Daily Prelims Notes 11 May 2024
- May 11, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
11 May 2024
1. Polish farmers march in Warsaw against EU climate policies and the country’s pro-EU leader
Subject: IR
Section: Places in news
Context:
- In Warsaw, Poland, a significant protest by farmers took place against the European Union’s Green Deal and its impact on agriculture.
Farm protests across Europe:
- Farmers from at least nine European countries have united in protest, including Greece, Poland, Spain, Germany, France, Romania, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Lithuania.
- The roots of this discontent extend back to 2019 when Dutch farmers blocked roads in opposition to new nitrogen emission restrictions.
- Reasons include:
- Spiking energy, transport and fertiliser costs, import of cheap products like grains and meat.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- Climate change, Extreme weather events such as floods and droughts
- EU’s environmental regulations
Climate change and Europe’s agriculture sector:
- Global warming has led to more frequent and intense weather extremes across Europe, adversely affecting agriculture.
- Recent decades have seen increased occurrences of droughts, forest fires, heat waves, storms, and heavy rainfall in Europe.
- The agriculture sector has been significantly impacted:
- EU’s olive oil production hit a record low from July 2022 to June 2023 due to severe droughts affecting major producers.
- In Spain, the production of wheat, barley, and rice has substantially decreased over the past decade.
- Heavy rainfall in parts of France, Germany, and Poland last year delayed wheat harvests and caused crop damage.
- In Italy and Greece, wet conditions fostered fungal outbreaks that damaged apples and pears.
- Greece experienced devastating wildfires in 2023, destroying around 20% of its annual farm revenue.
- The UN’s IPCC warns that if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a third of Southern Europe could face water scarcity, indicating worsening conditions for agriculture.
Europe’s plan to deal with the problem:
- In 2020, the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal aiming for the EU to be climate-neutral by 2050, involving drastic reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and offsetting unavoidable emissions.
- The plan includes a target to cut GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
- The “From Farm to Fork” strategy was introduced to transform the EU’s agriculture sector, which is responsible for 11% of the EU’s total GHG emissions and is considered a significant contributor to climate issues.
- Agriculture emits nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, primarily from the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in farm soils. N2O is 298 times more potent than CO2.
- Key goals of the “From Farm to Fork” strategy include:
- Reducing fertilizer use by 20% by 2030.
- Cutting pesticide use by 50% by 2030.
- Increasing the share of agricultural land under organic farming to 25%.
- Allocating more land for non-agricultural purposes to reduce overall GHG emissions from agriculture.
Protests against ‘Green deal’ and roll back of policies:
- European farmers are protesting strict and economically challenging environmental regulations introduced as part of the EU’s green transition, arguing that these rules exacerbate already tight margins worsened by factors such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising energy costs.
- The financial burden of stringent climate regulations could lead to reduced production and increased farmer protests.
- In response to growing opposition, the EU has begun to roll back some environmental policies.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the withdrawal of a proposal to reduce pesticide use, citing its polarizing nature.
- Furthermore, the EU‘s newly recommended 2040 climate targets do not specify reductions for methane and NO2 emissions from agriculture, even as other environmental regulations are being relaxed in countries like Germany and France.
- Despite these rollbacks, the EU continues to face the challenge of reducing agricultural emissions to meet the objectives of the Green Deal without further alienating farmers and jeopardizing their livelihoods.
2. India backs Palestine’s bid for full UN membership
Subject: IR
Section: Int Org
Context:
- A resolution was passed in the United Nations with an overwhelming majority supporting full membership of Palestine and pressing the Security Council to give “favourable consideration” to the bid.
Details of the resolution:
- Resolution: ‘Admission of new Members to the United Nations’, in support of the State of Palestine’s full membership in the UN.
- Resolution introduced by: the UAE, current chair of Arab League.
- 143 votes in favour, including by India.
- 25 countries abstained,
- 9 nations, including Israel, the United States, Czechia, Hungary, Argentina, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Papua New Guinea, voted against the text.
- The resolution determined that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” in accordance with Article 4 of the Charter of the U.N. and “should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations”.
- It recommended that the Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably, in the light of this determination”.
India- Palestine relations:
- India was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole representative of the Palestinian people in 1974 and recognized the State of Palestine in 1988.
- India opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza in 1996, relocating it to Ramallah in 2003.
How does a country become a Member of the United Nations?
- Membership in the Organization, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, “is open to all peace-loving States that accept the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able to carry out these obligations”.
- States are admitted to membership in the United Nations by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
- The procedure is briefly as follows:
- The State submits an application to the Secretary-General and a letter formally stating that it accepts the obligations under the Charter.
- The Security Council considers the application. Any recommendation for admission must receive the affirmative votes of 9 of the 15 members of the Council, provided that none of its five permanent members — China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America — have voted against the application.
- If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the General Assembly for consideration. A two-thirds majority vote is necessary in the Assembly for admission of a new State.
- Membership becomes effective the date the resolution for admission is adopted.
Permanent Obsever status to the UN:
- Non-Member States of the United Nations, which are members of one or more specialized agencies, can apply for the status of Permanent Observer.
- The status of a Permanent Observer is based purely on practice, and there are no provisions for it in the United Nations Charter.
- The practice dates from 1946, when the Secretary-General accepted the designation of the Swiss Government as a Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
- Observers were subsequently put forward by certain States that later became United Nations Members, including Austria, Finland, Italy, and Japan. Switzerland became a UN Member on 10 September 2002.
- Permanent Observers have free access to most meetings and relevant documentation.
- Many regional and international organizations are also observers in the work and annual sessions of the General Assembly.
Additional Rights and Privileges of Palestine as an observer state:
- As of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, Palestine will receive additional rights and privileges, despite being an observer state.
- These rights include seating among member states in alphabetical order, making statements on behalf of groups, eligibility for election as officers in the General Assembly and its Main Committees, and full participation in UN conferences and international meetings under the General Assembly auspices.
- However, Palestine, as an observer state, does not have voting rights in the General Assembly or the ability to put forward its candidature for UN organs.
Arab League:
- A regional multi-national organization of Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
- Established in 1945, the League is headquartered in Cairo.
- Mission is to promote trade and economic growth as well as sovereignty and political stability in the region.
- Founding members: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and Iraq.
- 22 member states and four observer nations.
- Members: Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Tunisia (1958), Comoros, Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Mauritania, Somalia, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan.
- Members of the Arab League adhere to the charter, which is an agreement of 20 articles and three annexes.
3. Charges framed against Brij Bhushan: what does this mean in legal process?
Subject: Polity
Section: Judiciary
Context:
- A trial court judge in Delhi framed charges against BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Framing of charges:
- The framing of charges means the trial judge has found a prima facie case against the accused, based on the material in the chargesheet.
- This is not a determination of whether the accused has committed the alleged offenses as it is only an acknowledgment that sufficient grounds exist to proceed with the trial.
- After the trial judge frames the charges, the accused can plead innocent or guilty. If the accused pleads innocent, the next step is the summoning of witnesses for cross-examination by the defense lawyer(s).
Various sections of IPC in news:
- Sections of IPC Sections 354 and 354A, along with Sections 354 B-D are often classified as offenses against women.
Section 354:
- Section 354 states that whoever assaults or uses criminal force against a woman intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty shall be punished with a term of imprisonment between 1 and 5 years and/or a fine.
Phrase “outrage her modesty”:
- The phrase “outrage her modesty” is not defined in the IPC.
- It is a sense of shame or bashfulness that a woman feels when faced with any act that is intended to outrage her modesty.
Section 354A:
- Section 354A deals with sexual harassment, which is defined by any of four acts as follows:
- physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures;
- a demand or request for sexual favors;
- showing pornography against the will of a woman
- making sexually coloured remarks.
- The first, second, and third acts are treated more severely, and carry a punishment of up to 3 years in prison and a fine.
- The fourth act can be punished with a term of up to 1 year and a fine.
Section 506. Punishment for criminal intimidation:
- Whoever commits, the offense of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both; If threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc.
About Indian Penal Code (IPC):
- The draft of the Indian Penal Code was prepared by the First Law Commission, chaired by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1834 and was submitted to the Governor-General of India Council in 1835.
- It came into force on the subcontinent during British rule in 1862.
- On 11 August 2023, the Government introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code with a draft Code called the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).