Class 12 Political science - INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS #eduvictors

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Class 12 POLITICAL SCIENCE

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTION (1 MARK)

Q1.Who is the present Secretary General of the United Nations?
Answer: Antonio Guterres from Portugal (Appointed in 2017)

Q2.Name any two member states of the European Union who are permanent members of the UN Security Council?
Answer: Britain and France

Q3.What is the main objective of the United Nations?
Answer: To prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states. It was found with the objective that it would stop the conflicts between states escalating into war and if war broke out, limit the extent of the hostilities.

Q4.Mention a few agencies of the United Nations?
Answer: IMF - International Monetary Fund
WHO - World Health Organization.
UNESCO - United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization.
ILO – International Labour Organisation
FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization

Q5.What is Amnesty International?
Answer: Amnesty International is an NGO, which was established to campaign for the protection of human rights all over the world. Its objective is to promote respect for all human beings and their rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Q6. How many member countries have veto power in the UN Security Council and Why?

OR

Which members of the UNSC have veto power? 
Answer: Five permanent member countries i.e. France, Russia, the UK, the US, and China got veto power because they have emerged as industrialized developed countries to stall any decision.

Q7.Mention any two advantages of having an international organization in the world?
Answer: To help countries in matters of conflicts and differences. To make the countries cooperate and create better living conditions for humanity.

Q8.State any two objectives of the UN?
Ans To maintain international peace and security. To facilitate cooperation among member countries by avoiding conflicts and war.

Q9.State any two objectives of Human Rights Watch.
Answer: To draw global media’s attention to human rights abuses.
To help in building international coalitions like the campaigns to ban land mines, to stop the use of child soldiers, and to establish an international criminal court.

Q10.What are the Millennium Development Goals?
Answer: Poverty, Shelter, Environment, Sustainable Development, Hunger, and Food supply are part of the Millennium Development Goals. They were given importance at the 60th anniversary of the UN in 2005.

Q11.How many permanent and how many non-permanent members does the UN Security Council have?
Answer: It has five permanent members (Britain, France, Russia, USA and China) and 10 non-permanent members who have a tenure of 2 years. The membership of UNSC was increased from 11-15 in 1965.

Q12.What is the full form of WTO? When was it set up and how does it function?
Answer: World Trade Organization. It was set up in 1995 as a successor to GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs). It sets the rules for global trade; all decisions are taken unanimously but the major economic powers such as the EU, the USA and Japan have managed to use WTO to frame rules of trade to advance their own interest.

Q13.Describe any four functions of the World Bank? 
Answer: It works for human development (especially education and health)

• It works for agriculture and rural development (irrigation, rural services)
• It works for environmental protection (pollution reduction, establishing and enforcing regulations).
• It works for good governance (anti-corruption, development, of legal institutions)
• It provides loans and grants to the member countries for development projects.

Q14.What does the IMF stand for? Write its main function? What is the role of the top ten member nations of the IMF?
Answer: IMF stands for International Monetary Fund. Its main functions are:

• It oversees those financial institutions and regulations that act at the international level.
• The IMF has 188 member countries (as on 1st September 2012) but they do not enjoy equal say, the top ten countries have more than 52 percent of votes.
• They are G-8 members US. Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy Canada Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.

Q15.Give any two reasons why the Veto Power of permanent members of the Security Council cannot be abolished?
Answer: It has been suggested that the veto power of five permanent members should be abolished. Many perceived veto to be in conflict with the concept of democracy but permanent members are unlikely to agree on such reforms. Without veto, there is the danger as in 1945 that the great powers would lose interest in the world body, that they would do what they pleased outside it and that without their support and involvement, the body would be ineffective.

Q16. “The UN is an indispensable organisation” Justify the statement with any two suitable arguments.
Answer: The UN can and has served to bring the US and the rest of the world into discussions over various issues.

• US leaders, in spite of their frequent criticism of the UN, do see the organization as serving a purpose in bringing together over 193 nations in dealing with conflict and social and economic development.
• As for the rest of the world, the UN provides an arena in which it is possible to modify US attitudes and policy.
• While the rest of the world is rarely united against Washington and while it is virtually impossible to balance US power, the UN does provide a space within which arguments against specific US attitude
• The UN is an imperfect body but without it world will be worse off.
• Given the growing connections and links between societies and issues – what we often call interdependence is hard to imagine how more than seven billion people will survive together.
• Technology interdependence has promised to increase planetary interdependence and therefore the importance of the UN will only increase.

Q17.Discuss the resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1992 over the reform of the UN Security Council?

OR

Describe the three main complaints related to the UN Security Council which were reflected in the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 1992

OR

Describe the three new criteria that have been proposed for new permanent members of the UNSC.

Answer: In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, which reflected three main complaints:

• The UN Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities. Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests and are dominated by a few powers.
• It lacks equitable representation.
• In view of growing demands for the restructuring of the UN, On 1 January 1997, the UN Secretary–General Kofi Annan initiated an enquiry into how the UN should be reformed. Reforms were proposed as criteria for new permanent and non-permanent members of UNSC as per given guidelines suggested after 1997, which should be:

a. A major economic power

b. A major military power.

c. A substantial contributor to the UN budget.

d. A big nation in terms of its populations.

e. A nation that respects democracy and human rights

f. A country that would make the Council more representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic system, and culture.

Q18.Critically evaluates the difficulties involved in implementing the suggested reforms to reconstruct the U.N.?

OR

It is believed that a strengthened and revitalized UN is desirable in the changing world. Highlight the necessary reforms for its strengthening?

OR

Describe the two basic kinds of reforms on which almost everyone agrees that they must be introduced in the UN after the Cold War.

Answer:

• On the reforms of structures and processes, the biggest discussion has been on the functioning of the Security Council. Related to this there has been a demand to increase the number of members of the Security Council so that the realities of Contemporary world politics are better reflected in the structure of organization.
• It is also believed that the UNSC lacks equitable representation and in view of this growing demand, on 1 st January 1997, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan initiated an inquiry into how the UN should be reformed. In the years since then, some criteria have been proposed for permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.
• A new member it has been suggested should be a major economic power, military power, substantial contributor to the UN budgetary process, a big nation in terms of population, a nation that respects democracy and human rights and lastly, a country that would make the council more representative of world’s diversity.
• Clearly, each of these criteria has some validity. The government saw advantages in some criteria and disadvantages in others depending on their interest and aspirations. Since there is no clarity as to how big an economic and military power has to be, what level of budget contribution would enable a state to buy its way to the security council, was a big population an asset or liability, if respect for democracy and human rights is the criteria then countries with excellent records would be in line to be member of security council but will all these parameters will provide an effective member and moreover how a single county suffices in all the parameters.
• Secondly, it has been suggested that the veto power of five permanent members should be abolished. Many perceived veto to be in conflict with the concept of democracy but permanent members are unlikely to agree on such reforms. Without the veto, there is the danger that the great powers would lose interest in the world body, that they would do what they pleased outside it and that without their support and involvement, the body would be ineffective.
• Thirdly as the UNSC lacks equitable representation, there is debate that equitable representation should be on geographical terms means that there should be one seat each from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Should the representation on the other hand be by regions or sub-regions?
• Lastly, there is a concern with reference to the area of work to be handled by the UN. Some countries and experts want the organization to play a greater and more effective role in peace and security missions, while others want its role to be confined to development and humanitarian work (health, education, environment, population control, human rights and gender, social justice).

Q19.State the main expectations on the basis of which the United Nations was formed in 1945. Mention any two organs and agencies in each of the UN.

Answer:

• The UN was founded as the successor to the League of Nations. It was established in 1945 immediately after the Second World War. It tried to achieve what the league could not do.UN’s objective is to prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states.
• It was founded with the hope that it would act to stop conflicts between states from escalating into war.
• Furthermore, since conflicts often arose from the lack of social and economic development, the UN was intended to bring countries together to improve the prospects of social and economic development.
• Two organs of UNO are-:
• General Assembly: All the UN member states are involved in the General Assembly.
• Usually, only one conference is held for the General Assembly. By 2006, the UN had almost 192 member states these included almost all independent states. In the UN General Assembly, all members have one vote each; the session for the General Assembly is conducted by the General Secretary who is considered the most important UN functionary. The main functions of the General Assembly are to propose effective solutions to the problems related to peace and safety, to pass the UN budget and to elect members of other organs of the UN.
• Security Council: The most important of them is the United Nations Security Council; it has five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members of the UNSC are the USA, Britain, France, Russia and China. These countries were selected as they were the most powerful immediately after the Second World War. The 10 non-permanent members are selected by the General Assembly for the duration of 2 years.
• Its main functions are to establish peace in the world, resolve conflicts, propose solutions, and use its power against any country. It elects judges of the International Court of Justice with the help of the general assembly.
• It holds a special privilege and power called “Veto Power”. All members have one veto. However, the permanent members can vote in a negative manner so that even if all other non-permanent members vote for a particular decision, any permanent members’ negative vote can stall the decision. This negative vote is called a veto.

Q20.Describe any six criteria for the new membership of the Security Council as suggested after 1997?

OR

Examine the six reforms proposed as criteria for new permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC 

Answer: A new member, as suggested after 1997, should be
a. A major economic power
b. A major military power.
c. A substantial contributor to the UN budget.
d. A big nation in terms of its population.
e. A nation that respects democracy and human rights
f. A country that would make the Council more representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic system, and culture.

Q21.What is the veto power? Should it be modified?
Answer: The veto power is a negative vote to stall any decision by five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Sometimes moves have been made to modify this but it is presumed to have a danger of losing interest in great powers, and without their support and involvement such organization would become ineffective.

Q22. What was the main challenge for the UN at the end of the Cold War?
Answer: The main challenge for the UN post-Cold War was to handle the US and other Western powers. Other countries and govt. felt that the US and Western countries are so powerful that it would be difficult to keep a check on their desires and decisions which may not be in favour of other countries.

Q23.List the problems associated with the suggestion or criteria kept to increase the number of members in the Security Council?

Ans Although certain criteria have been mentioned the criteria have been questioned:
a. A country should be major economic & military power but the question arises of how big the military and economic power a country should be,
b. What level of budget contribution would enable to state to buy its way into the council.
c. A large population has been kept as criterion but is a large population in asset or liability.
d. If respect for human rights was the criteria then many countries would stand in line to be members but will they make effective council members.
e. If India is included, some emerging powers (Brazil, Germany, Japan, and South Africa) will also be accommodated.
f. France and the US advocate that Africa and South America must be represented for they do not have any representation in the present structure to have equitable representation in the Security Council.

Q24.What steps should be taken to make the UN more relevant in the changing context?

OR

Suggest any six steps since 2005 to make the United Nations more relevant in the changing context?

OR

List any six steps which should be taken to make the United Nations more relevant in the changing context as decided by the heads of all member states in September 2005.

Answer: In September 2005, the UN celebrated its 60th anniversary and leaders decided to make it more relevant in the changing context by following steps:
a. Creation of Peace Building Commission.
b. Acceptance of responsibility of the international community in case of failures of national governments to protect their own citizens from atrocities.
c. Establishment of Human Rights Council ( Operational since 19th June 2006)
d. Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
e. An agreement to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
f. Creation of Democracy Fund
g. An agreement to wind up the trusteeship council.

What are the changes that have been taken since the founding of the UN which have made it necessary to introduce reforms?

OR

Q25.State the changes which took place in the world post the end of the Cold War?

Ans
• The disintegration of the Soviet Union.
• The establishment of a unipolar world. The US became the strongest power.
• The relationship between Russia successor of the USSR and the US is much more cooperative.
• China emerged as a great economic power and India too is rapidly growing.
• The economies of Asia are growing at an unprecedented rate.
• Many new countries joined the UN as they became independent from the Soviet Union or former communist states in Eastern Europe.
• A whole new set of challenges confronts the world (Genocide, civil war, ethnic conflict, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, environmental degradation, epidemics).

Q26.What makes India’s claim stronger to become the sixth permanent member of the Security Council?

OR

Highlight any four factors which justify India’s claim to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

OR

Examine the role played by India in the implementation of UN policies and programmes.

Answer: Since India is a rapidly growing economy, India stands a good chance to hold the sixth permanent seat in the Security Council. Given arguments below can justify India’s claim
a. India is the second most populous country in the world comprising almost one–fifth of the world population.
b. India is also the world’s largest democracy.
c. India has participated in virtually all of the initiatives of the UN.
d. India’s efforts in US peacekeeping operations are substantial and important.
e. India’s economic emergence on the world stage is a major factor which makes India's claim in UNSC much stronger.
f. India has made regular contributions in UN peacekeeping operations and initiatives

Q27.List the obstacles or concerns which stand in India’s path to seeking permanent membership in the UNSC?

Answer:

• Neighbouring Pakistan, with which India has troubled relations, is not the only country that is reluctant to see India become a permanent veto member of the Security Council.
• Some countries for instance are concerned about India’s nuclear weapon capabilities; they feel being nuclear power India might not misuse its nuclear energy in the wrong manner.
• Some feel that India having a troublesome relationship with Pakistan will not let it become an effective member.
• Yet others feel that if India is included then other emerging powers will have to be accommodated like Brazil, Germany, Japan, S. Africa.
• Some feel that Africa and S. America should be given importance since the UNSC does not have any permanent members from these continents.

Q28.What reforms are required in the UN?

Answer:

• The following reforms are required in the UN:
• Reform of the organization's structures and processes.
• A review of the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organization.
• Reforms with regard to structure are the reform with regard to permanent and non–permanent members in the Security Council, it is demanded that members in UNSC should be increased to reflect realities of contemporary world politics in the organization.
• There is a proposal to increase the membership from Asia, Africa, South America
• Apart from this US and other Western countries want improvement in the UN's budgetary procedures and administration.
• On the issues to be given priority or to be brought within the jurisdiction of the UN, some countries and experts want the organisation to play a greater role in peace and security missions while others want its work to be confined to humanitarian grounds like health, education and environment etc.
• Reforms are required due to certain limitations to the UN i.e. only five members on a permanent basis in the UN Security Council and their veto power, dominance of few powerful countries etc.

Q29.Examine the role played by India in the implementation of UN policies and programs?

Answer:

• India believes that a strengthened and revitalized UN is desirable in the changing world.
• India also supports an enhanced role for the UN in promoting development and cooperation among states.
• India believes that the development should be central to the UN’s agenda as it is a vital precondition for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• India debates more representation in the Security Council may enjoy greater support in the world community.
• India has major concerns about the restructuring of the UN Security Council.
• India supports the increase in permanent and non-permanent members in the Security Council.

Q30. How far did the UN perform its role successfully in maintaining peace in the world? Explain.

Answer:

• Interdependence and globalization is not possible without the international organizations such as the UN.
• To enhance cooperation on the issues of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, crime rate etc.
• To provide financial assistance to developing countries to stabilize the economy all over the world, the UN and its specialized agencies are always required.
• The UN works as a forum to solve any international dispute among nations and sort out the best possible.
• Hence, though the UN has failed in preventing any related wars and miseries, the nations require its continuation due to the above-mentioned reasons to promote international peace and understanding.

👉See Also:

The End of Bipolarity - Part 1 - Important Keywords
Pol Science Term 1 - MCQs
Chapter: The End of Bipolarity (Q & A) - Part 2
Chapter 1: Building A Nation (Very Short Answer Based Question)
Building A Nation (Questions & Answers) - Part 2
Contemporary South Asia - Questions and Answers

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