Statement by Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers OIC
Date: 23/05/2009 -
DAMASCUS – SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 28 JUMADA I 1430 H
(23 MAY 2009)
Your Excellency President Bashar Al Assad,
President of the Syrian Arab Republic
Your Excellencies,
Honorable Heads of Delegation,
It is an honor for me to welcome you all as we embark – with the help of Allah – on the Thirty-sixth Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It is also a distinct honor and privilege for me to address your august council in this centuries-old Arab Islamic city where Islam flowered in its early days, a city which has witnessed the great historical glories of Islam and has always been a hospitable host for its eternal heritage.
I have the pleasure to start with paying tribute to the great Syrian people and to their leader, His Excellency President Bashar Al Assad, and to extend my thanks and appreciation to him for his kind patronage of this important meeting. We look forward with great interest to his opening statement which will contain his invaluable directives that will guide our proceedings. I feel duty bound to extend to His Excellency and to his Government my sincere gratitude and appreciation for all the efforts and arrangements that have been made to ensure that this session is held in optimal conditions. I am equally thankful for the warm welcome and generous hospitality offered to all participants in this blessed meeting.
I should not forget to extend my thanks and appreciation to the Republic of Uganda, Chair of the previous session of the CFM, for the sincere efforts they have made to assume the chairmanship of the Council for one full year and for their initiatives to consolidate joint Islamic action.
Your Excellency the President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is the first time we get together officially since I assumed my second term in office as OIC Secretary General, after my unanimous election at the Dakar Summit in 2008. I wish to take this opportunity to say how greatly honored I am to be offered this opportunity to continue to work in this important post in order to make every effort to serve the Member States and the Islamic Ummah and to advance its glory and progress, being fully aware of the tremendous responsibility placed upon our shoulders.
It is reassuring and comforting that the past four years have been an opportunity for us to test our capacity to achieve, to progress, and to get the world to listen to our views. Over this period, we have managed, with the grace of Allah, and thanks to your sincere support, cooperation and solidarity and with our unflinching perseverance, to reform this Organization in a practical and effective way. Thus, our actions have spoken louder than our words, and our efforts have been acknowledged internally and our voice heard and respected externally. We have thus made a quantum leap that has lifted the Organization from an organization whose sole exercise was to stage conferences and issue recommendations, to one with high interactive and ramified links and contacts with impactful regional and international organizations and governments and with civil society institutions.
As I look forward, I see that we still have a long way to go which must be kept vibrant with useful actions and real achievements. And this is indeed what I am fully determined to do.
Your Excellency the President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If we review today the reality in the Islamic world amid the current global upheaval, the developments of international politics and the shift which took place in the balance of power among influential States in the past decade, we will find that the role of the Islamic world remains marginal and is not what it should be, taking into account its huge demographic weight, wide surface, strategic location, tremendous capacities, potentials and natural resources.
This age, as we see, is one of major groupings and unprecedented changes where powers move to the front that in the past were insignificant. At the same time, the very foundations of other international powers are shattered and they start to face crises and problems.
In the past two decades, on the other hand, some poor States have known how to take advantage of their poverty and scarce resources to turn their weakness into a drivng force to redress their economies and find their way toward progress, benefiting from their unity and using new economic methods such as focusing on leading sectors of modern technology as is the case today in India and previously in China.
The emergence of the role of these two great States has destabilized the global economic pattern, which has weakened the West’s economic domination. On the other hand, it has qualified China and India to become in the near future two of the strongest economic powers heading towards sustainable growth.
This major development raises some legitimate questions relative to the standing of the Islamic world and its positions in the coming developments, and whether that would make us search for optimal policies that we should pursue in order to safeguard our interests. Reference should be made here to the G20 and the fact that three of its members are OIC Member States, namely Indonesia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. We hope that more OIC Member States will become members of the G20 and that these States’ economies will make progress and become part of the top ten world economies.
Your Excellency the President,
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the midst of these developments, we may say that the Ten-Year Programme of Action has managed to set up a conception of a unified and mutually supportive Islamic World that is capable of facing up to the said challenges. We have indeed started implementing the provisions of this program, with the General Secretariat having on its part carried through most of what was requested of it in terms of institutional action, such as amending the charter, introducing substantive reforms on a number of OIC institutions, foremost of which the International Islamic Fiqh Academy and the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), and evolving a proposal for establishing an independent permanent human rights commission for the Islamic world in order to promote good governance. We have likewise strengthened and supported the economic institutions active in the field of joint Islamic action, just as we have stimulated quality education and seen to the evolvement of joint initiatives in the field of science and technology. I have already submitted annual reports on the progress made in these issues.
What is regrettable, however, is that the pace of progress in the implementation of the provisions of the TYPOA, although it is the best tool for making a substantive change in the life of the Muslim Ummah, has remained rather sluggish with some States not according the program the interest it deserves. But it is encouraging to see some committed States support its programmes by providing the financing, establishing national committees, preparing plans and organizing meetings. I would like therefore to seize this opportunity to appeal to the Member States to demonstrate greater interest and firmer resolve in implementing the decisions of our Heads of State at the Makkah Summit, as this program is the track we need to follow if we are to achieve unity, progress and strength. In this connection, I would like to propose holding a mid-term review meeting in 2010 with regard to the progress made in implementing this programme during the meetings of COMIAC, COMCEC and COMSTECH, to which we extend our thanks and gratitude for the commendable efforts they are making in their respective fields of activity.
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The major issues which weigh heavily on the Islamic World continue unresolved. The Palestinian question has witnessed grave developments with the increasing aggressions against the Palestinian citizens as a result of the Israeli perpetrations in terms of killing, detention, construction of settlements in the occupied territories, demolition of homes and isolation of towns. The city of Al Quds and the Holy Mosque of Al Aqsa are also facing an unprecedented vicious attack with the aim of judaizing them and fully obliterating their Arab-Islamic identity. The Muslim Ummah is called upon today, more than ever before, to promptly extend political and financial support to the Holy city’s resistance and to its citizens and institutions. The humanitarian ordeal witnessed in the Gaza strip requires an Islamic action to counter it. I have recently visited Gaza and taken stock of the sheer scale of the devastation suffered by the Strip. I met with new groups of refugees and I witnessed the effects of the Israeli aggression which included characterized war crimes, and the use of internationally prohibited weapons. It has become incumbent upon us today to make a concerted effort to ensure that the perpetrators of those crimes are brought to justice before the relevant international courts, and to promptly start rebuilding the Gaza strip and alleviating the ordeal of our brothers there. We have recently dispatched many convoys of medicines and food to the population of Gaza. We also insist on the need for the international community to compel the Israeli Government to end its occupation of all the Arab territories occupied since 1967, namely Al-Quds, the West Bank, the Golan and Southern Lebanon. In this context, I wish to pay tribute to the praise-worthy efforts being made by the Arab Republic of Egypt to repair the chinks in the Palestinian edifice and to bring about unity of rank among the Palestinian factions and parties.
We have followed with great satisfaction the developments in Iraq and the anticipated pullout of foreign troops from its territory. We are also pleased with the steady improvement in the country’s security situation, the entrenchment of its democratic experience and the progress made in the efforts to consolidate Iraq’s national unity and territorial integrity, to restore its full sovereignty over all its territories and achieve its effective independence.
The OIC was one of the first organizations which sought to establish a permanent contact with the Iraqi authority in Baghdad through visits, the designation of an ambassador to Iraq, and by helping to curb the sectarian and religious fighting. We dispatched missions there to explore possibilities of cooperation in numerous fields. Recently, accompanied by a large delegation that included the various OIC economic and intellectual institutions, including the IDB, I paid a visit to Iraq to meet with officials and to consider possibilities of contributing to the reconstruction and development programs there.
As for Somalia, conditions there have relatively improved at the political level in the past year, following the launch of the UN negotiations for peace in Somalia under the sponsorship of Djibouti. The peace process led to the formation of a government of national unity. As an observer member in the Djibouti Peace Agreement, the OIC has effectively contributed to all these efforts. We regret the resumption of hostilities among Somali factions, and we hope that the internal and international efforts being deployed will end the fighting and cause a return to dialogue so as to end the painful situation in Somalia.
The situation in Sudan is given serious attention by the OIC, as the international efforts to achieve progress in the Darfur peace negotiations continue. Not too long ago, I paid a visit to Sudan and met with a number of officials, foremost of whom is H.E. President Omar Hasan Al Bashir. I have informed His Excellency that the OIC rejects the International Criminal Court’s decision and its double standards. However we also requested that the Sudanese judiciary should do all that is required by justice to prosecute those involved in criminal acts in Darfur.
I returned from another important visit to Sudan on the 18th of this month. The visit was in response to an invitation from the Sudanese president, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir with the aim of inspecting the totality of the security and humanitarian situation and the efforts of the Sudanese government to improve the situation in Darfur. On that visit I underscored the OIC’s determination to continue to provide humanitarian and developmental assistance in Darfur and to embark on an ambitious project to build 120 model villages that can absorb more than 400,000 displaced persons from the 3 regions of Dafur at the cost of USD485 million. In this regard we praise the Qatar-sponsored Afro-Arab initiative.
As for the situation in Afghanistan, this brotherly country stands at a decisive juncture, being faced with the challenges of peace, security and stability. The OIC has been active in supporting the efforts of many States members of the international community in favor of achieving a comprehensive peace there. I have in this respect recently attended a special meeting on Afghanistan which was held in Moscow. I also participated in an international conference on Afghanistan held in The Hague. We are not oblivious of the issues of development, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Afghanistan which continue to receive our attention.
Regarding the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, the tense situation there is still at a standstill due to the failure to implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. My special envoy to Jammu and Kashmir has paid a visit to both Islamabad and Muzaffarabad to discuss developments in this connection.
We have been encouraged by the new atmosphere that has prevailed in Cyprus recently between the Turkish and the Greek communities, and we hope this fresh openness will lead to such results as to pave the way towards a just solution to this crisis based on equality. We have continued our support to Azerbaijan against the illegitimate Armenian occupation of the Nagorno Karabakh region and we demand that the relevant UN resolutions be implemented in this respect. In another vein, I wish to make a particular mention of the situation in the Comoro Union where the current developmental and social situation is a source of concern for us. I feel duty-bound to appeal to the Member States to extend their urgent assistance to this member country.
Excellencies,
Honorable Heads of Delegation,
The campaign against Islam rages on as hostile attacks targeted at Islam and Muslims continue at a growing pace. The contagion of this scourge is now gradually infecting some official institutions, after having spread among civil society institutions, political parties and others.
We have made and continue to make multiple efforts at varied and diverse levels to raise public awareness of the need to combat Islamophobia in all parts of the world and more particularly in the West. We have also held numerous meetings and conferences and exchanged views with officials in both regional and international organizations. To this effect we have concluded a number of bilateral agreements, most important of which was the Memorandum of Understanding with the Alliance of Civilizations initiative which has the UN support, so as to boost cooperation opportunities with them. Likewise, we organized a special session at the UN headquarters in Geneva in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also participated in the forum on “World Common Values” in Geneva and succeeded in issuing a recommendation of the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council that condemns the campaigns against religions and rejects associating Islam with terrorism. Besides, we played an active role at the Second Durban Conference against Racism, recently held in Geneva, where our work and stances gained the satisfaction and appreciation of the delegates for the level-headed views we proposed.
On this score, the activities of the OIC Observatory on Islamophobia have been effective. It was able to monitor an electronic game titled Faith Fighter on a website which depicted an assumed war involving the Prophet Muhammad (Prayer and peace be upon Him) and Jesus Christ (Peace be on them). Our quick intervention to condemn this game led to it being withdrawn from circulation. The Observatory has become an international reference for getting information on the occurrences and repercussions of this phenomenon.
We can say that these intense efforts have started bearing fruit. The second annual report of the OIC Observatory would be circulated to you during this session.
I have the pleasure to commend the great effort made by the ISESCO and IRCICA in this regard.
Within the framework of implementing the provisions of the TYPOA and the new OIC Charter, the OIC has prepared, in cooperation with a special group of experts from the Member States, a study on the establishment of an “Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights” as one of the OIC organs. Upon completion of the study, the draft was submitted to a formal meeting of the Intergovernmental Expert Group from the Member States, for review. This Group met in Jeddah on 12 and 13 April 2009 and examined the document and the Commission’s draft statute. It was decided at the last meeting of the senior officials to give more time to enable further consideration of and to deepen discussion on the matter.
Excellencies
Honorable Heads of Delegation,
The Muslim Communities and Minorities in non-OIC Member States represent one third of the world Muslim population, and number about 500 million people. Their numbers are constantly on the rise and most of them are suffering from violations of their rights. I have undertaken many initiatives aimed at solving their problems in the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Western Thrace, the Caucasus, etc. Over the past years I dispatched envoys to many countries with Muslim communities to get a first-hand insight on the conditions of Muslims, to reach out to them and identify their needs. It may be said that our efforts in the Philippines have met with some success. However, we need to keep up these efforts to persuade both the Philippine Government and the MNLF to fully implement the 1996 Peace Agreement.
In another respect, we are fully aware of the strategic importance of engaging the media. This was well illustrated during the Eighth Session of the Conference of Information Ministers. From this forum, I wish to renew my invitation to the Muslim world entrepreneurs to pay greater attention to and invest in the information field. We have been successful in restructuring the International Islamic News Agency (IINA). Also, the Eighth Session of the Conference of Information Ministers approved the new strategic plan and new organizational structure of the Islamic Broadcasting Union (IBU).
Excellencies,
Honorable Heads of Delegation,
The OIC Member States are endowed with tremendous economic resources in different sectors, chief among which is energy, agriculture, mining and human resources, all of which qualify the Islamic world to become a weighty strategic entity at the world level.
It is our hope that the Ministerial Conference on Agriculture and Food Security that will be held shortly in Khartoum will develop strategies to combat hunger and poverty and reduce the number of Member States still suffering from problems relating to food security.
The Humanitarian Affairs Department in the General Secretariat is making great relief efforts in a number of Muslim States, including in particular Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Gaza, Sudan, Somalia and Comoro.
The current global financial crisis is a source of grave concern for all Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and its institutions. In the coming months, the General Secretariat will organize, in collaboration with the COMCEC, an international forum on the global financial crisis. It has become necessary that the Member States reconsider their domestic and foreign policies and focus on their economic and social cooperation in order to enable their local markets to respond to the new circumstances imposed by the global economic crisis. I wish to indicate that the target of enhancing intra-OIC trade is moving forward at a satisfactory pace and has moved from the percentage of 14.5% in 2005 to about 17% in 2008. In another respect, the Framework Agreement on the Trade Preferential System has been signed by 31 Member States and ratified by 22. I would like to pay tribute to the COMCEC, the IDB, the ICDT, and the ICCI for the great efforts they are making towards the progress and development of the Member States.
In another vein, the OIC Cotton Development Programme is also being implemented under the auspices of the Republic of Turkey. The OIC General Secretariat organized, in collaboration with the IDB, the first Project Committee Meeting on the Dakar-Port Sudan Railway project.
The holding of the 2nd Ministerial Conference of the Ministers In-Charge of Women’s Affairs constituted a milestone event in the process of promoting the role of women in Islamic societies. The Conference adopted “the OIC Plan of Action for the Promotion of Women” also called: the “Cairo Plan of Action”.
The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has made significant progress and achievements, especially in the area of rapprochement among different Islamic schools of thought and religious groups.
The Organization was successful in overhauling and developing a number of its organs, but reform was hindered for nonobjective reasons in one of its most important and oldest organs: the Islamic Solidarity Fund. It has become necessary to reconsider the Fund’s working methods, modes of operation and reform so that it may keep pace with the reforms we have managed to make for other organizations.
In the domain of science and technology, the Plan of Action for cars and airplanes has been completed thanks to a financial support from the IDB, and so has the plan for supporting the peaceful transfer of technology. Similarly, the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry has created a joint capital for science and technology to be added to the capital earmarked by the IDB to science and technology projects.
In the area of education, it is unfortunate that the OIC report on the ranking of universities has not been released yet due to insufficient information and data received from the Member States despite my insistence. I would like to renew my appeal to the Member States to provide us with the required information.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The mandate of the current Assistant Secretaries General will come to an end on 30 June 2009. The General Secretariat had sent a note to the Member States requesting them to send in their candidacies to these positions. We have received the names of many candidates which we communicated to the Member States. In accordance with the New Charter, I have started to make contacts with geographical groups. I will pursue these contacts and I will be presenting a report in this regard to the Ministers for a final decision.
In conclusion, I wish to inform you that the new Charter has been signed by thirty Member States and ratified by eight. In this context, I would like to appeal to those Member States that have not yet signed or ratified the Charter to do so as soon as possible. I am pleased on this occasion to welcome those Member States that will sign the Charter during this session: The Syrian Arab Republic, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Republic of Tajikistan.
I would like also to note that this year 2009 coincides with the 40th Anniversary of our Organization, and the General Secretariat is planning to mark this event. Their Excellencies the Ministers of Information expressed their support for the commemoration of this event. A documentary film will be issued that would map out the major milestones of the Organization and our key achievements in the course of joint Islamic action. I wish to invite the Member States to kindly provide us with whatever documentary material available to them, be it visual, audio or in print, concerning the Organization and its activities, so that we may use it in the production of the said documentary film.
As the OIC is entering the fifth decade of its life, forging ahead towards cosmopolitanism, and becoming an indispensable interlocutor in large and influential international fora, we feel optimistic that we are moving forward this Organization, thanks to your directives and support, along a promising road to firmly establish joint Islamic action, which leads to unified ranks and positions. This is our effective weapon in the midst of the current international changes, in order to ensure for the Islamic world an honourable place among States and lay for it the foundations of development, advancement and power as an effective influential block. We hope that your meeting will take us further steps towards the realization of this sublime objective.
I pray to Allah Almighty that He may guide you to success in your deliberations.
Wassalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh