UPSC Prelims Research: International Relations 2016

Q. ‘Belt and road Initiative’ is sometimes mentioned in the news in the context of the affairs of

(a) African Union

(b) Brazil

(c) European union

(d) China

Answer: (d) China

China’s Belt and Road Initiative:

• The BRI, represents a multifaceted development strategy aimed at enhancing global connectivity and cooperation.
• It was launched in 2013 and aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
  • The project was first named the ‘One Belt, One Road’ but renamed as the BRI to convey a more open and inclusive initiative as opposed to a Chinese-dominated one.
• The initiative includes two principal components: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road.
• Routes of BRI:
  • Silk Road Economic Belt:
    • This segment of the BRI is dedicated to improving connectivity, infrastructure, and trade links across Eurasia through a network of overland transportation routes.
  • Maritime Silk Road:
    • This component emphasizes maritime connections and cooperation in the form of ports, shipping routes, and maritime infrastructure projects.
      • It begins via the South China Sea going towards Indo-China, South-East Asia and then around the Indian Ocean thus reaching Africa and Europe.
• Objective:
  • The primary goal of the BRI is to boost international connectivity by enhancing infrastructure, trade, and economic cooperation.
    • The initiative encompasses a wide range of projects, including railways, ports, highways, and energy infrastructure.
• Geographic Corridors:
  • The land-based Silk Road Economic Belt envisions six key corridors for development:
    • China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
    • New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor.
    • China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.
    • China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.
    • China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor.
    • China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

Q. Which of the following is not a member of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’?

(a) Iran

(b) Saudi Arabia

(c) Oman

(d) Kuwait

Answer: (a) Iran

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC):

• It is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
• The GCC was established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 1981.
• Objective: 
  • The purpose of the GCC is to achieve unity among its members based on their common objectives and their similar political and cultural identities, which are rooted in Arab and Islamic cultures.
  • The Presidency of the council rotates annually.

Q. ‘European Stability Mechanism’, sometimes seen in the news, is an

(a) agency  created by EU to deal with the impact of millions of refugees arriving from Middle East

(b) agency of EU that provides financial assistance to eurozone countries

(c) agency of EU to deal with all the bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade

(d) agency of EU to deal with the conflict arising among the member countries

Answer: (b) agency of EU that provides financial assistance to eurozone countries

European Stability Mechanism (ESM):

• European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was an international financial institution set up by the euro area Member States to help euro area countries in severe financial distress.
• The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was set up in October 2012 as a successor to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
• It provides financial assistance, in the form of loans, to eurozone countries or as new capital to banks in difficulty, with a maximum lending capacity of €500 billion.
• This assistance is granted only if it is proven necessary to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area as a whole and of ESM Members.
• It has replaced two earlier temporary EU funding programmes: the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM).

Q. ‘Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiercs)’, often in the news, is

(a) A division of World Health Organization

(b) A non-governmental international organization

(c) And inter-government agency sponsored by European Union

(d) A specialized agency of the United Nations

Answer: (b) A non-governmental international organization

Notes:

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors without Borders is a Non-governmental organisation.
• It was founded on 20 December 1971.
• The international humanitarian medical aid organisation works in 69 countries.
• MSF has no real “headquarters.” Although the organization was established in France.
• It has grown into an international association with 24 independent sections worldwide. It serves populations affected by epidemics, armed conflicts, natural calamities, and manmade disasters.
• It delivers health care to some of the most deprived peoples on the planet.

Q. Consider the following statements:

The India-Africa Summit

1. Held in 2015 was the third such Summit
2. Was actually initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (a) 1 only

India Africa Forum Summit:

• The India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) is the official platform for the African-Indian relations.
• It is held once in every three years beginning from 2008 .
• India by consistently holding India- Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in places like New Delhi (2008), Addis Ababa (2011) and New Delhi (2015) has already forged ties with the 54 African states through the African Union (AU).
• India is investing in capacity building providing more than $1 billion in technical assistance and training to personnel under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program.
• As a full member of African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), India has pledged $1 million towards ACBF’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and capacity building initiative.
• India has invested $100 million in the Pan-African E-Network to bridge the digital divide in Africa, leveraging its strengths in information technology.
• Indian military academies offer training to military officers from a number of African states.
• India has also unveiled the Vision Document of the Asian Africa Growth Corridor which is jointly prepared by Indian and Japanese think tanks.
• The corridor will focus on Developing Cooperation Projects, Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity, skill enhancement, and People-to-People Partnership.
• India postulates that its partnership with Africa is an amalgam of development priorities in keeping with the African Union’s long term plan and the Africa Agenda 2063, as well as India’s development objectives.

Q. With reference to ‘Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)’ consider the following statements:

1. It is an organization of European Union in working relation with NATO and WHO
2. It monitors chemical industry to prevent new weapons free emerging
3. It provides assistance and protection to Stated Parties against chemical weapons threats.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW):

• It is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
• Mission: To implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in order to achieve the OPCW’s vision of a world that is free of chemical weapons and of the threat of their use, and in which cooperation in chemistry for peaceful purposes for all is fostered.
• Its headquarters are located in The Hague, Netherlands.
• The OPCW receives states-parties’ declarations detailing chemical weapons-related activities or materials and relevant industrial activities.
• The OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.
• It also performs testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks. 
• OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the secretary-general.
• The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC):

• It is a multilateral treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time.
• It entered into force on April 29, 1997.
• The CWC requires states-parties to declare in writing to the OPCW their chemical weapons stockpiles, chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs), relevant chemical industry facilities, and other weapons-related information.
• The CWC is open to all nations and currently has 193 states-parties.
  • India signed the treaty in January 1993.
• Convention Prohibits:
  • The development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, or retention of chemical weapons.
  • Transferring of chemical weapons.
  • Using chemical weapons.
  • Assisting other States to indulge in activities that are prohibited by the CWC.
  • Using riot-control devices as ‘warfare methods’.
• Indian Initiative:
  • The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 was passed to implement the CWC.
  • It provided for the establishment of a National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention or NACWC. This institution, formed in 2005, is the chief liaison between the government of India and the OPCW. It is an office in the Cabinet Secretariat of the GoI.

Q. Community sometimes mentioned in the news In the affairs of

1. Kurd : Bangladesh
2. Madhesi : Nepal
3. Robingya : Myanmar

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 3 only

Answer: (c) 2 and 3

Notes:

• Kurds are the Muslim ethnic group predominantly in the Middle East.
  • ​Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia.
  • They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never obtained a permanent nation-state.
• Madhesis were in news for demanding greater representation for the community in the Nepalese constitution.
  • The Madhesi also referred to as Teraibasi Nepali are an indigenous ethnic group of Nepalese people who are natives of the Madhesh plains of Southern Nepal in Terai belt of South Asia.
• Rohingya are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived in Myanmar province of Rakhine.
  • Many of their enemies refuse to acknowledge that the Rohingya are an ethnically distinct group.