a restraint on international trade to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. With a focus on WTO, a participating nation can take a safeguard action, such as restricting imports of a product temporarily to protect a domestic industry from an increase in imports causing or threatening to cause injury to domestic production.
- It supports the development agenda of the Doha round for the developing nations and wants each country to support the same.
- The government focussed on the need for the successful completion of Doha Round and wanting developed nations to undertake greater market-opening commitments.
- India also wants rich countries to drastically reduce its ‘trade-distorting’ farm subsidies.
- India wants a permanent solution to the issue of public food stockholding in developing countries for the purpose of food security.
- It supports duty-free and quota-free market access for developing nations.
- India has consistently opposed an expansion of the multilateral trading system in the direction of negotiating and implementing multilateral agreements on investment, competition policy, and government procurement – a possibility created by the Singapore Ministerial Declaration of 1996.
- In the Doha Round, India’s then Commerce and Industry Minister emphasised on the need to recognize the existing development deficit in the WTO agreements; and also drew attention to the asymmetries in the agreements of the Uruguay Rounds and the TRIPS agreement.
- It argued that IPR protection under geographical indication should not be limited only to wine and spirits but should be extended to include other products (such as Basmati rice)
- It pushed for restrictions on the use/misuse of biological and genetic resources and traditional knowledge.
54
Q
WTO: Nairobi Package? India’s concerns?
A
The “Nairobi Package” was adopted in 2015 at the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), held in Nairobi, Kenya.
It is a series of six Ministerial Decisions dealing with cotton, agriculture and certain issues relating to the least-developed countries (LDCs). The package also had a commitment for the abolition of export subsidies on farm exports.
- Developed countries had to abolish the farm export subsidies with immediate effect, with the exception of a handful of farm products.
- The deadline for developing countries to eliminate the export subsidies on agricultural exports was fixed as 2018.
- Flexibility was given to the developing countries for covering marketing and transport costs for farm exports extending the timeline to 2023.
- Poorest and food-importing nations were given an additional time frame.
- The countries also struck a deal on IT trade.
- As per the deal, tariffs on 201 IT products were to be eliminated each year. The purpose behind the deal was to ensure that all IT products would become duty-free by 2019.
India’s concerns
The provisions in the package implied that India would not be able to offer export subsidies for sugar and other farm products after eight years.
- No final decision was taken on public stock-holding as well as Special Safeguard Mechanisms (SSM).
- India had demanded that public food procurement be exempted from subsidy reduction deals under WTO norms.
- As per the subsidy reduction deals, public stockholding must not be more than ten per cent of the value of the total production of food grains.
- India argued that it must be given permanent freedom to use the food reserves for feeding the needy and the poor in the country without having the threat of violation of international obligations, instead of the proposed peace clause to use its reserves.
A major setback for India and other developing countries and Least Developed Countries was that the Nairobi talks did not reaffirm the Doha Development Agenda, which was one of India’s key demands.
55
Q
WTO: significance?
A
- underpins 96% ofglobal trade 2. membership of WTO or GATT has boosted trade among members by 171% 3. WTO’s rules keep tariff and non-tariff barriers low and give companies the certainty to plan and invest
56
Q
Current threat to WTO?
A
- America has blocked appointment ofnew judges on its appellate body and now only one judge remains 2. Appellate body is the option for those who are displeased by WTO’s ruling
57
Q
Reasons for American impasse on WTO?
A
- Members reluctant to liberalise 2. Few members, incl USA, complains WTO of judicial over-reach. Getting so many countries on board was possible by laving the rules vague. This creates conflicts over interpretation oflaw. 3. This short-coming could be rectifiedby the legislative body of WTO , but WTO’s negotiating arm has been broken for yrs. It has become more inclusive with 164 memnbers but more difficult to be agreed on. Each member has a veto over any further multilateral trade liberalisation. 4. The appellate system often slow and frustrating, with mostly dragging on for >stipulated90 days.
58
Q
Possible Consequences of WTO-USA impasse?
A
- Although USa was the heaviest user of the appellate system, others will miss it too. 2. under GATT, USA acted as Global trade sheriff, launching investigations and bullying other coutries into submissions. 3. Breaking down of WTO appellate system will make global trade a lot less predictable anda lot more contentious. 4. Such a large consensus body is easy to break but tough to replace.
59
Q
Dispute resolution Mechanism under Iran nuclear deal?
A
could lead to resumption of UN sanctions on Iran; Britain , france, Germany seem to be warming up to the idea especially after Iran’s progressive violation of the deal as retort to USA’s sanctions
60
Q
INSTEX: what is it?
A
- It is a payment mechanism being setup by the European Union to secure trade with Iran and skirt US sanctions after Washington pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal last May. 2. It is a project of the governments of France, Germany and Britain and will receive the formal endorsement of all 28 EU members. 3. It will allow trade between the EU and Iran without relying on direct financial transactions. 4. It will initially be used for non-sanctionable trade, including humanitarian goods such as medicine, food and medical devices.
61
Q
Global Carbon Project: 1. what is it? 2. Its projects? 3. observations on india?
A
- It is a Global Research Project of ‘Future Earth’, formed in 2001 to help the international science community to establish a common, mutually agreed knowledge base that supports policy debate and action on CC 2. Its projects include global budgets for three dominant greenhouse gases — CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide 3. India emissions in 2019 only 1.8% higher than in 2018, mainly due to weak econ growth and thus slowdown in oil and NG and electricity consumption PLUS high hydropower gen due to good monsoon
62
Q
Global Vaccine Summit?
A
- virtual summit hosted by UK
- over 50 countries – business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government ministers, Heads of State and country leaders participated.
- Overall the summit raised almost £7bn to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance. India pledged 15 Million US Dollars.
- UK hopes it would help raise the funds required for Gavi to vaccinate over 300 million children against infectious diseases in the world’s poorest countries over the next five years.
63
Q
GAVI?
A
Created in 2000, Gavi is an international organisation – a global Vaccine Alliance
Brings together public and private sectors as well as
- UNICEF
- World bank Grp
- WHO
- Bill and Melinda Gates foundation
- donor country govts
- research agencies
- vaccine manufacturers
- civil society organisations
with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.
GAVI has observer status at the World Health Assembly.
supports vaccine programmes fr HPV, polio, Japanese Encephalitis, Measles, Rubella, Typhoid, Cholera, rotavirus, Yellow fever, hepatitis B, Diphtheria and Strptococcus Pneumoniae
64
Q
G7/G8?
A
- G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.
- leaders frm: EU, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA (and Russia)
- other nations of the group decided to suspend Russia from the G8 as a consequence of its annexation of Crimea in 2014
- groundwork for the summit, including matters to be discussed and follow-up meetings, is done by the “sherpas”, who are generally personal representatives or members of diplomatic staff such as ambassadors.
- decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.
- G7 leaders are creating a wide gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ both in their countries as well as across the globe, according to a new report published by non-profit Oxfam International. As a result, they are making the fight against alleviating poverty more difficult, claimed the report.
65
Q
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)?
A
- now called “Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf “
- all Arab states of the Persian Gulf except Iraq, i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. All current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain), two absolute monarchies (Saudi Arabia and Oman), and one federal monarchy (the UAE, which is composed of seven member states, each of which is an absolute monarchy with its own emir).
- established in 1981
- The Peninsula Shield Force is the military arm of the GCC formed in 1984.
- objectives included setting up a Customs union by 2003 (started in 2015), common market by 2007 and common currency by 2010.
- GCC Supreme Council,composed of the heads of the member states is the highest decision making body.
66
Q
International Criminal Court (ICC)?
A
- located in The Hague, is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
- It is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
- Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002. It is independent of UN, though may receive referrals frm UNSC
- Funding: Although the Court’s expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it also receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.
- Court’s management oversight and legislative body, the Assembly of States Parties, consists of one representative from each state party. Each state party has one vote and “every effort” has to be made to reach decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions are made by vote.
- The Assembly is presided over by a president and two vice-presidents, who are elected by the members to three-year terms.
- It does not have the capacity to arrest suspects and depends on member states for their cooperation.
- ICC has been accused of bias and as being a tool of Western imperialism,only punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes committed by richer and more powerful states.
- 123 state parties; India, pak, China not even signatory; USA and russia signed bt didn’t ratify; only Bangladesh a state party in SE Asia and thailand is a signatory bt didn’t ratify it
- Recently, The ICC decided to investigate after a prosecutors’ preliminary examination in 2017 found reasonable grounds to believe war crimes were committed in Afghanistan and that the ICC has jurisdiction.
67
Q
Permanent court of Arbitration?
A
- PCA is an intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. It is not a court in the traditional sense, but provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise out of international agreements between member states, international organizations or private parties.
- PCA is the oldest institution for international dispute resolutions. It was established in 1899 by the first Hague Peace Conference. The Convention was revised by the 1907 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.
- cases span a range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade.
- The organization is not a United Nations agency, but the PCA is an official United Nations Observer
- kosovo and Palestine are also members, despite not being member of UN
- also covers arbitration under UNCLOS, as seen in case of the two Italian marines murdering Indian fishermen
68
Q
Build Back Better World (B3W)?
A
proposal by G-7 countries aiming to address the infrastructure investment deficit in developing and lower-income countries.
viewed as an alternative to China’s BRI
69
Q
China’s BRI?
A
- BRI project was launched in 2013, it broadly aims to facilitate cross-border transportation of goods, access to energy, creating demand for existing excess capacity in Chinese industries.
- The project consists of two main components:
- The land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” (SREB) which consists of six land condors
- Ocean-going “Maritime Silk Road” (MSR).
- from a macro view of BRI projects clearly reflects the motive of China-centric international economic integration, production networks, hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, and, eventually, the global economy.
- China had an overall exposure of investment of around $750 billion- $293 billion investment and $461 billion construction contracts —between 2013 to mid-2020.
- China’s share of FDI outflows increased from 2.3 per cent during 2001-10 to 10.7 per cent during 2016-2019.
- Since the onset of BRI, China has signed diverse projects worth $548.4 billion, including four-fifths in the BRI participating countries ($461 billion). Post 2013, there was a sudden rise in infrastructure investment in BRI projects compared to investment in non-BRI projects.
- Central, South and West Asia is China’s second preferred region under the BRI as construction contracts worth $110 billion are under way. CPEC), the Bangladesh-China, India, the Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM) and the Colombo Port City Project in Sri Lanka, amongst others, are important BRI projects.
70
Q
Enumerate all SDGs?
A
1) No Poverty
2) Zero hunger
3) Good Health and well-being
4) Quality education
5) gender Equality
6) Clean water and sanitation
7) affordable and clean energy
8) decent work and economic growth
9) Industry, Innovation and INfra
10) Reduced Inequalities
11) Sustainable cities and communities
12) Responsible consumption and production
13) Climate action
14) Life below water
15) Life on land
16) Peace, Justice and strong institutions
17) Partnership for the goals
71
Q
Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities?
A
aka Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement
signed on Dec 31st, 1988 betn India and Pakistan, provides that the two countries inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the pact on the first of January of every calendar year.
The need for the agreement had been felt against the backdrop of Israel’s 1981 bombing of Iraq’s Osirak reactor near Baghdad. The strike, carried out by Israeli fighter jets over hostile airspace, had set Iraq’s nuclear weapons programme back significantly.
The agreement had also come at a time of deep anxiety for Pakistan. Islamabad had been rattled by the memory of the 1972 defeat which dismembered the country, and military developments in India, such as Operation Brasstacks in 1987, which was a wargame exercise to prepare for deep strike offensive capabilities. Pakistan had at the time responded by putting at its nuclear installations and assets on ‘high alert’.
72
Q
T/F:
- WHO has designated 2020 as the INternational Year of the Nurse and the MIdwife.
- This marks the bicentenary of the birth of mary seacole.
- World Health assembly is the decision making body of WHO.
A
- T
- F; marks the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern Nursing
- T
73
Q
Creative Cities Network?
A
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
- Objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
- Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.
- there are five Indian cities in UCCN as follows:
- Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts(2015).
- Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015).
- Chennai-Creative city of Music(2017).
- Mumbai – Film (2019).
- Hyderabad – Gastronomy (2019).
- Globally, ~250 cities; Latest entry to the Network: Hanoi, Vietnam
74
Q
Raisina dialogue? Raisina Dialogue 2020?
A
- A multilateral conference held annually in New Delhi as India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics
- since 2016
- hosted by Observer Research Foundation,an independent Think-Tank, in collab with MoEA
- designed on the lines of Singapore’s Shangri-La dialogue
- Raisina emerged out of recognition that Delhi didn’t hv effective international platforms of its own despite globalisation of India’s economy.
- along with Raisina, MEA had helped launch 2 other international forums- one on tech in Bengaluru and another on Business in Mumabai
- Raisina Dialogue 2020:
- many serving ministers and senior officials frmaround the world as well as former heads of state and govt joined for a simulating event alongg with tech leaders, media personalities and policy think tanks.
- drawing participants frm countries that are at odds with each other-USA, China, Russia, Iran and Gulf arabs
- This yr’s saw participation of of a large no. of ministers frm Europe, an area long neglected in Indian diplomacy
- raisisna is facilitating dev of sustainable intellectual networks betn the Indian strategic community and its counterparts in the world.
- Concl: India also needs a forum on her neighborhood; along with govt supported forums, Delhi needs to make it easier for civil society grps to develop trans border and international conventions.
75
Q
Davos conference 2020?
A
- Davos manifesto 2020: builds on original Davos manifesto of 1973, which set out for the first timethe stakeholder concept: that businesses hould serve the interests of all society rather than simply shareholders
- Davos Manifesto 2020: vision for stakeholder capitalism that touches on a range of important issues of our times including fair taxation,zero tolernace for corruption, executive pay and respect for human rights
- initiatives launched: plant 1Tn tress over next decade and to equip 1Bn people with necessary skills in the age of 4th IR.
118
Q
UNCLOS?
A
UNCLOS 1982 is the only international convention which stipulates a framework for state jurisdiction in maritime spaces. It provides a different legal status to different maritime zones.
It divides marine areas into five main zones namely- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
Despite its name, the UN does not have any major functional role in the working of UNCLOS.
Other initiatives borne out of UNCLOS
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS): estab by UNCLOS, is an independent judicial body that adjudicates disputes arising out of the convention.
- International Sea Bed authority: formed in 1994 for regulating the exploration and exploitation of marine non-living resources of oceans in international waters.
- Commission on the limits of Continental Shelf: CLCS is responsible for facilitating the implementation of UNCLOS with respect to the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.
India has been a party to convention since 1995
167
Q
African Union?
A
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 countries of the continent of Africa, with exception of various territories of European possessions located in Africa.
- The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa. anounced in the Sirte declaration in Sirte, Libya in 1999.
- The intention of the AU is to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments.
- The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The AU’s secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament.
Recent news:
- The African Union (AU) has suspended Burkina Faso’s participation in the organization’s activities until the country restores constitutional order after the military mutiny.
