Human Rights Day, observed on 10 December, marks the adoption of which document?

The correct answer is A, Yoga for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The second International Day of Yoga fell in 2016, the year after the first observance of 2015, and the theme tied yoga to the Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations had adopted in 2015, with the main event held at Chandigarh. Options B, C and D are themes of the kind announced in other years or simply invented for the question, and they are meant to attract a candidate who remembers only that the themes speak of peace, wellness or health. The lesson for the examination hall is to count the editions: the first day was in 2015, so the second was in 2016, and the theme must belong to that year. The day itself is observed on 21 June, following the General Assembly resolution of 2014 on India’s proposal.

The correct answer is B, 24 October. On this date in 1945 the Charter of the United Nations came into force, after the required majority of signatory states had ratified it, and the General Assembly called upon members to observe the anniversary from 1948. The week beginning 24 October is marked as Disarmament Week. Option A, 10 December, is Human Rights Day, which commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Option C, 21 September, is the International Day of Peace, fixed to that date from 2002. Option D, 16 October, is World Food Day, which marks the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. All four are genuine United Nations days, so the question is answered by the event each date commemorates rather than by the date alone.

The correct answer is D, 5 June. The General Assembly established the day after the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment of 1972, and it has been observed since 1974 under the lead of the UN Environment Programme, with a different country hosting the main event each year. Option A, 22 April, is International Mother Earth Day, declared in 2009. Option B, 22 March, is World Water Day, which grew out of the Rio Conference of 1992 and has been observed since 1993. Option C, 5 December, is World Soil Day, which the Assembly declared in 2013. The two June dates worth holding together are 5 June for the environment and 21 June for yoga, and the Stockholm Conference of 1972 is the event behind the first of them.

The correct answer is A, the constitution of the World Health Organization came into force. WHO became a specialised agency of the United Nations on 7 April 1948, and the first World Health Day was observed in 1950; the organisation announces a theme for the day each year and its headquarters are at Geneva. Option B is wrong because the United Nations came into being on 24 October 1945, when its Charter took effect. Option C is wrong because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948, an event marked by Human Rights Day. Option D is wrong on the year as well: the Stockholm Conference met in June 1972 and led to World Environment Day on 5 June. WHO also leads World No Tobacco Day on 31 May and World AIDS Day on 1 December.

The correct answer is D, 2 October. The General Assembly declared the day in 2007 and set it on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, so that the date honours the leader whose method of non-violent resistance the resolution names. Option A, 30 January, is the day Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 and is observed in India as Martyrs’ Day, or Shaheed Diwas, but it is not the United Nations observance. Option B, 2 April, is World Autism Awareness Day, declared in 2007 as well, and it is placed here to catch a candidate who remembers only the year. Option C, 15 August, is India’s Independence Day and no United Nations day falls on it. Along with the yoga day of 21 June, this is the second observance in the UN calendar that comes directly from India.