FORTUNE IAS ACADEMY

PRELIMS 2024 – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TOPICS

1. UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that
supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
• UNRWA was established in 1949 by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to provide relief to all refugees
resulting from the 1948 conflict.
• As a subsidiary body of the UNGA, UNRWA's mandate is subject to periodic renewal every three years;
it has consistently been extended since its founding, most recently until 30 June 2026.

2. INDIAN OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM (INDOOS)

• India and the US have recently agreed to reactivate the Indian Ocean Observing System (IndOOS), a
network of 36 moored buoys in the high seas aimed at collecting ocean and atmospheric data for
weather forecasts. The system fell into neglect during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• IndOOS focuses on collecting data on sea surface temperature, ocean currents, and atmospheric
conditions to improve understanding of the region’s impact on global climate patterns. IndOOS plays
a crucial role in climate forecasting, disaster preparedness, and marine biodiversity conservation.
• The moored buoys are part of the RAMA programme, established in 2008 through collaboration
between India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences and NOAA. RAMA (Research Moored Array for African-
Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction) is a network of moored buoys in the Indian Ocean
designed to study the complex air-sea interactions that influence the monsoon system.

3. INDIAN OCEAN CONFERENCE (IOC)

• The Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) is an annual international event focused on the Indian Ocean
region.
• It convenes policymakers, scholars, business leaders and civil society to discuss security, trade and
cooperation in the region.
• The first IOC was held in Singapore in 2016. The sixth edition took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2023.
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference was held in Perth, Australia in 2024.
• It is organised by the India Foundation in partnership with other organizations in the region.

4. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP)

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that
provides food assistance worldwide.
• It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals.
• Founded in 1961, WFP is headquartered in Rome and has oeices in 80 countries.
• The World Food Programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for its eeorts to provide food
assistance in areas of conflict.

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 5. EUROPEAN PORTS ALLIANCE

• The EU launched a “European Ports Alliance” on to harmonize methods to combat drug smuggling and
infiltration by criminal groups at ports.
• The initiative was inaugurated at Belgium’s Antwerp port, the main gateway for cocaine into Europe. It
brought together EU interior ministers and representatives from 16 EU ports and sea transport
organizations.

6. CARBON OFFSETTING & REDUCTION SCHEME FOR INTERNATIONAL AVIATION

• The Carbon Oesetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a carbon oeset
and carbon reduction scheme to lower CO2 emissions for international flights, to curb the aviation
impact on climate change.
• It was developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and adopted in October 2016.
• Its goal is to have a carbon neutral growth from 2020. CORSIA Scheme is envisaged in 3 phases: Pilot
(2021-2023) and first phases (2024-2026) are voluntary phases whereas second phase (2027-2035) is
mandatory for all the member States.
• India has decided not to participate in the voluntary phases of CORSIA. The Ministry of Civil
Aviation (MoCA) announced in May 2023 that India will start participating in Carbon ODsetting and
Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from 2027.

7. UNICEF AND CRYPTOFUND

• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works to reach the most disadvantaged Children and
adolescents and aims to protect the rights of every child, everywhere.
• In October 2019, UNICEF launched the CryptoFund.
• CryptoFund is a new financial vehicle allowing UNICEF to receive, hold, and disburse cryptocurrency.
This crypto-currency-denominated fund is a part of UNICEF’s Innovation Fund. Investments are made
in bitcoin and ether.
• UNICEF is the first UN organization to hold and make transactions in crypto currencies.

8. BLETCHLEY DECLARATION

• The Bletchley Declaration is the first global statement on AI safety. It acknowledges that AI can
“transform and enhance human wellbeing, peace and prosperity”, while also having the “potential for
serious, even catastrophic, harm”.
• To mitigate this risk, signatories have committed to international cooperation and information sharing
as technological advances are made.
• It was notable that the declaration was signed by both the US and China. In addition to China,
other BRICS countries, such as Brazil and India signed the agreement.

To fully address “frontier” risks the declaration sets out two main strands of action.

1. The first is “building a shared scientific and evidence-based understanding” of the risks and ensuring
this is maintained as AI capabilities develop and collaborating on policies to address those risks.
2. The second strand recognises that “our approaches may dieer based on national circumstances and
applicable legal frameworks”.

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 9. INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION (IORA)

• Founded in 1997, IORA is an international organisation consisting of 23 states bordering the Indian
Ocean.
• Six priority areas identified by the IORA are: Trade and Investment, Maritime Safety and Security,
Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management and Blue Economy and Strengthening Regional
Ties.
• It works on a consensus-based and non-intrusive approach.
• IORA has members from Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Oceania. Secretariat
is based in Cyber City, Ebene, Mauritius.

10. PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION

• The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) provides a platform for the peaceful settlement of
international disputes.
• It was established in 1899 during The Hague's first International Peace Conference.
• The Court is not ‘permanent’ in nature; rather it is a Court selected from among a permanent panel of
arbitrators.
• Rulings are binding in nature. But the PCA has no powers to enforce the rulings.
• In 2020, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in Enrica Lexie case, has unanimously held that India is
entitled to claim compensation from Italy. (A dispute about a shooting by two Italian marines oe the
western coast of India.)
• In 2023, the PCA recently ruled that it has the competence to hear Pakistan's objections to India's
Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

11. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

• The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges with a nine-year term.

• They are elected by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of people
nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
• The United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings. All 193 UN
members are automatically parties to the court's statute.
• The UN Charter grants the General Assembly or the Security Council the power to request the court to
issue an advisory opinion on any legal question. Organs of the UN other than the General Assembly or
the Security Council require the General Assembly's authorization to request an advisory opinion of
the ICJ.

12. UN MEMBERSHIP

The criteria for admission of new members to the UN is mentioned in UN CHARTER.

1. Membership in the United Nations is open to all peace-loving states which accept the obligations
contained in the present Charter and, in the judgement of the Organization, are able and willing to carry
out these obligations.
2. The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be aeected by a decision of
the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

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 13. ARTICLE 99 OF THE UN CHARTER

Article 99 of the UN Charter grants the Secretary-General the discretionary power to bring to the attention
of the Security Council any matter that may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.
• It states, “The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which
in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
• Article 99 has been rarely invoked in the past. Instances include the upheaval in the Republic of the
Congo in 1960 and a complaint by Tunisia in 1961 against France’s military actions.
• It is a discretionary power requiring the Secretary-General’s political judgment, tact, and integrity.

14. COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY (CTBT)

• CTBT is a global treaty that aims to ban all nuclear explosions across the world.
• Upon entering into force, it provides a legally binding norm against nuclear testing. The Treaty was
negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly.
• India, North Korea and Pakistan have not yet signed the Treaty.
• The CTBT is essentially a “zero-yield” treaty, which means that the agreement prohibits all nuclear
explosions that produce a self-sustaining, supercritical chain reaction of any kind whether for weapons
or peaceful purposes.
• 44 States are included in Annex 2, all these states are required to ratify CTBT for the Treaty to be brought
into force.
• In November 2023, Russian President Putin revokes Russia’s ratification of nuclear test ban treaty.

15. MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME

• Missile Technology Control Regime is a multilateral export control regime. The regime was formed in
1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries.
• The MTCR seeks to limit the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by controlling
exports of goods and technologies that could make a contribution to delivery systems (other than
manned aircraft) for such weapons.
• It is meant to prevent proliferation of limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.
• MTCR places particular focus on rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering a payload
of at least 500 kilograms to a range of at least 300 kilometres and on equipment, software, and
technology for such systems.
• THE MTCR IS NOT A TREATY AND DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY LEGALLY BINDING OBLIGATIONS ON
PARTNERS (MEMBERS).
• CHINA AND ISRAEL ARE NON-MEMBERS. India became a member in 2016.

16. ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)

• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional political and economic union of
fifteen countries located in West Africa.
• It has 15 members.
• In 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced their withdrawal from the bloc.
• The countries had been suspended from ECOWAS due to military takeovers of their respective
governments. Later, the army chiefs of military-ruled Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in March 2024

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 announced the creation of a joint force to battle long-running jihadist rebellion aeiliated with Al-Qaeda
and the Islamic State group raging in their countries.

17. INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT (IFDA)

• It aimed to create legally binding rules for facilitating investment inflows and was supported by more
than 120 nations, representing over 70 per cent of WTO membership.
• This was a plurilateral rather than multilateral agreement—meaning that it was between a select group
of WTO members, but not all of them.

Why does India have concerns over the adoption of the China-led Investment Facilitation for Development
Agreement at WTO level?
1. In response, India and South Africa submitted a paper at the conference about the inadmissibility of
this plurilateral agreement in WTO’s fold.
2. While all international agreements limit the scope for domestic regulations to some extent, it is more
so in the case of IFDA. It potentially compromises the sovereign rights of member countries in the name
of investment facilitation.
3. Post Doklam, India put certain restrictions on FDI from all border-sharing countries, mandating
government approval in place of the ‘automatic route’. This measure allowed India to restrict
investments from a country with which it was in conflict. If IFDA were implemented, countries party to
it might be deprived of their freedom to safeguard their respective interests.
4. It would not be a stretch to argue that China’s sole aim is to promote its own economic interests by
requiring member countries to streamline their procedures, introduce standard practices, and reduce
bureaucratic hurdles in order to facilitate foreign investments.
5. India argued that the proposed IFDA doesn’t qualify as a ‘trade agreement’ under the 1994 Marrakesh
Agreement (under which the WTO was established). This is because IFDA does not include any
substantive provisions related to trade, rendering it ineligible for inclusion as a “trade agreement.

18. WHO TRADITIONAL MEDICINE GLOBAL SUMMIT 2023

• The first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 was held at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• The declaration calls for evidence-based traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM)
interventions to support universal health coverage and sustainable development goals.
• The declaration highlights the importance of using digital health technologies, particularly AI, to
advance TCIM resources for people’s health and well-being, emphasizing their role in modernizing
traditional medicine practices.

19. DAKAR DECLARATION

• Ministers from the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDC) issued a joint Dakar Declaration on
Climate Change 2023.
• The Dakar Declaration called for urgent global emissions reductions, increased climate finance, a
strong outcome operationalising the new Loss and Damage Fund and an ambitious Global Stocktake
to close the gaps in global climate action.
• Developed countries must present a clear road map for at least doubling adaptation finance delivered
by 2025 through public, grant-based financing.

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• A New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance should provide new and additional resources
and should be many times greater than the current $100 billion per year floor.
• LDCs account for more than 14 per cent of the global population, they only account for about 1 per
cent of emissions from fossil fuels and industrial processes.

20. ESSEQUIBO

The bone of contention between Guyana and Venezuela lies in the densely forested Essequibo region of
Guyana, which Venezuela claims as its territory. The Essequibo region accounts for almost two-thirds of
Guyana's territory.

21. BERBERA PORT

• Somaliland declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991. Despite this, it has not gained widespread
international recognition.
• Somaliland signed an agreement with neighbouring Ethiopia allowing Ethiopia to use the Red Sea port
of Berbera.

22. KURIL ISLANDS

• Kuril Islands is an archipelago that extends from Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia) to Hokkaido Island
(Japan).
• Russia and Japan both assert sovereignty over four islands.
• Japan has been administering it since 1970s.

23. LACHIN CORRIDOR

• The Lachin corridor is a mountain road in Azerbaijan that links Armenia and Karabakh.
• Being the only road between these two territories, it was considered a humanitarian corridor or
"lifeline" to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

24. RAFAH CROSSING

• It is the southernmost exit point from Gaza Strip and shares a border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
• It is controlled by Egypt and is the only exit from Gaza that does not lead to Israeli territory.
• Currently, both Erez and Kerem Shalom border crossings, controlled by Israel, are closed, making
Rafah, primary entry and exit point for Gaza’s people and humanitarian aid.

25. ARGOLAND

• Geologists recently discovered Argoland, a landmass that detached from modern-day western
Australia 155 million years ago.
• But unlike India, which broke oe the ancient supercontinent Gondwana 120 million years ago and still
forms an intact landmass today, Argoland splintered into fragments.
• These fragments, reaching their destinations simultaneously, formed an archipelago rather than a
unified landmass.
• Argoland, now dispersed as an archipelago separated by ocean basins, contributed to the formation
of several Southeast Asian islands.
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