Daily Current Capsules - 25^th JUNE 2019

Economic Development
Saudi Arabia becomes 1^st Arab country to get FATF membership

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about FATF and its working ) + GS III - important international institutions
What's the NEWS

• Saudi Arabia has become the first Arab country to be granted full membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following the group's annual general meeting in the US.
• The kingdom's accession came as the global money laundering watchdog celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first meeting held in Paris in 1989
• Saudi Arabia which had received an invitation from the FATF at the beginning of 2015 to join as an "observer member", was admitted into the organization after the group's meeting in Orlando
• Since November 2004, Saudi Arabia has been a founding member of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) arm of FATF group and its full membership came after it was reported the kingdom had made "tangible progress" and for its efforts in implementing the FATF's guidelines.

Objective of FATF

• The group is responsible for issuing international standards, policies and best practices to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation.
• With the kingdom becoming a FATF member, the number of permanent members in the group is now 39.

Know! all about FATF

• FATF comprises of 37-member jurisdictions and 2 Regional Organisations namely Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and European Commission (EC). With kingdom becoming a FATF member, the number of permanent members in group is now 39.
• It was established in 1989, with headquarters in Paris, France. FATF Plenary is FATF's decision making body and it meets three times per year.
• The Financial Action Task Force is an international group responsible for issuing international standards, policies and best practices for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation and other related threats to integrity of international financial system.
• FATF has notified that Pakistan failed to complete its action plan on terror financing and has strongly urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan by October 2019 or else face consequences.

India and FATF

• India became Observer at FATF in the year 2006. Since then, India has been working towards full-fledged Membership of FATF.
• FATF membership is very important for India in its quest to become a major player in the International finance.
• It will help India to build the capacity to fight terrorism and trace terrorist money and to successfully investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing offences.
• India will benefit in securing a more transparent and stable financial system by ensuring that financial institutions are not vulnerable to infiltration or abuse by organized crime groups

Disaster Management
Odisha CM unveils Flood Hazard Atlas

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the flood hazard atlas) + Mains ( GS III disaster management)
What's the NEWS

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled a Flood Hazard Atlas for better preparedness.
• This atlas will help identify the disaster prone areas of the state so that necessary plans can be made to tackle the situation.

Know! more about the flood Hazard Atlas

• The atlas prepared by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), will help management of the flood in the state as "Odisha is a flood prone state.
• Atlas would serve as a useful resource of information for policy makers, planners and civil society groups.
• The flood hazard atlas has been made after ascertaining data on flood between 2000 and 2018. The atlas keeps the most flood hit areas in focus. Around 14 lakh hectare of agriculture land is being affected by floods every year in Odisha

Know! the working of it

• All satellite data sets were analysed and flood layers were extracted from it, then all flood layers corresponding to a particular year were combined into one inundation layer, so that this layer represents maximum flooded area in 1 year period.
• Then all such combined flood layers for a period of 18 years were integrated into flood hazard layer representing observed flood-inundated areas with different frequencies. This layer was integrated with digital database layers of Odisha.

International Conventions
The World Refugee Day

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the world refugee day and role of India)
What's the NEWS

• The World Refugee Day is observed across the world on 20 June every year.
• The theme for World Refugee Day 2019 was: Step with Refugees - Take a Step on World Refugee Day.
• As per United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention- A refugee is a person who ed his/her home and country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution either because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or due to political opinion

Know! about World Refugee Day

• The day is overserved annually to celebrate stories and contributions of refugees.
• On 4 December 2000, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in resolution 55/76 proclaimed to celebrate 20 June as World Refugee Day, starting from 2001.
• In this resolution, UNGA noted that 2001 marked 50^th anniversary of 1951 Convention relating to Status of Refugees.
• It is observed to commemorate the day to honor all refugees, raise awareness and solicit support.

UNHCR Study on Refugees

• As per the latest annual study released by United Nation's office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCS) nearly 70.8 million men, women and children were forcibly displaced at the end of 2018.
• The study cited that violence, wars and persecution is the reason behind driving record numbers of people from their homes worldwide.
• Almost 66% of those who are uprooted from their homes are internally displaced persons who have not left their homelands.
• Nearly 80% of these refugees live in countries neighbouring their country of origin.
• Study states that on an average, 1 person is forcibly displaced every 2 seconds as a result of conflict/persecution and refugees are among the world's most vulnerable people.

India and UN Refugee Convention

• India has signed neither the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol, which has 140 signatories, an overwhelming majority of the world's 190-odd nations. However, India continues to host a large population of refugees.
• Clearly, India has stood up and been counted when it comes to accepting refugees. It has one of the biggest refugee populations in South Asia. But it is precisely the large numbers that enjoin upon India the duty to enshrine in law how these refugees will be treated.
• In the absence of any domestic law or regional South Asian framework, India has desisted from taking its rightful regional leadership role in this increasingly critical matter.

Why won't India sign the Convention or the Protocol

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) won't officially say why, but the reasons are chiefly security-related.
• The line of argument is that borders in South Asia are extremely porous and any conflict can result in a mass movement of people.
• This can have two results: first, a strain on local infrastructure and resources in countries that are poorly equipped to deal with sudden spikes in population.

India and Refugees

• India is home to diverse groups of refugees, ranging from Buddhist Chakmas from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, to Bhutanese from Nepal, Muslim Rohinygas from Myanmar and small populations from Somalia, Sudan and other sub Saharan African countries.
• According to the UNHCR, there were 204,600 refugees, asylum seekers and "others of concern" in India in 2011.
• They were made up of 13,200 people from Afghanistan, 16,300 from Myanmar, 2,100 from various other countries and the two older populations of around 100,000 Tibetans and 73,000 Sri Lankan Tamils. The UNHCR financially assisted 31,600 of them.
  
  

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