UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Pakistan calls for end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia at UN

Q1. With reference to the machinery through which the UN Security Council runs its sanctions regimes, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Panel of Experts assisting a sanctions committee can itself designate individuals and entities for sanctions.
  2. Each sanctions regime is administered by a sanctions committee of the Council, which may be assisted in its work by a monitoring group or panel.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q2. A draft resolution renewing a UN sanctions regime, a substantive matter, is put to the vote in the 15-member Security Council. Consider the following outcomes: Which of the outcomes described above is/are correct?

  1. 13 in favour, none against and two permanent members abstaining: the draft is adopted.
  2. 14 in favour and one permanent member voting against: the draft is not adopted.
  3. 8 in favour, none against and 7 abstaining: the draft is adopted because no permanent member has voted against it.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Pakistan, whose elected term on the Security Council covers 2025–26, could not be elected in June 2026 to a Council term beginning in January 2027.
  2. The UN Charter provides that a retiring non-permanent member of the Security Council is not eligible for immediate re-election.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Pakistan voted on the November 2026 renewal of the Yemen sanctions regime and delivered an explanation of its vote.
  2. Under Article 31 of the UN Charter, a UN Member that is not a member of the Security Council may participate, without vote, in the discussion of a question when the Council considers that Member's interests to be specially affected.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It is the chokepoint through which oil tankers leave the Persian Gulf for the Arabian Sea.
  2. It separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa.
  3. It lies at the end of the Red Sea opposite to Suez.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q6. Consider the following facts: I. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. II. At its northern end, the Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal. III. Yemen lies on the Arabian side of the Bab-el-Mandeb. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above facts?

  1. Instability in Yemen can affect sea traffic moving between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
  2. Instability in Yemen would affect shipping between India and Europe only if armed groups controlled both shores of the strait.
  3. A ship sailing from India to north-western Europe that avoids the Bab-el-Mandeb would still have to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.
  4. A ship sailing from India to Europe that avoids the Bab-el-Mandeb cannot use the Suez Canal on that voyage.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only