International Organizations: International Relations | RBI Grade B Phase 1 Preparation - Bank Exams PDF Download

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS/ INSTITUTIONS

B.1. SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION (SCO)
THE 15th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit was held in Ufa, Russia on July 2015. India and Pakistan were accepted as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Significance of India’s Membership
 Energy security: Some of the member countries of the grouping are rich in energy resources-both hydrocarbons and uranium.

 Security : joint platform against terrorism, reducing and minimizing the menace of drug trafficking.

 Economic integration: India’s economic integration with the Central Asian republics.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO or Shanghai Pact is a Eurasian political, economic and military organization which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

B.2. BRICS
The 7th BRICS summit was held in Ufa, Russia on July 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a 10-point initiative calling it “Das Kadam: Ten Steps for the Future”. Leaders of BRICS countries have adopted the Ufa declaration.

About BRICS
 The acronym "BRICS" was initially formulated in 2001 by economist Jim O'Neill, of Goldman Sachs, in a report on growth prospects for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

 BRICS brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43% of the world population, having 37% of the world GDP and 17% share in the world trade.

8th BRICS Summit: India will host the eighth annual Summit of BRICS from October 15—16 in Goa.  India will adopt a five-pronged approach during its Chairmanship. It will comprise Institution Building, Implementation, Integration, Innovation, and Continuity with Consolidation (IIIIC or I4C).

B.3. EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU) is an economic union of states located primarily in northern Eurasia. A treaty aiming for the establishment of the EEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015. India has initiated the process of setting up a joint study group (JSG) to study its feasibility for FTA with EEU.

B.4. NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP (NSG)
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.

 The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974 and first met in November 1975.

 As of 2014 the NSG has 48 members.

 China’s announced that it intends to oppose India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group unless it agrees to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Four UN member states have never joined the NPT: India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan.

B.5. NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY OR NPT
Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

 Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely.

 Four UN member states have never joined the NPT: India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan.

 The treaty recognizes five states as nuclear-weapon states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (also the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council).

B.6. COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996 but it has not entered into force due to the non-ratification of eight specific states.

 The CTBT has yet to become global law due to its demanding entry into force clause, which requires the signature and ratification of all 44 countries listed as nuclear technology capable.

 As of 2015, eight Annex 2 states have not ratified the treaty: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed but not ratified the Treaty; India, North Korea and Pakistan have not signed it.

 Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous initiative in 1954 for a “standstill agreement” on nuclear testing.

 Nehru played an important role in building international momentum for the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, which India joined.

 India's objection to the CTBT is that as with the earlier nuclear treaties, it divides the world permanently into nuclear “haves and have-nots”.
 

B.7. MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME (MTCR)
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal and voluntary partnership among 34 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying a 500 kg payload for at least 300 km.

 The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) was established in April 1987 by the G7 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States.

 India applied for membership in October 2015, request was not considered.

B.8. WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT
The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41 participating states.

Objective: Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.
In 2013, the Wassenaar Arrangement added a new category pertaining to “intrusion software” that could potentially be used as “monitoring tools”, or to thwart “protective countermeasures” in cyberspace. Hardware and software that helped “extract information” were also classified within this restricted category.

B.9. AUSTRALIA GROUP
The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.

It now has 42 members, including all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members, the European Commission, all 28 member states of the European Union, Ukraine, and Argentina. The name comes from Australia's initiative to create the group. Australia manages the secretariat.

B.10. FOURTH NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT (NSS)
US President hosted the fourth and last nuclear security summit at Washington. Background

 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), an initiative of President Barack Obama to coordinate international efforts to prevent terror organizations from acquiring nuclear weapons or material.

 The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington, DC in 2010, and was followed by Summits in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014.

What has been India’s contribution to the NSS?
India has played an active role in these summits.

 India made a voluntary contribution of two million dollars to the Nuclear Security Fund.

 Established a Global Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCENEP) in New Delhi.

B.11. UNSC REFORM
The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a negotiating text for the Security Council reforms. This is the first time in the history of the intergovernmental negotiation process that a decision on UNSC reform has been adopted by means of an official document.

 The Group of Four, or G4, Summit, took place after a decade, was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leaders of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan called for urgent reforms of the United Nations “in a fixed time frame”.

 Uniting for Consensus (UfC) is a movement, nicknamed the Coffee Club that developed in the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion of the United Nations Security Council.
 

B.12. G-20 SUMMIT 2015
 G20 is a forum of the Heads of Governments of the 19 major economies and the EU for global cooperation on international economic and financial issues.

 Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South Africa and Turkey, UK, USA and the EU, are the members of G20.

 G-20 summit 2015: G20 leaders met in Antalya, Turkey, on 15-16 November 2015.

B.13. APEC SUMMIT, 2015

The 2015 Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit took place between November 18 and 19 in Manila, the Philippines.

India has long sought membership in the APEC forum, for strategic, diplomatic, and economic reasons.
 

 Beyond geography(India doesn’t sit on the Pacific Ocean), the question of India’s membership hadn’t come up seriously for some time due to a moratorium on APEC membership that was established in 1997 for a ten year period and extended again in 2007 for an additional three years.

About APEC: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
 

Headquarters: Singapore

Member economy: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong(China), Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, The United States, Vietnam.

B.14. SUPPLEMENTARY COMPENSATION FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE (CSC)
India ratified the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Advantage for India
 Addresses the concerns of foreign nuclear equipment suppliers.
 India became part of a global legal regime
 India will get access to international funding.

About the convention
The CSC was adopted on 12 September 1997, together with the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, and entered into force on 15 April 2015.

 The CSC is a convention that allows for increasing the compensation amount in the event of a nuclear incident through public funds pooled.

 Seeks to establish a uniform global legal regime for compensation to victims in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident.

 The CSC provides for establishment of an international fund to increase the amount available to compensate victims and allows for compensating civil damage occurring within a State's exclusive economic zone, including loss of tourism or fisheries related income.

Criticism of India’s move
Many nuclear experts feel that this move violate the domestic Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), 2010, Clauses 17(1) (B) and 46.

 Under Section 17(b), liability for a nuclear accident can be channeled from the operator to suppliers of nuclear material, specifically if the accident is due to an act of the supplier or his employee.

 Section 46 permits victims of a nuclear incident to sue the operator or the supplier for damages applying tort law.

B.15. GCC SUMMIT 2015
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf , known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq.

 Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

 The GCC summit 2015 was held in Riyadh.

 The summit comes at a crucial time for the six-nation GCC, with a Saudi-led coalition bombing (Decisive Storm Operation) rebels in Yemen, concerns over the rise of Islamist militants and regional worries over a potential final nuclear deal with Iran.

B.16. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
 The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is a treaty adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003. It became the first World Health Organization treaty adopted under article 19 of the WHO constitution.

 India was among the first few countries to ratify WHO the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2004.
 

B.17. THE EURO
 The euro is the official currency of the Eurozone, which consists of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union.

 The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the Eurozone, which consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world. It is one of the world's most important central banks and is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) listed in the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

B.18. ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OPEC)

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization of 13 nations, founded in 1960.
 

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
Membership: 13 states
Type: international cartel

Members of the Organization: Middle east: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,

Asia: Indonesia
Africa: Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola
South America: Venezuela, Ecuador

B.19. THE ARAB LEAGUE
The Arab League, formally, the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia.

Members: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania ,Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi-Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United-Arab Emirates, Yemen.

The Arab League has formally branded Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group a terrorist organisation.

Summit 2015: SHARM EL-SHEIKH (EGYPT)
Arab summit formally unveiled plans to form a joint Arab intervention force to defeat Iranian-backed Shia rebels in Yemen.

B.20. THE ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION (OIC)
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is an international organization founded in 1969 consisting of 57 member states. The organisation states that it is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.

13th Summit: April 2016(Istanbul, Turkey)
 The only significant outcome of the 13th summit is a decision to create an Istanbul-based counterterrorism centre, touted as the ‘Islamic Interpol’.

 India questioned the locus standi of the OIC, which in its communique affirmed “its support to the widespread indigenous movement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their right to self-determination”.

B.21. BIMSTEC
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratification of the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

The Third BIMSTEC Summit-2014: NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar

B.22. THE MEKONG-GANGA COOPERATION (MGC)
The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting.

It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. The organization takes its name from the Ganga and the Mekong, two large rivers in the region.

B.23. THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION (IORA)
The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean.

It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region.

B.24. SAARC
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is regional intergovernmental organization and geo-political union in South Asia. SAARC compromises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 9.12% of the global economy, as of 2015.

SAARC was founded in Dhaka in 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu. The organization promotes development economics and regional integration.

Its member states include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined SAARC as its eighth member state in April 2007.

States with observer status include: Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States.
 

SAARC summits

B.25. ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic organisation of ten Southeast Asian countries. It was formed on August 8th, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

ASEAN Formal Summits
 

B.26. EAST ASIA SUMMIT (EAS)
The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asian forum held annually by the leaders of eighteen countries in the East Asian region, with ASEAN in a leadership position.

Membership was initially all ten members of ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, but was expanded to include the United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011.

B.27. THE ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM (ARF) 

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateral, dialogue in the Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it consists of twenty-seven participants. ARF's objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and to promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.

The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are: all ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, the United States, and Sri Lanka.

The ASEAN plus Three is a meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea, and is held primarily during each ASEAN Summit.

The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue process initiated in 1996 with the intention of strengthening co-operation between the countries of Europe and Asia, especially members of the European Union and ASEAN in particular.

B.28. G7
The Group of 7 (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7.

B.29. UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Surya Deva has been appointed by the Geneva-based UNHRC as the Asia-Pacific representative of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
 

About UNHRC
 The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations System inter-governmental body whose 47 member states (elected by UN General Assembly) are responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world.

 Choi Kyong-lim is President of the Human Rights Council.

B.30. WOMEN-20
 The W20 engagement group under the auspices of the G20 focuses on promoting gender inclusiveness and gender equality, essentially making a significant contribution towards a strong, sustainable and balanced growth trend globally.

 It is formed under the Turkish term presidency of the G20. With the main theme being the empowerment of women, the engagement group will focus on overcoming contemporary challenges regarding gender inclusivity within the global economy.

B.31. ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK (AIIB) 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.

 China’s top legislature on 4th November 2015 ratified the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) agreement, which establishes the legal framework for the bank.

 India is founding member of AIIB.

B.32. INTERNATIONAL MARITIME COUNCIL
India has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization *IMO+ under Category “B” at the 29th session of the Assembly of the IMO held in London.

About IMO:
 IMO is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
 Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the IMO has 171 Member States and three Associate Members.
 

B.33. UNSC
 The UN Charter specifies (in Article 27) that a draft resolution on non-procedural matters is adopted if nine or more of the fifteen Council members (P5+10) vote for the resolution, and if it is not vetoed by any of the five permanent members.

 Draft resolutions on "procedural matters" can be adopted on the basis of an affirmative vote by any nine Council members.

B.34. UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (UNCLOS)

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982.

The convention set the limit of various areas, measured from a carefully defined baseline. The areas are as follows:
Internal waters
Covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline. The coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters.

Territorial waters
Out to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14 miles) from the baseline, the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Vessels were given the right of innocent passage through any territorial waters

Contiguous zone
Beyond the 12-nautical-mile (22 km) limit, there is a further 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the territorial sea baseline limit, the contiguous zone, in which a state can continue to enforce laws in four specific areas: customs, taxation, immigration and pollution, if the infringement started within the state's territory or territorial waters, or if this infringement is about to occur within the state's territory or territorial waters. This makes the contiguous zone a hot pursuit area.

Exclusive economic zones (EEZs)
These extend from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres; 230 miles) from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources.

Continental shelf
The continental shelf is defined as the natural prolongation of the land territory to the continental margin's outer edge, or 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastal state's baseline, whichever is greater.Coastal states have the right to harvest mineral and non-living material in the subsoil of its continental shelf, to the exclusion of others. Coastal states also have exclusive control over living resources "attached" to the continental shelf, but not to creatures living in the water column beyond the exclusive economic zone.

B.35. INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE LAW OF THE SEA (ITLOS)
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982.

 The tribunal is based in Hamburg, Germany.
 The Tribunal has the power to settle disputes between party states.

B.36. IMF REFORM Key points of reform
 More than 6 percentage points of the quota, including both the Fund’s capital and its proportionate voting rights, have been transferred from developed to emerging economies.

 Emerging and developing economies gained more influence in the governance architecture of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 India’s voting rights increase to 2.6% from the current 2.3%, and China’s, to 6% from 3.8%.

 For the first time, four emerging market countries (Brazil, China, India, and Russia) will be among the 10 largest members of the IMF.

 Also for the first time, the IMF’s Board will consist entirely of elected Executive Directors, ending the category of appointed Executive Directors. Currently, the members with the five largest quotas appoint an Executive Director.

 India’s quota in IMF would rise to 2.7% from existing 2.44%.

What is SDR?
The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. Its value is currently based on a basket of four major currencies (U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, and Pound sterling), and the basket will be expanded to include the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) as the fifth currency, effective October 1, 2016.