Practice World organisations - general awareness mcq Online Quiz (set-1) For All Competitive Exams

As per the United Nations Charter, the organization and its members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with seven principles. The charter was signed in San Francisco, US, on 26 June 1945. It entered into force on 24 October 1945.

The United Nations’ system consists of the six principal organs established by the Charter of the United Nations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All these organs were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

The International Development Association (IDA) is known as the ‘soft loan’ window of the World Bank since it offers concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest developing countries. The IDA is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and its concessional lending arm, the International Development Association, are collectively known as the World Bank as they share the same leadership and staff. Established in 1944, it is an international financial institution that offers loans to middle-income developing countries.

The International Court of Justice is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The election process is set out in Articles 4–19 of the ICJ statute. Elections are staggered with five judges elected every three years, in order to ensure continuity within the court.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The organization has six principal organs:

1. the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly);
2. the Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security);
3. the Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development);
4. the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN);
5. the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and
6. the United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive).

Other prominent UN System agencies include,

1. the World Health Organization (WHO),
2. the World Food Programme (WFP) and
3. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

There are 10 non-permanent members in the United Nations Security Council, with five elected each year to serve two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter.

The first session was convened on 10 January, 1946 in the Westminster Central Hall in London and included representatives of 51 nations. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA/GA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation.

Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also established a wide number of subsidiary organs.

There are 15 members of the Security Council. This includes five veto-wielding permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—based on the great powers that were the victors of World War II.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries.

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. The term “World Bank” generally refers to just the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), whereas the term World Bank Group or WBG is used to refer to all five institutions collectively

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands. The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The election process is set out in Articles 4– 19 of the ICJ statute. Elections are staggered with five judges elected every three years, in order to ensure continuity within the court.

weden was admitted into the United Nations Organization in 1946; Switzerland in 2002; and both Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey in 1945.

The United States recognizes 195 countries, 193 of which are part of the United Nations. The two countries that are not UN members are Vatican City (Holy See) and Palestine. Both are considered non-member states of the United Nations, allow them to participate as permanent observers of the General Assembly, and are provided access to UN documents.

Permanent observers of the United Nations often join the United Nations eventually as full members. This happens when member states recognize their independence and their governments and economies are stable enough to support the initiatives set forth by the UN.

India was among the 17 founding fathers who took part in the 1944 Bretton Woods conference which conceived the idea of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – commonly known as the “World Bank”.

The Bank’s New Delhi office, established in 1957, is the oldest continuously functioning World Bank country office. India, together with 184 other countries, owns the World Bank which is a cooperative of member nations.

All member countries are represented on the Bank’s Board, which holds the ultimate decision making power at the Bank.

Applying in 1969 were Britain, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. Norway, however, declined to accept the invitation to become a member, and then later accepted with the electorate voting against it leaving just the UK, Ireland and Denmark to join.

But despite the setbacks and the withdrawal of Greenland from Denmark’s membership in 1985, three more countries joined the Communities before the end of the Cold War.

In 1987, the geographical extent of the project was tested when Morocco applied, and was rejected as it was not considered a European country.1990 saw the Cold War drawing to a close, and East Germany was welcomed into the community as part of a reunited Germany.

Shortly after, the previously neutral countries of Austria, Finland and Sweden acceded to the new European Union, though Switzerland, which applied in 2002, froze its application due to opposition from voters while Norway, which had applied once more, had its voters reject membership again.

Note: Brexit is a commonly used term for the United Kingdom’s planned withdrawal from the European Union. Following the 2016 referendum vote to leave, the UK government started the withdrawal process on 29 March 2017, putting the UK on course to leave by April 2019.

Jim Yong Kim took over as the President of World Bank on July 1,2012. He succeeded Robert Zoellick.

Amitabh Bachchan, one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema and a powerful advocate for children, was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in April 2005.

Mr Bachchan has made the eradication of polio a particular focus of his work with UNICEF. In his personal blog, he seeks to raise awareness about the importance of polio immunization to protect children against this debilitating disease and ensure that their rights to education, health care and protection are respected.

Note: In December 2016 Actress Priyanka Chopra, appointed as UNICEF’s newest global Goodwill Ambassador. My wish for children is freedom.

The freedom to think, the freedom to live,” Chopra said, addressing top UN diplomats, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and children at the event.

1. United Nations Industrial Development Organization: Vienna, Austria;

2. Food and Agricultural Organization: Rome, Italy;

3. World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland; and

4. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization: Paris, France.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995, under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.

The organization deals with the regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants’ adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.

Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round.

The IMF works to foster global growth and economic stability. It provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty.

Its two primary functions were: to oversee the fixed exchange rate arrangements between countries, thus helping national governments manage their exchange rates and allowing these governments to prioritize economic growth, and to provide short-term capital to aid balance-of-payments.

António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1st January 2017.

Having witnessed the suffering of the most vulnerable people on earth, in refugee camps and in war zones, the Secretary-General is determined to make human dignity the core of his work and to serve as a peace broker, a bridge-builder and a promoter of reform and innovation.

Note: António Guterres, is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations.

Previously, he was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015.