QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 28 August 2020

Solution: a)

CPC: The US State Department had unveiled its list of countries designated as the worst offenders against religious liberty. These countries are labelled as CPC.

A country is labelled as a CPC, by USA, after it engages in “systemic, ongoing, [and] egregious” violations of religious liberty. This declaration is in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The governments that have been designated as CPCs are subject to ‘Presidential Actions’, such as sanctions, which may include economic or political measures directed against a government to encourage it to improve the state of religious freedom in its country.

Priority Watch List: The Special 301 Report is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)

The reports identify trade barriers to U.S. companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright, patents and trademarks, in other countries

These are some of the designations given to countries:

• PFC: Priority Foreign Country
• PWL: Priority Watch List (India was given this designation)
• WL: Watch list

Solution: b)

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.

In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. In response, the organisation awarded the status of “dialogue partner” to the UN.

The ‘ASEAN Way’ refers to a methodology or approach to solving issues that respects the cultural norms of Southeast Asia. It is described as a working process or style that is informal and personal.

Solution: c)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UNGA in 1948 itself, whereas the Amnesty International was found in 1961.

In the field of international human rights organisations, Amnesty has the second longest history, after the International Federation for Human Rights and broadest name recognition, and is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole.

Solution: d)

Key Highlights of the declaration:

• The Colombo Declaration has been developed with the technical support of the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS), a joint activity of the UNEP and the International Nitrogen Initiative supported by the Global Environmental Facility.
• The aim is to halve nitrogen waste by 2030.
• A campaign on sustainable nitrogen management called “Nitrogen for Life” is to be launched. It stems from the Sustainable Nitrogen Management Resolution (not binding at all for the recent declaration) which was adopted during the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly held from 11 – 15 March 2019 at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Solution: d)

Borneo Island is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. The island is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south.