Which one of the following is the correct definition of “Agenda 21”?

Correct answer: C. Agenda 21 was adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. It is a non-binding, comprehensive action plan for sustainable development, with the '21' referring to the 21st century. It has 40 chapters across four sections, covering social and economic dimensions, conservation and management of resources, major groups, and means of implementation.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Protection of human rights is governed by the UDHR (1948), the ICCPR and ICESCR (1966), and the UN Human Rights Council, not Agenda 21.
• B: There is no such book. Nuclear disarmament is dealt with through instruments like the NPT (1968) and the CTBT (1996).
• D: SAARC has no presidential election. Its chairmanship rotates among members in alphabetical order.

Core concept: sustainable development. Agenda 21 led to the Rio principles, the Convention on Biological Diversity and UNFCCC, and later the SDGs (2015) and Paris Agreement. For Mains, link it to the environment-development debate.

Trap: Aspirants read '21' as a count of chapters or confuse it with the 2030 Agenda (SDGs).