Test: World Organisations - 1 - UPSC MCQ

The predecessor of the United Nations was the League of Nations.

United Nations (UN)

• It was founded in 1945.
• Members- 193
• The Charter of the United Nations is the founding document of the United Nations.
• It was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, US.
• Purposes of UN:
  • To maintain international peace and security,
  • To develop friendly relations among nations,
  • To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems,
  • To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
• Secretary-General- António Guterres
• Secretariat- New York City, USA

ASEAN 

• ASEAN stands for Association of South-East Asian Nations. 
• It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• It was established by the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
• Founding Fathers of ASEAN- Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• Members of ASEAN- Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia.
• Secretariat- Jakarta, Indonesia
• Chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States. 
• 2021 chair- Brunei Darussalam

SAARC

• It stands for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
• It was established in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
• Afghanistan joined the organization in 2007.
• Its objectives are:
  • to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life,
  • to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region,
  • to provide all individuals with the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials,
  • to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia,
  • to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems,
  • to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields,
  • to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries,
  • to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests,
  • to cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.
• The Headquarters and Secretariat of the Association are in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Members of SAARC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
• Secretary-General- Esala Ruwan Weerakoon 

Arab League

• It is a loose alliance of nearly two dozen Arab countries that have pledged to cooperate on economic and military affairs, among other matters.
• It was founded in 1945.
• The League makes decisions on a majority basis, but there is no mechanism to compel members to comply with resolutions.
• It has been criticized for its internal conflicts and collective inaction on important international issues. 
• Headquarters- Cairo, Egypt

SAARC

• The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
• SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
• Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• The organization promotes economic development and regional integration.
• SAARC has eight member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Hence, statement 1 is correct.

BIMSTEC

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional multilateral organization.
• Its members lie in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
• Out of the 7 members, five are from South Asia –
  • Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
  • The other two countries are Thailand and Myanmar from the South East Asia region. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

IORA

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is a dynamic inter-governmental organization aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 Member States and 10 Dialogue Partners.
• The members are-
  • Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique,  Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Hence 3 is correct.

Commonwealth

• The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries.
• It is home to 2.5 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries.
• 32 of our members are small states, including many island nations. Members are 21 from Africa, 8 from Asia ( Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka), 13 from the Caribbean and America, 3 from Europe, and 11 from the Pacific. Hence 4 is correct.

Foreign Policy

• Foreign policy of India regulates India’s relations with other states of the world in promoting its national interests.
• It is determined by a number of factors, viz., geography, history and tradition, social structure, political organisation, economic position, military strength, public opinion and leadership.

Principles of Indian Foreign Policy

• Anti-Colonialism.
  • The foreign policy of India opposes colonialism and imperialism. 
  • India views colonialism and imperialism lead to the exploitation of the weaker nations by the imperialist powers and affects the promotion of international peace. 
  • India advocated the liquidation of colonialism in all forms and supported the liberation movement in Afro-Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaya, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Namibia and so on.
• Anti-Racialism.
  • Opposition to racialism in all its forms is an important aspect of Indian foreign policy. 
  • According to India, racialism like colonialism and imperialism leads to exploitation of the blacks by whites, social inequity and hinders the promotion of world peace. 
  • India strongly criticised the policy of apartheid (racial discrimination) being followed by the white minority racist regime of South Africa. 
  • It even snapped diplomatic relations with South Africa in 1954 as a protest against the policy of apartheid.
• Promotion of World Peace.
  • India’s foreign policy aims at the promotion of international peace and security. 
  • Article 51 of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) directs the Indian State to promote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations.
  • Foster respect for international law and treaty obligations and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration
• Afro-Asian Bias.
  • Even though foreign policy of India stands for maintaining friendly relations with all the countries of the world, it has always exhibited a special bias towards the Afro-Asian nations. 
  • It aims at promoting unity among them and tries to secure for them a voice and an influence in the international bodies.
  • India has been seeking international assistance for the economic development of these countries.
  • In 1947, India called the first Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi.
  • In 1949, India brought together the Asian countries on the burning issue of Indonesian freedom. 
  • India played an active role in the Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung (Indonesia) in 1955. 
  • India also played an important role in the formation of Group of 77 (1964), Group of 15 (1990), Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (1995), BIST Economic Cooperation (1997), and SAARC (1985). India earned the name of ‘Big Brother’ from many of the neighbouring countries.

India is a current non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

United Nations Security Council:

• The United Nations Security Council is one of the six main organs of the UN, and it is primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
• It consists of 15 members -five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members.
• The five permanent members are the US, UK, Russia, China, and France.
• Every year, five non-permanent members are elected for a tenure of two years.
• To be elected as a non-permanent member of the council, each member-country requires a two-thirds majority of the entire assembly.

The correct answer is San Francisco Conference.

• The United Nations Charter was signed by 51 original members of the United Nations in 1945 at the San Francis conference 850 delegates from 51 nations deliberated, discussed, and finalised the charter which initially led into 4 sections.
• It was passed unanimously on 26th June 1945.

Important Points

• The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.
• United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
• The main organs of the UN are:
• the General Assembly
• the Security Council
• the Economic and Social Council
• the Trusteeship Council
• the International Court of Justice
• and the UN Secretariat
• All the 6 were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.
• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.

SAARC is South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which is a regional intergovernmental organisation.

• It was founded on 8 December 1985 in Dhaka.
• It aims to promote the development of economic and regional integration.
• It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• The South Asian Free Trade Area was launched on 1st January 2006 to create a free trade zone between its members.
• As of March 2020 Esala Ruwan Weerakoon is the Secretary-General. He assumed office on 1st March 2020.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a group of countries that export oil.

• OPEC is a 13-country cartel or intergovernmental organization.
• Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad.
• It was formed to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members and to provide member states with technical and economic aid
• It was founded by its first five members namely, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
• OPEC now has 13 members as of January 2020.
• It has been headquartered in Vienna, Austria, since 1965.
  • Even though Vienna is the headquarters of OPEC, Austria is not an OPEC member state.
• OPEC's establishment signaled a shift toward national sovereignty over natural resources, and OPEC policies have come to dominate the global oil market and international relations.
• A new member country must be approved by three-quarters of OPEC's current members, including all five of the founding members.
  • Sudan formally made an application to join in October 2015, however it is still not a member.

The G-8 refers to the group of eight highly industrialized nations.

• The Group of Eight (G8) was formed by incorporating of Russia into the Group of Seven(G7.).
• The member nations of G-8 are;
  • France.
  • Germany.
  • Italy.
  • The United Kingdom.
  • Japan.
  • The United States.
  • Canada.
  • Russia.
• Russia was suspended indefinitely from G-8 in 2014.
• Russia withdrew from the G8 in 2017.

The World Bank Group include five groups which are:

• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• International Development Association (IDA)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
• To become members of the IDA, IFC, and MIGA, the countries must first become members of IBRD.

New Development Bank (NDB)

• It is a multilateral development bank founded by the BRICS countries.
• It collectively account for 24% of global GDP and 16% of global trade.
• The idea for the NDB was conceived in 2012 during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India.
• It was formed when the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) met for the bloc's summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
• The bank was viewed as a potential alternative to the World Bank, with the ability to take a fresh approach to development finance.

International Criminal Court is not an agency of the UNO. The ICC was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998, and it began sittings on July 1, 2002, after 60 countries had ratified the Rome Statute.

BIMSTEC is the acronym for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
It is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
BIMSTEC came into being on 6 June 1997.
Seven countries are members of BIMSTEC:

• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• India
• Nepal
• Sri Lanka
• Myanmar
• Thailand

G20

• Founded in 1999.
• It is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors.
• Aim- To discuss the policies pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.

Members: 

• ​19 countries and the European Union (EU). 
• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
• Union Commerce and Industry Minister recently attended the 2nd G20 Virtual Trade & Investment Ministers Meeting, held through video-conferencing. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

• The International Court of Justice was created with an aim to settle the disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues.
• It was established in June 1945 
• It is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ).
• As of 2021 February, Joan Donoghue is the current President of the International Court of Justice.

UNESCO:

• It stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
• It was formed on 16th November 1945.
• Its headquarters are in Paris, France.
• Currently, UNESCO has 193 members and 11 associates members.
  • The US, Israel, and Liechtenstein are members of the UN, but not members UNESCO.
  • Three countries, namely, Palestine, Niue, and the Cook Islands are members of UNESCO, but not of the UN.
• India was the founding member of UNESCO.

​​Thus, the headquarters of UNESCO is located in Paris.