International Relations Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 12)

The correct answer is 2 and 4 only. Statement 1 is false, because the migrant-smuggling protocol supplements UNTOC, not UNCAC. Statement 2 is true, because UNODC calls UNCAC the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument, and a 2023 UN release calls it the first and only. Statement 3 is false, because the asset-recovery chapter, chapter V, belongs to UNCAC. Statement 4 is true, because UNODC describes itself as the guardian of the crime and corruption conventions and says it supports States in carrying out both. The official Series A answer key gives the same answer.

The correct answer is 31 October 2003. UNODC says the General Assembly adopted UNCAC on that date, after drafting in Vienna in 2002 and 2003. The date 15 November 2000 is when the Assembly adopted UNTOC. The date 14 December 2005 is when UNCAC entered into force. The date 29 September 2003 is when UNTOC entered into force.

The correct answer is three. UNODC lists protocols on trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, and firearms. They entered into force on 25 December 2003, 28 January 2004 and 3 July 2005. None of them supplements UNCAC.

The correct answer is Chapter V. Article 51 calls the return of assets a fundamental principle of the Convention. Chapter II covers preventive measures. Chapter III covers criminalization and law enforcement. Chapter IV covers international cooperation. Chapter VI covers technical assistance and information exchange.

The correct answer is Vienna. UNODC started in 1997 and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Palermo is where UNTOC was opened for signature in December 2000. Merida, Mexico is where UNCAC was opened for signature in December 2003. Both conventions were also open for signature at UN Headquarters in New York later.

The correct answer is May 2011. India ratified UNCAC on 9 May 2011, and ratified UNTOC on 5 May 2011. India signed UNCAC on 9 December 2005 and signed UNTOC on 12 December 2002. UNTOC entered into force on 29 September 2003.

The correct answer is The UNFCCC Secretariat. It announced Momentum for Change on 22 November 2011. The launch event was held at COP17 in Durban on 6 December 2011. It launched Climate Neutral Now in September 2015. On 17 November 2016 it announced the two as Momentum for Change: Climate Neutral Now. UNEP is one of the five PAGE agencies. That is why it can look like the parent, but the UNFCCC secretariat made the announcements. The official UPSC key for CSP 2018, Series A, gives (c). The paper lists the options in a different order. The answer is the same.

The correct answer is COP22, Marrakech, 2016. The UNFCCC secretariat announced Momentum for Change: Climate Neutral Now on 17 November 2016. It did so at a special event at COP22. COP17 in Durban, in 2011, hosted the launch of Momentum for Change. COP20 in Lima, in 2014, saw the launch of the NAZCA portal. The 2016 announcement planned to celebrate the Lighthouse Activities at COP23, in 2017.

The correct answer is measure, reduce and offset. The 2016 announcement says climate neutrality is a three-step process. Individuals, companies and governments measure their climate footprint. They reduce their emissions as much as possible. They then offset what they cannot reduce with UN-certified emission reductions. An archived Climate Neutral Now page from January 2018 also says to compensate for unavoidable emissions with UN-certified reductions.

1 and 3 only is correct. Catalonia is in Spain, and Mindanao is in the Philippines.

Pair 2 incorrectly places Crimea in Hungary. Crimea is part of Ukraine under the UN territorial framework.

Pair 4 incorrectly places Oromia in Nigeria. Oromia is an Ethiopian regional state.

“1, 2 and 3” retains the incorrect Crimea pair. “2 and 4 only” contains both incorrect pairs.

“3 and 4 only” combines the correct Mindanao pair with the incorrect Oromia pair. Every pair in an answer combination must be correct.

Review the four matches and elimination steps.

Sources: Spain: Catalonia’s autonomy · FAO: Mindanao · UN: Ukraine’s territorial integrity · Ethiopia: Oromia and Oromo

Crimea remains part of Ukraine under the UN territorial framework. Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014.

The UN General Assembly affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. The 2014 referendum was not accepted as a basis for changing Crimea’s status.

The other options incorrectly treat the referendum or annexation as UN recognition. The resolution did not endorse a territorial transfer.

Review Crimea’s status and historical annexation.

Sources: UN: Ukraine’s territorial integrity · OHCHR: Crimea’s 2014 annexation

Mindanao is the Philippines’ second-largest island. This geographic fact supports the Mindanao–Philippines country match.

Catalonia is an autonomous community in Spain. Crimea is a peninsula in Ukraine under the UN framework. Oromia is a regional state in Ethiopia.

Review the four regions and their countries.

Sources: FAO: Mindanao · Spain: Catalonia’s autonomy · UN: Ukraine’s territorial integrity · Ethiopia: Oromia and Oromo

Catalonia–Spain remains correct. Autonomy concerns a region’s self-government within a state.

Catalonia lies in northeast Spain. Its independence dispute does not support any of the other three country matches.

Review autonomy, country and control.

Sources: Spain: Catalonia’s autonomy · Spain: Catalonia’s location

Oromia–Ethiopia–Oromo is the correct combination. Oromia is an Ethiopian regional state associated with the Oromo people.

Protests in 2015–16 involved land concerns and broader political grievances. Those disputes occurred within Ethiopia and did not make Oromia part of Nigeria.

Spain fits Catalonia, and Ukraine fits Crimea. Match a region to its country before adding the people or historical event.

Review Oromia’s political context.

Sources: Ethiopia: Oromia and Oromo · Oromia: 2016 protest research

The correct answer is The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, Rio de Janeiro. That conference is known as Rio+20. PAGE says it began as a response to the call at Rio+20. Paris 2015 can look tempting, because PAGE says it supports the Paris Agreement targets. But PAGE ties its start to the Rio+20 call. The official UPSC key for CSP 2018, Series A, gives (b). The paper lists the options in a different order. The answer is the same.

The correct answer is UNEP, UNDP, ILO, UNIDO and UNITAR. PAGE’s own page names these five UN agencies. UNEP hosts the PAGE Secretariat. ILO works on green jobs, UNDP on poverty and governance, UNIDO on green industry and UNITAR on training.

The correct answer is 2013. PAGE’s “in brief” page says it was launched in 2013 as a response to the call at Rio+20. Rio+20 itself met from 20 to 22 June 2012. The UNFCCC launch event of Momentum for Change was in 2011. Climate Neutral Now was launched in 2015.

The correct answer is a rigid set of rules. Paragraph 56 calls green economy one of the important tools for sustainable development. It says green economy could provide options for policymaking but should not be a rigid set of rules. The same paragraph says it should contribute to eradicating poverty. UNEP’s Green Economy Report also links green economy to poverty eradication. Paragraph 57 asks for policies guided by the Rio Principles. Paragraph 58 asks for policies consistent with international law.

The correct answer is An American anti-missile system. THAAD is a land-based element of the US Missile Defense System, developed by Lockheed Martin. It destroys ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight by hitting them. It is not Israeli: Israel’s own system is Arrow. It is not Indian: India’s own interceptor is AD-1. The South Korea deployment was a decision of the US and South Korean governments. The official Series A answer key gives the same answer.

The correct answer is Lockheed Martin. The Congressional Research Service says it developed THAAD, and that THAAD is manufactured in Troy, Alabama. The Missile Defense Agency is the US government body responsible for its development. The other companies are not named as THAAD’s developer in the sources.

The correct answer is that it destroys the warhead by direct impact. The Missile Defense Agency says THAAD uses hit-to-kill technology, whereby kinetic energy destroys the incoming warhead. The sources describe no blast near the target.

The correct answer is Seongju. On 7 July 2016 the US and South Korean governments decided to deploy a THAAD battery. The Congressional Research Service says it is stationed at Seongju, about 130 miles south of Seoul.

The correct answer is the United Arab Emirates. It bought two THAAD batteries. The Missile Defense Agency says its system intercepted ballistic missiles in January 2022, the first operational combat intercept by any nation. Saudi Arabia has signed foreign military sales cases for seven batteries.

The correct answer is AD-1. The Ministry of Defence release calls it a Phase-II ballistic missile defence interceptor with a large kill altitude bracket. It is India’s own DRDO interceptor. THAAD is an American system developed by Lockheed Martin.

1 and 4 is the correct combination. Aleppo is in Syria, while Mazar-i-Sharif is in Afghanistan.

Pair 2 incorrectly places Kirkuk in Yemen. Kirkuk is in Iraq, despite its disputed federal–regional status.

Pair 3 incorrectly places Mosul in Palestine. Mosul is also in Iraq.

“2 and 3” includes both incorrect pairs. “3 and 4” retains the incorrect Mosul pair, while “1 and 2” retains the incorrect Kirkuk pair.

Every pair in a combined option must fit its stated country. Work through the four matches and elimination steps.

Sources: UNESCO: Aleppo in Syria · UN: Iraq and Kirkuk · UNAMA: Mazar-i-Sharif