Questions
1.Which of the following is correct about UNSC Resolution 2462?
1. The Resolution makes terror financing a serious crime demanding that individual countries ensure the same
2.The Resolution is binding and can be backed with sanctions for countries that do not comply
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
2.Which of the following is correct about the Outer Space Treaty, 1967?
1.The treaty calls for peaceful use of space and prohibits all kinds of weapons from being placed therein.
2.The treaty forbids any country to claim a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet.
3.The treaty also defines the Karman line, boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 2 and 3 only
3.New Moore Island was disputed between:
a) India and Sri Lanka
b) India and Bangladesh
c) India and Maldives
d) Maldives and Sri Lanka
4.The Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative (FIRST) is an initiative that works under the aegis of –
a) World Bank
b) UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN)
c) UNDP
d) None of the above
5.Article 50, often in news, a clause in the Treaty on European Union, relates with:
a) Right to be Forgotten on the Internet
b) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
c) Withdrawal from the European Union
d) None of the above
Explanations
1) C
The United Nations Security Council in 2019 unanimously passed a French resolution- UNSC Resolution 2462, making terrorism financing a serious crime. The binding resolution, drafted under chapter 7 of the UN Charter, can be backed with sanctions for countries that do not comply. Although the topic of terror financing has been addressed in a number of resolutions since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States such as Resolution 1373, the new measure is the first comprehensive terror financing resolution the body has ever passed. Resolution 2462 also affirms the Resolution 1373 and in particular its decisions that all countries shall prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts and refrain from providing any of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts. The resolution demands that individual countries “ensure that their domestic laws and regulations establish [terror financing as] serious criminal offenses.” It empowers the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to pressure more than 50 countries to enforce such laws that will also help in the fight against ransom payments to groups like “Islamic State (IS). According to FATF, which fights money laundering and terror financing, less than one-fifth of the world’s countries currently have laws labeling terror financing a crime. The UN resolution calls on member states to uphold international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law in the fight against terror financing. Furthermore, the measure calls on countries to establish financial intelligence units to combat the problem of terror financing and to direct those units to share any information they uncover.
2) B
- Outer Space Treaty, formally Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, (1967), international treaty binding the parties to use outer space only for peaceful purposes. Under the terms of the treaty, the parties are prohibited from placing nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on the Moon, or on other bodies in space. Nations cannot claim sovereignty over the Moon or other celestial bodies. Nations are responsible for their activities in space, are liable for any damage caused by objects launched into space from their territory, and are bound to assist astronauts in distress. The Outer Space Treaty does not ban military activities within space or the weaponization of space, with the exception of the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space.
- The Kármán line, or Karman line, is an attempt to define a boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. This is important for legal and regulatory measures; aircraft and spacecraft fall under different jurisdictions and are subject to different treaties. There is no international law defining the edge of space.
3) B
South Talpatti or New Moore, was a small uninhabited offshore sandbar island in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta region. It emerged in the Bay of Bengal in the aftermath of the Bhola cyclone in 1970, and disappeared at some later point. Although the island was uninhabited and there were no permanent settlements or stations located on it, both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty over it because of speculation over the existence of oil and natural gas in the region.The issue of sovereignty was also a part of the larger dispute over the Radcliffe Award methodology of settling the maritime boundary between the two nations. The matter was resolved on 7 July 2014, when the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) delivered a verdict in the “Bay of Bengal maritime boundary arbitration between Bangladesh and India” case. The PFA gave verdict in favour of Bangladesh.
4) C
- The Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative (FIRST) is the World Bank and IMF’s flagship global trust fund that supports financial sector stability and development.
- Established in 2002, FIRST is now moving into its next phase of operations “FIRST 2.0” from 2018-2022.
- During this phase, it will focus on creating the enabling environment for financial markets to support private sector development, inclusive economic growth, employment generation, and poverty reduction.
- FIRST provides technical assistance to financial sector regulators and policy makers.
- Following are the priority thematic areas under FIRST 2.0:
- – Financial stability
- – Financial inclusion
- – Maximizing finance for development
- – Finance for jobs
- – SME financel Women’s entrepreneurship
- – Countries with fragility, conflict, and violence
- – Financial technology (FinTech) and cyber security
- – Green finance FIRST 2.0 is guided by a Governing Council comprised of one representative from each of FIRST’s donors, a representative from the WBG, and a representative from the IMF.
- The WBG administers FIRST’s day-to-day operations through the Program Management Unit (PMU) which is located in Washington, DC, and is housed in the WBG’s Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice.
5) C
Article 50 is a clause in the European Union’s (EU) Lisbon Treaty that outlines the steps to be taken by a country seeking to leave the bloc voluntarily.
Invoking Article 50 starts the formal exit process and serves as a way for countries to officially declare their intention to leave the EU.
Britain became the first member to invoke Article 50 on March 29, 2017.
The Lisbon Treaty was drafted “with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action.”
The treaty was signed and ratified by all 27 member states in 2007 and came into effect in 2009.