Second Semester Final Flashcards
regular meetings of UN member nations to express their views and come to an agreement.
General assembly
determines the existence of a threat to peace and can take action to enforce peace
Security council
Called OCHA, it coordinates responses to emergencies quickly and efficiently.
Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs
Called CERF, it is one of the fastest and most effective ways to help people affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts
Central emergency Response Fund
Called UNHCR it works to protect and assist refugees and displaced people.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
WHO works toward the complete health of all people which is more than just the absence of disease
World Health Organization
List the five basic things the UN works on
- it maintains international security
- it protects human rights
- it delivers humanitarian aid
- it supports sustainable development and climate action
- it upholds international law
(I think of it as PEARL: Peace, Earth, Aid, Rights, and Law)
List at least eight “new challenges” the UN also focuses on today
ending poverty, gender equality, migration, population, water, ageing, climate change, and decolonization
Explain how the UN upholds international law. What is international law and how does the UN manage it?
the UN upholds international law through the international court of justice. International law is the legal responsibilities of nations and their individuals. it also regulates global commons the environment, international waters, space, communications, and trade.
Which countries are on the security council?
China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US
Can the UN use troops?
It can only use troops if the security council authorizes it.
What are some ways besides armed troops the UN can use to keep peace in troubled areas?
It can impose sanctions (like embargos), but mostly it calls upon the parties to settle the dispute through discussion or recommended adjustment
List 5 places the UN Peacekeeping troops/missions are currently stationed and what they are doing there.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Sudan
- South Sudan
- Abyei
- Afghanistan
Program that aimed at advancing China’s economy by using people powers instead of machines
Great Leap Forward
average number of years people live in a given area
Life expectancy
the average number of children people would give birth to in their lifetime if the birthrate did not change
fertility rate
the number of people in a given land area
population density
often called “third world,” a country that is undeveloped / economically struggling
Developing country
policy introduced in 1979 in China that limited the number of kids a family could have to 1
One Child Policy
tensions between Rwanda’s two main ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, sparked civil war and in 1994 the Hutus started to systematically kill off three quarters of the Tutsi population
Rwandan Genocide
any naturally occurring material that people find useful or valuable
natural recource
minerals that are becoming increasingly valuable due to their use in new technologies
Rare Earth Minerals
companies with facilities in more than one country that don’t have to abide by the laws of any one country
Multinational corporations
Called OPEC, it was formed by the five major oil producers: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Arab countries placed an embargo on the US to punish it for supporting Israel
1973 oil embargo
the process of increasing interdependence of the world’s economies
globalization
a group formed by countries within a geographical area with the goal of eliminating taxes on trade goods and allowing the free movement of labor and capitol among its members
common market
under this, the US, Mexico, and Canada agreed to create their own common market
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
an international organization run by more than 150 nations with the goal of reducing trade barriers.
World Trade Organization
the theory that, in international trade, countries should specialize in the goods that they are most efficient at producing
comparative advantage
BRIC, the four countries which, in the beginning, contributed raw materials and little else to the world economy, but now have the potential to be very powerful.
Brazil, Russia, India, and China
the sending abroad of jobs from developed to less developed countries
outsourcing
in 1975 after years of civil war Cambodia was taken over by the Khmer Rouge. they sent most of the urban population to work in the fields where many died from starvation or exhaustion. a genocide followed which killed 1.5 million
Cambodian Genocide
radical communist political group that kindled the Cambodian genocide
Khmer Rouge
in 1946 Bosnia became a province of Yugoslavia. tensions heightened between the Serb, Croat, and Muslim ethnic groups, and a war began in 1992 in which the Serbs tried to force all the Muslims out
Ethnic cleansing in bosnia
the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks
Osama Bin Laden
the 9/11 attacks had been based in Afghanistan so the US led an invasion. ten years later Osama Bin Laden was finally located and killed
invasion of Afghanistan
terrorist organization that was the root of the 9/11 attacks
al queda
the US had info to believe that Iraq was stockpiling WMD so they invaded to destroy them
Invasion of Iraq
iraqi leader who was believed to be stockpiling weapons
Saddam Hussein
WMD
Weapons of Mas Destruction
name for the popular upheavals that swept Arab countries of north Africa and the middle east in 2011
Arab spring
Explain the different population challenges of Rwanda and Japan. How is each country trying to remedy their challenges?
In Japan, there are not enough young people to take care of the old, so they are encouraging people to have more kids and increasing the retirement age. In Rwanda, because of the genocide, many people had many kids, so there are too many people the government is providing programs to help freely and responsibly limit family size
While gold has always been valuable, what are two types of resources that are increasing dramatically in value in recent years, and why?
Renewable and flow resources have become a lot more important in our economy. This is because they will not run out and/or do not harm our environment. These qualities are necessary so that we do not harm our future selves. Plus, Rare Earth Minerals have become a necessity in our economy due to their use in modern technology.
Imagine the nations of the world want to profoundly increase cleaner energy technology. Which nations may be needed to provide many of the raw materials needed for this?
the main three types of clean energy are solar, hydroelectric, and wind. This would mean that nations with a lot of sun should provide solar, nations with big rivers should provide hydroelectric, and windy nations would provide wind. most importantly we need to stop burning coal and oil so we aren’t releasing greenhouse gases.
what are some problems that are developing now that can grow into bigger conflicts that go beyond borders?
water is a huge and very important resource. Rivers often flow through multiple countries. if one country that’s upstream of another is polluting or using all of the water that the other needs, it’s a problem. Another developing issue is how we need to come to an agreement on what to do about climate change.
