UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — UN panel flags violations against SC, ST, Rohingya
Q1. Consider the following procedures and functions in relation to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD):
1. Examining periodic reports of States parties and addressing its concerns to them as concluding observations.
2. Considering communications brought by one State party against another, a procedure that requires no separate acceptance by the respondent State party.
3. Delivering binding judgments that award compensation to individual victims of racial discrimination.
4. Adopting general recommendations that set out its interpretation of the Convention's provisions.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as functions of CERD?
- Examining periodic reports of States parties and addressing its concerns to them as concluding observations.
- Considering communications brought by one State party against another, a procedure that requires no separate acceptance by the respondent State party.
- Delivering binding judgments that award compensation to individual victims of racial discrimination.
- Adopting general recommendations that set out its interpretation of the Convention's provisions.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1 and 4 only
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and its monitoring body:
1. The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1965 and was the first of the UN's core international human rights treaties.
2. The monitoring Committee is composed of 18 independent experts.
3. Under the Convention, 'racial discrimination' covers distinctions based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.
4. The Committee's competence to receive complaints from individuals arises automatically for every State party on ratification of the Convention.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1965 and was the first of the UN's core international human rights treaties.
- The monitoring Committee is composed of 18 independent experts.
- Under the Convention, 'racial discrimination' covers distinctions based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.
- The Committee's competence to receive complaints from individuals arises automatically for every State party on ratification of the Convention.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q3. At the session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination held from 10 to 25 August 2026, at which India's periodic report was taken up, how many States parties in all had their reports considered?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Six
Q4. Consider the following statements about India's 2026 appearance before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:
1. The review was taken up at the Committee's 119th session.
2. The constructive dialogue with India's delegation was spread over two days, 11 and 12 August 2026.
3. Kuwait, Honduras and Finland were also reviewed by the Committee at the same session.
4. It was India's very first appearance before the Committee since the Committee was established.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The review was taken up at the Committee's 119th session.
- The constructive dialogue with India's delegation was spread over two days, 11 and 12 August 2026.
- Kuwait, Honduras and Finland were also reviewed by the Committee at the same session.
- It was India's very first appearance before the Committee since the Committee was established.
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q5. The principal domestic statute invoked in India's answer to concerns about atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. Which one of the following is the nodal ministry for this Act at the Union level?
- A. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which also handles police and public order
- B. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which administers the Forest Rights Act
- C. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- D. The Ministry of Law and Justice, through its Department of Justice
Q6. In flagging 'grave concern' over large-scale violations against Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and non-citizens in its 2026 review of India, the Committee identified which one of the following as the principal perpetrator of those violations?
- A. Private caste militias operating in rural districts
- B. Employers in the unorganised and informal sectors
- C. Local self-government bodies at the village and district level
- D. Law enforcement officials
Q7. Consider the following pairs of constitutional provision and its content:
1. Article 15 — Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
2. Article 46 — Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People
3. Article 17 — Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its practice in any form
4. Fifth Schedule — Administration of the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram
Which of the above pairs is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Article 15 — Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
- Article 46 — Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People
- Article 17 — Abolition of untouchability and prohibition of its practice in any form
- Fifth Schedule — Administration of the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. Under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, primary responsibility for taking the measures necessary for the effective implementation of the Act lies with which one of the following?
- A. The State Government, subject to such rules as the Central Government may make
- B. The Central Government exclusively, since the subject is entirely a Union responsibility
- C. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which alone supervises all prosecutions under the Act
- D. The district judiciary, which is wholly responsible for enforcement in every Special Court
Q9. In international human rights law, as invoked in the debate over the removal of Rohingya from India, the principle of non-refoulement means which one of the following?
- A. That a State may not expel a lawfully present refugee except on grounds of national security, and only after a hearing before a competent authority
- B. That no one may be returned to a country where they face a real risk of torture or other irreparable harm, including by deportation, extradition or rejection at the frontier
- C. That a State must issue temporary residence permits to all asylum seekers while their claims are pending determination by the competent authority
- D. That a State may not remove a recognised refugee until another country has formally agreed to receive that person for resettlement
Q10. Consider the following statements about India's legal framework governing refugees and asylum seekers:
1. India is not a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.
2. In the absence of a dedicated refugee statute, foreign nationals including asylum seekers are dealt with under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939.
3. India's ratification of the ICERD by itself obliges it to grant refugee status to all persons fleeing ethnic persecution.
4. Since India is not a party to the 1951 Convention, the Government's stated position is that it has never observed the principle of non-refoulement in any case.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- India is not a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.
- In the absence of a dedicated refugee statute, foreign nationals including asylum seekers are dealt with under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939.
- India's ratification of the ICERD by itself obliges it to grant refugee status to all persons fleeing ethnic persecution.
- Since India is not a party to the 1951 Convention, the Government's stated position is that it has never observed the principle of non-refoulement in any case.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 2 and 3
- D. 3 and 4
Q11. The Universal Periodic Review, often contrasted with a process such as India's examination by CERD, is best described as which one of the following?
- A. An inquiry procedure under which independent experts visit a country following credible allegations of grave and systematic violations
- B. A standing complaints mechanism through which individuals may petition the Human Rights Council against their own State
- C. A peer review of the human rights record of every UN Member State, conducted under the Human Rights Council roughly every four and a half years
- D. A joint examination by the ten core treaty bodies of every State party to the human rights conventions, carried out once each decade
Q12. Consider the following pairs relating to the outputs and procedures of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:
1. Concluding observations — recommendations addressed to the State party reviewed, not judicially enforceable orders
2. General recommendations — country-specific findings issued at the end of each State party's review
3. Inter-State communications — may be initiated only with the prior authorisation of the UN Security Council
4. Periodic reporting — an obligation assumed by every State party on becoming party to the Convention
Which of the above pairs is/are NOT correctly matched?
- Concluding observations — recommendations addressed to the State party reviewed, not judicially enforceable orders
- General recommendations — country-specific findings issued at the end of each State party's review
- Inter-State communications — may be initiated only with the prior authorisation of the UN Security Council
- Periodic reporting — an obligation assumed by every State party on becoming party to the Convention
- A. 1 and 4
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4