UPSC Prelims 2011·GS1·polity-and-governance·social justice and international relations

Recently, the USA decided to support India's membership in multi-lateral export control regimes called the "Australia Group" and the "Wassenaar Arrangement". What is the difference between them? 1. The Australia Group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the Wassenaar Arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives. 2. The Australia Group comprises predominantly of Asian, African and North American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar Arrangement are predominantly from the European Union and American continents. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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  1. A1 only
  2. B2 only
  3. CBoth 1 and 2
  4. DNeither 1 nor 2Correct

Explanation

Both statements are incorrect. Statement 1 is incorrect: The first part, describing the Australia Group as an informal arrangement to minimize chemical and biological weapons proliferation, is correct. However, the second part is incorrect. The Wassenaar Arrangement is not a formal group under the OECD; it is an independent multilateral export control regime. Furthermore, its objectives are not identical to the Australia Group. The Wassenaar Arrangement aims to promote transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, not specifically chemical and biological weapons. Statement 2 is incorrect: The Australia Group's members are predominantly from Europe, North America, and Oceania, with some Asian countries. It does not predominantly comprise African countries. Similarly, while the Wassenaar Arrangement includes many European and American countries, stating its members are predominantly from the European Union and American continents and contrasting it in this manner is also an inaccurate generalization of the membership distribution for both groups. Both groups have significant European and North American representation. Since both statements are incorrect, the answer is D.
polity-and-governance: Recently, the USA decided to support India's membership in multi-lateral export control regimes called the "Australia Gr

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