International relation Flashcards
GENEVA CONVENTION 1949
The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols form the basis of modern international humanitarian law, setting out how soldiers and civilians should be treated during the war.
Although they were adopted in 1949, to take account of the experiences of the Second World War, the four Geneva Conventions continue to apply to armed conflicts today.
Three additional protocols were also adopted later on which expanded the rules.
The Conventions have been ratified by all States and are universally applicable.
Any nation that has ratified the Geneva Conventions but not the protocols is still bound by all provisions of the conventions.
The provisions of the conventions apply in peacetime situations, in declared wars, and in conflicts that are not recognised as war by one or more of the parties.
They contain stringent rules to deal with what are known as “grave breaches”.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been mandated under the Geneva Conventions to ensure the application of international humanitarian law.
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
It is the principle judicial organ of the UN established in 1945 succeeding the Permanent Court of Justice (established under League of Nations).
The Court may entertain two types of cases:
o Contentious cases - Legal disputes between States submitted to it by them. Only States (States Members of the United Nations and other States which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions) may be parties to contentious cases.
o Advisory proceedings - Requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Contrary to judgments, the Court’s advisory opinions are not binding.
It has no jurisdiction to deal with applications from individuals, NGOs or private groups and it rules only on the rights and obligations of States.
It comprises 15 Judges, elected by United Nations General Assembly and Security Council for 9 year term. Five Judges are elected every 3 years to ensure continuity.
It is headquartered in Peace Palace, Hague, Netherlands and India is a founding member of the ICJ.
INTERMEDIATE-RANGE NUCLEAR FORCES TREATY
Recently, U.S.A (and then Russia) suspended its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
The erstwhile President of USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and American President Ronald Reagan signed a Comprehensive intermediate-range missile elimination agreement which culminated in the INF treaty in 1987.
Since 2013, however, both Russia and America have accused each other of violating terms of the treaty.
It is an arms control treaty between the United States and Russia under which both agreed not to develop, produce, possess or deploy any ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles that have a range between 500 and 5,500 km. It however exempted the air-launched and sea-based missile systems in the same range.
It mandated agreeing parties to destroy all such existing weapons within three years of the signing of the treaty and also clarified that each of the parties could withdraw from the treaty with a six-month notice.
It laid out a comprehensive inspection protocol, whereby each of the parties could inspect and monitor each other’s’ elimination process.
In 1991 the treaty was expanded to include Russia and the successor states of the former USSR.
However, it was a bilateral agreement between US and USSR which left the other nuclear weapon powers free to develop ground based intermediate range forces. Among various countries that have expanded their weapon power, since then, is China which is a major concern for the US.
1st India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
- It was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference.
- It facilitates arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution between states.
- The PCA is not a court in the traditional sense, but a permanent framework for arbitral tribunals constituted to resolve specific disputes.
- The PCA was the first permanent intergovernmental organization to provide a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means.
- It has a three-part organizational structure consisting of an Administrative Council that oversees its policies and budgets, a panel of independent potential arbitrators known as the Members of the Court, and its Secretariat, known as the International Bureau, headed by the Secretary-General
Exceptions to MFN Principle
o Right to enter Free Trade Agreements
o Special Access to developing Countries to their markets.
o Raise barriers against unfair trade practices
o General exceptions – The nation has right to take measures which may restrict trade in goods but are necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.
o Security exceptions – A nation has right to take measures to protect essential national security interests, which may restrict trade in goods. India could
consider making use of this clause to deny the MFN status to Pakistan or bring in certain trade restrictions.
o Balance-of-payments (BOP) – A nation has right to take measures to safeguard its external financial position and its BOPs.
o Exception in Services: Countries are allowed to discriminate in limited circumstances.
Track-II diplomacy
Track II Diplomacy is also known as Backchannel Diplomacy, in which private individuals (such as former diplomats, military veterans, academicians etc.), meeting unofficially, can find their way to common ground that official negotiators can’t and the talks under it are not codified as official statements.
Track-I diplomacy
• Track I Diplomacy is official government diplomacy whereby communication and interaction is between governments.
India-Nepal friendship Treaty
- Allows Nepali citizens to work in india, and apply for civil services
- Nepali can open bank account and buy property in india
- nepali can import arms and ammunitions via territory of india
India has waived its rights under reciprocity as a sign of goodwill.
Pancheshwar Dam project
India-Nepal
on river Mahakali, called Shardha in India
Shardha forms international boundary between Nepal and Uttarakhand
A Treaty known as “Mahakali Treaty” concerning the integrated development of the Mahakali River, which included Sharda barrage, Tanakpur barrage and Pancheshwar Dam Project, was signed between the Nepal and India in 1996.
Other Important Projects between India and Nepal
• Kamla and Bagmati Multipurpose Projects
• Sapta-Kosi High Dam Project and SUN Kosi storage
cum diversion scheme
• Karnali Multipurpose Project
2+1 DIALOGUE MECHANISM
• Two Plus One format for dialogue as proposed is different from a trilateral mechanism. Under the Chinese proposal, China and India can jointly conduct a dialogue with a third regional country i.e. it is not
Nepal specific and can be applied to any other country in South Asia.
• This was announced after the Wuhan Summit, which was an informal summit between India and China.
India-Bangladesh Friendship
Pipeline
Project for transportation of oil,
connecting Siliguri in India and Parbatipur in
Bangladesh.
Rooppur project
first initiative under
Indo-Russian deal to undertake atomic energy
projects in Bangladesh. India will provide
personnel training, consultation support and
participate in the construction and erection
activity and non-critical materials supply to
the site in Bangladesh.
Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT
India is assisting
Bangladesh to capture the potential of waterways for both inter and intra border
connectivity of Bangladesh.
Integrated Check Posts
• It helps put in place a system to secure the
country’s borders against hostile elements. It also
facilitates trade and commerce and boosts revenue.
• ICPs which are already functional include: Attari in
Punjab (Pakistan border), Petrapole in West Bengal
(Bangladesh border), Akhaura in Tripura
(Bangladesh), Dawki in Meghalaya (Bangladesh),
Raxaul in Bihar (Nepal) and Jogbani in Bihar (Nepal).
Land Border Crossing
Between india and Myanmar.
• The agreement facilitates regulation and
harmonization of already existing free
movement rights for people ordinarily
residing in the border areas of both countries.
• It also facilitates movement of people on the
basis of valid passports and visas
• Recently, two crossing points at Moreh in
Manipur and Zokhawthar in Mizoram were
opened.
• It marked the abolishing of special land entry
permission which was previously required for
visitors entering the country via land routes
IMT Trilateral Highway:
It will
connect Moreh in India with Mae Sot, Thailand via
Myanmar. The highway is expected to boost trade
and commerce in ASEAN–India Free Trade Area, as
well as with rest of Southeast Asia.
India, Myanmar and
Thailand has been negotiating for finalising and
implementing a Motor Vehicle Agreement
Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project
project that will connect the eastern Indian
seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine
State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then
link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa, Chin State via the
Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa
by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India.
Operation Insaniyat
• In response to the humanitarian crisis being
faced on account of the large influx of Rohingya
refugees into Bangladesh, Government of
India has decided to extend assistance to
Bangladesh under Operation Insaniyat.
Operation Cactus
Indian Army’s ‘Operation Cactus’ foiled a coup in
Maldives that was attempted by a pro-Eelam group
in 1988.
Tala Hydropower, Chukha hydropower, Kuricchu Hydropower with which country?
India-Bhutan
coastal surveillance radar systems
India plans to renew its offer to extend the coastal surveillance radar systems (CSRS) project (to Maldives). The CSRS project was initially established in 2015 with the coastal nations of Mauritius, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.
Commonwealth
It is a unique political association of 53-member states (31 are island nations), nearly all of them former territories of the British Empire.
• The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states.
• It was originally created as the British Commonwealth through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
• The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community, and established the member states as “free and equal”.
• Member states have no legal obligations to one another. Instead, they are united by English language, history, culture and their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
• It is an inter-governmental organisation aimed at
strengthening regional cooperation and
sustainable development within the Indian Ocean
region through its 22 Member States and 9
Dialogue Partners.
• The major priorities & focus areas include:
Fisheries Management, Blue Economy, Women’s
Economic Empowerment, Maritime Safety &
Security etc.
• The members include Australia, Bangladesh,
Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya,
Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab
Emirates, Maldives and Yemen
Indian Ocean Commission (COI):
The COI is an
intergovernmental organisation created in 1984. It
consists of five African Indian Ocean nations:
Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion and
Seychelles.
Hajigak mines
Central Afghanistan- iron ore
ASIA REASSURANCE INITIATIVE ACT (ARIA)
US President has signed ARIA act to counter the threat from China and to reinvigorate US leadership in the Indo-Pacific region.
It aims to establish a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The new law mandates actions countering China’s illegal construction and militarization of artificial features in the South China Sea and coercive economic practices.
• ARIA recognizes the vital role of the strategic partnership between the U.S. and India in promoting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and it calls for strengthening diplomatic, economic, and security ties between both the countries.
• It allocates a budget of $1.5 billion over a fiveyear period to enhance cooperation with America’s strategic regional allies in the region.
Rim Of Pacific Multinational Naval Exercise
- The 26th edition of RIMPAC, hosted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), RIMPAC is the world’s largest set of international maritime war games.
- Theme of RIMPAC 2018 was “Capable, Adaptive, Partners.”
- This is the first time Brazil, Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are participating in RIMPAC.
- Indigenously built stealth frigate, INS Sahyadri, participated in RIMPAC.
- China was absent this year as it was dis-invited from participating by the U.S., citing China’s military actions in the South China Sea.
- The Indian Navy was an observer for the 2006, 2010 and 2012 editions of the exercise
Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)
Indian Navy recently inaugurated the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR).
• The Information Fusion Centre (IFC) is a 24/7 regional information sharing centre.
• The IFC has been established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram.
• The IFC-IOR is established with the vision of strengthening maritime security in the region.
• Through this Centre, information on “white shipping”, or commercial non-military shipping, will be exchanged with countries in the region to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean. India has
bilateral white shipping agreements with 36 countries.
Trans Regional Maritime Network
- India has recently signed the ascension agreement to the Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN).
- It facilitates information exchange on the movement of commercial traffic on the high seas.
- The multilateral construct comprises of 30 countries and is steered by Italy.
- It will give the country access to information about ships passing through the Indian Ocean Region, thereby helping to check suspicious and criminal activities and illegal trade across the ocean.
Indian Ocean Conference
The third edition of Indian Ocean Conference was held at Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
The Indian Ocean Conference is initiated by India Foundation along with its partners from Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
• It is an annual effort to bring together Heads of States/Governments, Ministers, thought Leaders, scholars, diplomats, bureaucrats and practitioners from across the region.
• Two successful editions of the Conference
have been hosted so far in 2016 and 2017 in
Singapore and Sri Lanka respectively
DELHI DIALOGUE X
Recently, India hosted the 10th edition of the Delhi Dialogue with a theme “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”.
• It is a premier annual track 1.5 event to discuss politico-security, economic and sociocultural engagement between India & ASEAN.
• It has been held annually since 2009 in partnership with Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
New Southern Policy
The new S. Korean government is seeking to
elevate strategic ties with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on par with
Korea’s four traditional, major diplomatic partners
of the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
• It is a new policy orientation being pursued under
the government’s broader strategy of promoting a
“Northeast Asia Plus Community for Responsibility sharing (NEAPC)”.
• New Southern Policy is one of the 3 parts of NEAPC
which would involve deepening relations with
India as well as the countries of Southeast Asia,
including in the economic realm.
India-Korea
3P Plus- Moon coined a new acronym ‘3P Plus’ for
boosting bilateral ties through cooperation
for people, prosperity and peace.
South Korea would be the second country
after China with whom India would undertake
a joint project in Afghanistan.
• Also, India and South Korea launched an
initiative ‘Korea Plus’, as proposed by Indian
Prime Minister in June 2016 to promote and
facilitate Korean Investments in India
Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement
between india and japan.
This agreement, as and when it comes into
effect, would enable Japanese ships to get
fuel and servicing at Indian naval bases
India- Indonesia
- comprehensive strategic partnership agreement
- • A link will be established between Andaman
Nicobar and Aceh to tap the economic
potentials of both areas - Recently Indonesia
agreed to give access to the strategic island of
Sabang, close to the Malacca Strait for Indian
investment.
India and Singapore
India and Singapore recently signed a bilateral
agreement that will allow logistical support to Indian
Navy ships at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base located
near disputed South China Sea
An India Economic Strategy
to 2035
Australia’s Prime Minister has announced implementation of “An India Economic Strategy to 2035”, a vision document that will shape India-Australia bilateral ties
- It is based on three-pillar strategy- Economic ties, Geostrategic Engagement and Rethinking Culture-thrust on soft power diplomacy.
- The focus of this report is on building a sustainable long-term India economic strategy.
- The report identifies 10 sectors and 10 states in an evolving Indian market where Australia has competitive advantages, and where it should focus its efforts.
Ashgabat Agreement:
India has acceded to the Ashgabat Agreement, an international transport and transit corridor facilitating
transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf
E-VIDYABHARTI AND EAAROGYABHARATI NETWORK
PROJECT
• It is primarily a technological upgrade (digital bridge) and extension of the Pan-African e-Network Project.
o Under the Pan African e-Network Project, India had set up a fibre-optic network to provide satellite connectivity, telemedicine and tele-education to countries of Africa.
o TCIL, a Government of India undertaking, is implementing the project on behalf of Government of India.
• It will be completely funded by the Government of India.
• There will be two separate platforms for e- VidyaBharati (tele-education) and e-AarogyaBharati (tele-medicine) which will link, through a web-based technology, various educational institutions and hospitals in India and the participating African countries.
2+2 dialogue
India and the USA held the first edition
of their 2+2 dialogue involving Indian External
Affairs and Defence Ministers and their American
counterparts in New Delhi, where they also signed
long-pending Communications Compatibility and
Security Agreement (COMCASA
Industrial Security Annex
(ISA):
Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would
support closer defence industry cooperation
and collaboration. An ISA is required to enable
private Indian participation in defence
production.
Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1)
US has granted Strategic Trade Authorization
(STA-1) status to India, giving India same access as
NATO allies to latest technology.
Combined Enterprise
Regional Information Exchange System
(CENTRIXS)
It is the secure communication
system network of the US. Navy ships
Generalized System of Preferences?
Recently U.S. has decided to withdraw
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits
on 94 products for all countries
- It is a non-reciprocal preferential tariff system which provides for exemption from the Most Favored Nation principle of World Trade Organization.
- It involves reduced MFN tariffs or duty free entry of eligible products exported by beneficiary countries (developing countries) to markets of donor countries (developed countries).
- It was adopted at UNCTAD Conference in 1968 and later enacted by General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (now WTO) in 1971.
UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination
Compact
It is an agreement between the UN chief, 36 organizational entities, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the World Customs Organisation, to better serve the needs of Member States when it comes to tackling international terrorism.
The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact Coordination Committee will oversee and monitor the implementation
of the Compact which will be chaired by UN Under-Secretary-General for counterterrorism.
o It will replace the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, which was established in 2005.
UNHRC
The United States has withdrawn from the UNHRC accusing it of chronic bias against Israel.
- It is a specialized agency of United Nations to protect and promote human rights across the world set up in 2006.
- The Council consists of 47 members, elected yearly by the General Assembly through direct and secret ballot for three-year terms.
- Recently India was elected with highest number of votes by General Assembly to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
- Members are selected via the basis of equitable geographic rotation using the United Nations regional grouping system.
- Members are barred from occupying a seat for more than two consecutive three-year terms.
BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution
PartNIR
Brics recommended its establishment
‘BRICS Plus’ formats
BRICS plus format initiated at
Xiamen Summit in 2017 by inviting a few
countries from different regions was
emulated in Johannesburg Summit also.
Brics in Fortaleza (2014)
During the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014),
the following were agreed -
o Agreement for setting up the New Development
Bank (NDB) with $100 billion corpus.
o Pact for the setting up of the BRICS Contingent
Reserve Arrangement (CRA) with an initial size
of $100 billion to tackle short-term liquidity
demands.
Exercise SCO Peace Mission 2018.
• It is conducted biennially for SCO member states.
• This is the first time India is participating in this
peace mission post joining SCO.
• The exercise provided an opportunity for the
armies of India and Pakistan to operate together
outside the United Nations umbrella.
OPEC
headquartered in Vienna, Austria
established by Baghdad Conference of 1960
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
- It is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field.
- It is an autonomous international organization within the United Nations system set up in July 1957 through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute.
- The IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
- It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. India is a member of IAEA.
Asian Infrastructure Forum
Recently, third annual meeting of AIIB was held in
Mumbai where Asian Infrastructure Forum was
launched for creating connections & business
development opportunities for participants drawn
from project sponsors, financiers, governments,
etc.
Strategy 2030.
Recently, Asian Development Bank (ADB) released its long-term corporate strategy i.e. Strategy 2030
• It is policy framework for ADB that sets out its broad vision and strategic response to the evolving needs of Asia and the Pacific. In contrast to earlier
Strategy 2020- the Strategy 2030 document emphasis on human and social factors, in addition to the usual infrastructure and the private sector
EUROPEAN BANK FOR
RECONSTRUCTION AND
DEVELOPMENT (EBRD)
India recently became the 69th shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
It is a multilateral development bank set up in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative in emerging Europe.
• It is headquartered in London.
It invests in 38 emerging economies across three continents
It has members from all over the world with the biggest shareholder being the United States, but only lends regionally in its countries of operations
The EBRD is unique among development banks in that it will not finance coal power plants due to their environmental impact. It has pledged to dedicate above 40 percent of its financing to green investment by2020.
• India takes a shareholding in the EBRD but it will not be a recipient of EBRD financing
• To be eligible for EBRD funding, “a project must be located in an EBRD country of operations (not in India), have strong commercial prospects, involve significant
equity contributions in-cash or in-kind from the project sponsor, benefit the local economy and help develop the private sector and satisfy banking and environmental standards.”
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Owned by EU member states and is used to support EU policy
South south cooperation
• South South Cooperation (SSC) is defined as
the exchange and sharing of developmental
solutions among countries in the global
south.
• The formation of SSC can be traced to the
1955 Bandung Conference.
IBSA
Recently, at a Ministerial meeting of IBSA in Pretoria, South Africa.
- It is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation of India, Brazil and South Africa.
- It was formally established by the Brasilia Declaration of 6 June 2003 by external affairs ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa.
- It represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world.
IBSA Mechanism for Development Cooperation - IBSA Fund for the Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger
• It was set up with the objective of facilitating the execution of human development projects to advance the fight against poverty and hunger in developing countries.
• Each member country contributes $1 Million annually to this fund.
• The IBSA Fund is managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
SAARC DEVELOPMENT
FUND (SDF)
• It was established by heads of all eight SAARC
member states during 16th SAARC summit at
Thimphu, Bhutan in 2010.
• Its Secretariat is located at Thimphu, capital
of Bhutan. Its Governing Council comprises
finance ministers of these eight countries.
• It was created as umbrella financial
mechanism for all SAARC developmental
projects and programmes.
• It funds projects in South Asia region via
three windows viz. Social Window, Economic
Window and Infrastructure Window.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
• Established in 1989 APEC is an intergovernmental
forum for 21 Pacific Rim
member economies.
• APEC aims for regional economic integration
by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable
growth.
• India was allowed in APEC summit in 2011 as
an observer state.
Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
• The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), previously named as the Bangkok Agreement, was signed in 1975 as an initiative of UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific).
It is the oldest preferential trade agreement (PTA)
among developing countries in Asia-Pacific.
Currently, the following six Participating States are
parties to APTA: 1. Bangladesh 2. China 3. India
(founding member) 4. Laos 5. South Korea 6. Sri
Lanka (Mongolia is set to become the 7th member)
• It is open to all developing member countries.
Notably, it is the only operational trade agreement
linking China and India
UNESCAP (United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific).
• It is the regional development arm of the United
Nations for the Asia-Pacific region.
• It was established in 1947 with its headquarters in
Bangkok, Thailand.
• It seeks to promote cooperation among member
States to achieve inclusive and sustainable
development in Asia and Pacific.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),
Members of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP), have finalized an
early-harvest “package” with the aim of
concluding trade negotiations by the year-end.
Early harvest scheme is a precursor to a free trade agreement (FTA) between two trading partners. This is to help them to identify certain products for tariff liberalisation pending the conclusion of FTA negotiation.
The RCEP, forged during the 2012 ASEAN
summit in Cambodia
African
Continental Free Trade Area
African countries are set to launch the African
Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA, the
biggest free trade agreement in the world since
the World Trade Organization.
• It is a continent-wide free-trade agreement
brokered by the African Union (AU) and
initially signed on by 44 of its 55 member
states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 2018.
• The proposal will come into force after
ratification by 22 of the signatory states.
Gender Equality Advisory Council
For the first time in the last 44 years, the G7
had a Gender Equality Advisory Council. The
aim of the council is to convince private sector
companies to set up such council and
eradicate the problem of gender inequality
from the root.
Group of Twenty (G 20)
• It is an international forum for
the governments and central bank
governors from 19 countries and the
European Union.
• The G20 started in 1999 as a meeting of
Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis
• For the first time, India will host the annual G-
20 Summit in 2022
ORGANISATION FOR THE
PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL
WEAPONS (OPCW)
OPCW has been granted new powers to assign blame for attacks using banned toxic materials.
- Until now OPCW had limited power to only send teams to places to collect samples and draw conclusions whether the chemical weapons attack had happened or not.
- It did not have powers to identify the perpetrator (country or non-state actors) of the chemical weapons’ attacks.
- The British-led motion was supported by the United States and European Union, but opposed by Russia, Iran, Syria, and their allies.
- India also voted against the decision because it was critical of the decision to grant “unchecked powers” to the head of the group which could be used for “partisan” purposes.
Established in 1997.
HQ- The Hague
It is the implementing body for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons.
• It has membership of 193 countries.
o India is a member.
o Israel has signed but not ratified the Convention. Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan have neither signed nor acceded.
• The Conference of the States Parties is the plenary organ consisting of all members of the OPCW having equal voting rights.
Received Nobel peace prize in 2013
ASIA-EUROPE MEETING
held in brussels, belgium
• It is an intergovernmental process
established in 1996 to foster dialogue and
cooperation between 51 Asian and European
countries plus two institutional partners (the EU and the Association of South East Asian
Nations - ASEAN
• India joined the forum in 2008.
• The first summit was held in Bangkok,
Thailand.
ASIA-PACIFIC INSTITUTE
FOR BROADCASTING
DEVELOPMENT (AIBD)
Recently, India has been elected (first time) as the President of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) for a period of two years.
• It is a regional inter-governmental organisation servicing countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in the field of electronic media development.
• It was established in 1977 under the auspices of UNESCO and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is a founding organisation of the Institute and is a non-voting member of the General Conference.
• It is hosted by Malaysia and its secretariat is located in Kuala Lampur.
• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are also founding organisations of the Institute.
next country to join the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO
Colombia
Colombia has become the only Latin
American nation in the NATO alliance.
• It will be given the status of “Partner across
the globe” in the group. NATO cooperates
with a range of countries which are not part
of formal group. They are often referred to as
“Partners across the globe” or simply “Global
Partners”.
• Being a global partner Colombia need not
necessarily have to take part in military
action and yet will be fully accredited as a
member in NATO.
• Other countries in the alliance with status of
“partners across the globe” are Afghanistan,
Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea,
Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.
SINGAPORE SUMMIT
US-North Korea summit
• US had committed to provide security
guarantees to North Korea and end US-South
Korea Joint war games.
• Reaffirming the Panmunjom declaration for
Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the
Korean Peninsula (between North and South
Korea), Chairman Kim committed to work
towards complete denuclearisation of the
Korean Peninsula. This can reduce the
dangers of proliferation of nuclear weapons in
future.
Byungjin policy
North Korea has founded its regime’s stability
on Byungjin policy, i.e. pursuing economic
development and nuclear weapons
programme simultaneously.
• North Korea had also announced to destroy
its Punggye-ri nuclear testing zone.
CASPIAN SEA
BREAKTHROUGH TREATY
Recently, five Caspian Sea States – Azerbaijan,
Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan -
signed a breakthrough agreement on Caspian
Sea’s legal status
• The treaty declares 15 Nautical Miles from the
coastline as Sovereign waters and an
Exclusive Economic Zone, with a further 10
nautical miles to be used for fishing and
beyond this would be common waters.
• The treaty ends a conflict over whether the
Caspian is a sea or a lake, granting it a special
legal status and clarifying the maritime
boundaries of each surrounding country.
o The major concern is if it is a sea, it would
become governed by United Nations
Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) and outside powers would
have access to these waters.
• It allows each member nation to lay pipelines
with consent only from the neighbouring
states affected, rather than from all Caspian
Sea Nations.
• The development of seabed reserves will be
regulated by separate deals between Caspian
Nations, in line with international laws.
• It prevents the Caspian nations from opening
their borders to third party aggressors such as
the US and NATO or allowing any foreign
military presence on Caspian waters.
UNCLOS
It is an international treaty which was adopted and
signed in 1982.
• It replaced the four Geneva Conventions of April,
1958, which respectively concerned the territorial
sea and the contiguous zone, the continental shelf,
the high seas, fishing and conservation of living
resources on the high seas.
• The treaty provides a graduated system of
sovereignty in which countries can assert complete
ownership of water within 12 nautical miles of
their coastline.
• Each country can also claim an additional 200
nautical miles as an exclusive economic zone,
which is an area where each coastal country can
regulate scientific research and the exploitation of
marine resources.
• The Convention has created three new institutions
on the international scene:
o International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
o International Seabed Authority
o Commission on the Limits of the Continental
Shelf
COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR
TEST BAN TREATY
UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed to eight
nations, including India and the US, to ratify the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
• It is a multilateral treaty banning all nuclear
explosions for both military and civilian
purposes.
• It was negotiated at the Conference on
Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly. It was
opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
one of the most widely
supported arms-control treaties.
• It can only enter into force after it is ratified
by eight countries with nuclear technology
capacity, namely China, Egypt, India, Iran,
Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United
States.
• The Treaty establishes a CTBT Organization
(CTBTO), located in Vienna, to ensure the
implementation of its provisions, including
provisions for international verification
measures.
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) 1968
India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and South
Sudan are not parties to this treaty
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
2017:
It is the first multilateral legally-binding
instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been
negotiated in 20 years.
o India and other nuclear-armed nations ——
the United States, Russia, Britain, China,
France, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel had
not participated in the negotiations.
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ):
It is a
regional approach to strengthen global nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament norms and
consolidate international efforts towards peace
and security. Five such zones exist, with four of
them spanning the entire southern hemisphere.
o Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco, 1967)
o South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985)
o Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok, 1995)
o Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba, 1996)
o Central Asia (Treaty of Semipalatinsk, 2006
INTERMEDIATE-RANGE NUCLEAR FORCES (INF) TREATY
Recently, U.S.A (and then Russia) suspended its
obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces (INF) Treaty.
It is a cold war era arms control treaty
between the United States and Russia under
which both agreed not to develop, produce,
possess or deploy any ground-based ballistic
and cruise missiles that have a range between
500 and 5,500 km. It however exempted the air-launched and sea-based missile systems in
the same range
• It mandated agreeing parties to destroy all
such existing weapons within three years of
the signing of the treaty and also clarified that
each of the parties could withdraw from the
treaty with a six-month notice.
• It laid out a comprehensive inspection
protocol, whereby each of the parties could
inspect and monitor each other’s’ elimination
process.
feminist foreign
policy manual.
• Sweden recently launched feminist foreign
policy manual.
• In December 2014, Sweden became the first
country to adopt a feminist foreign policy.
• Feminist Foreign Policy is a course of action
towards those outside national boundaries that
is guided by a commitment to gender equality.
BEIRUT DECLARATION
At the conclusion of the Arab Economic and
Social Development Summit, countries taking part in the summit issued a joint statement
called the Beirut Declaration.
• It called for establishment of an Arab free trade
zone and the international community to
support countries hosting refugees and
displaced people
“Fair Value for Innovation”
At Raisina, The United States Chamber of Commerce’s
Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) launched
a new innovation initiative titled “Fair Value for
Innovation” at the Raisina Dialogue. It will
examine economic underpinnings that would
enable breakthrough innovation, and explore
how policymakers can harness innovation
capital in India and around the globe through
research, advocacy, partnerships, and programs.
‘Mission
Raksha Gyan Shakti’
The Department of Defence Production has
instituted a new framework titled ‘Mission
Raksha Gyan Shakti’ to inculcate Intellectual
Property Right culture in Indian defence
manufacturing ecosystem.
• The Directorate General of Quality Assurance
(DGQA) under Ministry of Defence is
coordinating and implementing the
programme.
Emigration Bill, 2019
• The extant legislative framework for all matters
related to emigration of Indian nationals is
prescribed by the Emigration Act 1983. The bill
will replace this act.
GLOBAL COMPACT FOR
MIGRATION
UN member states (except the U.S. and Hungary)
have agreed on a Global Compact for Migration.
It is not legally binding. It does not dictate nor
impose and it fully respects the sovereignty of
States.
• It is the first-ever UN global agreement on a
common approach to international migration in
all its dimensions.
• The process of developing compact was started
in early 2017 as implementation of decision by
UN member states as adopted New York
Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in
September 2016.
International Organisation for Migration
Portugal’s Antonio Vitorino was recently elected as head
of International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
• Established in 1951, IOM is the leading intergovernmental
organization in the field of migration
and works closely with governmental,
intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
• It is headquartered at Le Grand-Saconnex,
Switzerland.
• It was founded in the wake of the World War II to
resettle refugees from Europe.
• In 2016 it became a related organization of the
United Nations
• IOM X is IOM’s campaign to encourage safe
migration and public action to stop exploitation and
human trafficking
Terrorist Travel Initiative
Recently Terrorist Travel Initiative, under
auspices of Global Counterterrorism Forum
(GCTF) was launched.
• It will bring together national and local
governments, law enforcement and border
screening practitioners, and international
organizations to share expertise on how to develop and implement effective
counterterrorism watch listing and screening
tools.
• The initiative will develop a set of good
practices which will reinforce countries and
organizations to use border security tools
prescribed in UNSC Resolution 2396 to stop
terrorist travel
Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)
• It is an informal, apolitical, multilateral
counterterrorism (CT) platform, launched in
2011.
• It develops good practices and tools for
policy-makers and practitioners to strengthen
CT civilian capabilities, national strategies,
action plans and training modules.
• India is a founding member of GCTF.
