International Organisations In NEWS One Year Current Affairs

Table of Contents

Q) Which of the following countries did not attend the 2nd BIMSTEC Disastear Management Exercise (BIMSTEC-DMEx) 2020?

Bhutan
Bangladesh
Nepal
Sri lanka

The 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise (BIMSTEC-DMEx) 2020 is a 3-day exercise that discussed standardization of protocol, formulation of policy and guidelines for protection of heritage sites during disasters and their conservation post-disaster.
It was attended by five (out of seven) member nations Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal at Puri, Odisha. Thailand and Bhutan did not
National Disaster Response Force hosted BIMSTEC- DMEx 2020.

BIMSTEC

Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional group of seven members: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal, established in 1997 through Bangkok Declaration.
Founding members: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Its Secretariat has been established at Dhaka.
India invited BIMSTEC leaders to the BRICS outreach summit in Goa in 2016.

Q) Which among the following countries is common in SAARC and BIMSTEC?

Pakistan
Maldives
Thailand
Sri Lanka

SAARC

Sri Lanka’s former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has pitched for revival of SAARC for better regional integration and development of the region.
SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka in Its secretariat is in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Objectives: To promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life, and to accelerate economic growth, territorial integrity, mutual trust and benefit etc.
The last SAARC summit was held in 2014 and subsequent summits could not be held after 2016 Summit scheduled in Pakistan got cancelled in the backdrop of terrorist attacks in Pathankot and Uri

Q) International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its report found that Pakistan had violated its obligations under Vienna Convention in the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Which among the following is correct regarding the International court of Justice ?

It is a UN agency
Its headquarter is in Hague, Netherland
ICJ was established in 1946.
All of the above are correct

Q) Prime Minister of India addressed 1st India-Caricom leaders’ summit in New York. Where is the headquarter of Caribbean Community(CARICOM)?

Jamaica
Guyana
Suriname
Dominican Republic

It is treaty among Caribbean countries to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy.
Formed in 1973, and Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries.
Seat of Secretariat: Georgetown, Guyana
The India- CARICOM meet focused on fighting climate change and increasing India’s participation with the grouping.
India announced 14 million US dollar grant for community development projects in Caricom & 150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate change related projects

Q) Recently, OPCW blamed Syria for using nerve gas for the first time for toxic attacks of 2017. Who among the following is not the member of OPCW?

South Korea
South Sudan
Congo
Pakistan

OPCW is an intergovernmental organisation.
It is the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) , which entered into force in 1997.
The Organisation oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons.
Headquarter of the organisation is at The Hague, Netherlands.
All states who are members of the CWC are automatically members of this organization.
The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons with most recent being in Syria civil war”.

Q) Recently, UN General Assembly elected 14 States to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).Which of the following is correct regarding UNHRC ?

UNHRC was created by the General Assembly in March 2006
UNHRC elects members on the basis of equitable geographical distribution
The members elected for a period of 3 years through secret ballot
All the above statements are correct

It was created by the General Assembly in March 2006 as the principal United Nations entity dealing with human rights
Human Rights Council comprises 47 elected Member States.
On the basis of equitable geographical distribution, Council seats are allocated to the five regional groups as
African States, 13 seats; Asia-Pacific States, 13 seats; Eastern European States, 6 seats; Latin American and Caribbean States, 8 seats; and Western European and other States, 7 seats.
The members were elected by the assembly through secret ballot, for a term of three
Currently, India is elected member of UNHRC.
S. withdrew from UNHRC in 2018

Q) India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly. Where was the first session of UN-Habitat assembly held?

India
UAE
Nairobi
Switzerland

The first session of UN- Habitat assembly was held at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi.
The special theme for the UN-Habitat assembly is “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities“.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development.
Established in 1978 as an outcome of the First UN Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat I) held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976.
Mandate is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system.
It is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Three Conference of UN-Habitat are

Q) Which country re-joined the commonwealth?

India
Bangladesh
Maldives
Myanmar

It is a political association of 54-member states, nearly all of them former territories of the British Empire. Last 2 countries to join the Commonwealth – Rwanda and Mozambique – have no historical ties to the British Empire.
All member countries of the Commonwealth must subscribe to the values and principles of free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and
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”.

Q) India was re-elected as an Observer to the Arctic Council. Which among the following is correct regarding the Arctic Council?

It is a formalized treaty-based international legal entity
Russia is not a member of Arctic Council
The Council prohibits the commercial exploitation of resources in the Arctic.
India became observer for the first time in 2013

It was established by the eight Arctic States through the Ottawa Declaration of 1996. These are— Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
It is not a formalized treaty-based international legal entity and does not allocate resources.
It is one of the leading intergovernmental forums, for discussing issues concerning the Arctic region, including scientific research, and peaceful and sustainable use of resources in the region.
All decision-making happens through consensus between the permanent members.
The Council does not prohibit the commercial exploitation of resources in the Arctic.
India became observer for the first time in 2013

India and Arctic Region

Himadri, India’s only research station in the region opened in 2008.
India’s ONGC (Videsh) holds a 26-percent stake in Russia’s Vankorneft project (to produce hydrocarbons from Vankor field in Siberia).
IndARC is India’s first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic

Q) Which country has withdrawn its membership of OPEC?

Ecuador
Iraq
Iran
Venezuela

It is an intergovernmental organisation whose stated objective is to “co- ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.”
It is headquartered at Vienna, Austria.
It was set up at the 1960 Baghdad Conference with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela as founding members.
It accounts for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 81.5 percent of the world’s “proven” oil reserves.

Q) Bishkek Declaration was recently seen in news is related to

Eurasian Economic Union
SCO
Commonwealth of Independent States
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

The countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) adopted the Bishkek Declaration in 19th SCO summit, recently held at Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.
SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation. It is headquarted in Beijing, China.
Currently, SCO has:
8 Member States – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India (joined in 2017) and Pakistan;
4 Observer States – Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia and
6 Dialogue Partners – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

SCO has two permanent bodies

The SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and
The Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

Council of Heads of State is the top decision making body in the SCO.
Its driving philosophy is known as the “Shanghai Spirit” which emphasizes harmony, working by consensus, respect for other cultures, non- interference in the internal affairs of others, and non-alignment.

Q) India was recently invited as a special guest for attending the 45th ‘Group of Seven’ (G-7) Summit. Which among the following is incorrect regarding G-7?

It is a inter-governmental organisation formed in 1975
Russia is not the member of G7
45^thG7 summit held in France
All of the above are correct

It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975.
Members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States which discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.
The G7 was known as the ‘G8’ for several years after the original seven were joined by Russia in 1997. The Group returned to being called G7 after Russia was expelled as a member in 2014 following the latter’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
The G7 nations meet at annual Summits that are presided over by leaders of member countries on a rotational basis.
The G7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual Summits are nonbinding.
India is not a member of the G7 group