By IRNA
Dakar : The OIC Charter, the revision of which is on the agenda of the 11th heads of state and government summit, has been effective since 1972, with the official establishment of the organization in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Article 3 of the Organization’s charter enumerates three major organs, notably the Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government, the Conference of Foreign Ministers and the General Secretariat.
The establishment of an ‘Islamic International Court of Justice’ was approved at the third Summit Meeting of the Kings and Heads of State and Government of Islamic countries held in Ta’if and Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in January 1981.
The court was expected to fulfill ‘its missions in accordance with its statute, which is annexed to this Charter and part and parcel of the above mentioned Charter’.
The OIC secretary general developed several declarations relating to human rights in Islam prior to the adoption of the Dhaka and Cairo Declarations by the Organization’s Conference of Foreign Ministers.
Several draft declarations relating to human rights in Islam have been adopted by the General Secretariat. They include the first draft dating from 1979 and titled ‘The Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights and Obligations in Islam’ and ‘The Declaration on Human Rights in Islam’ dating from 1981.
‘The Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights and Obligations in Islam’ contains 31 articles and a preamble, which take up the major themes of the Sharia: man as lieutenant of God on earth, nobility of the human being, respect of his dignity without discrimination, unity of the human family and the compulsory nature of human rights in Islam.
Such a provision insists on dignity, equality between men, family members, interdiction to give up life, freedom. The notion of responsibility is mentioned several times to insist on the correlation between the right and duty in Islam.
Several texts refer to the peoples’ rights to self-determination, ensure their economic, social and cultural development and use their wealth and natural resources.
The ‘Declaration on Human Rights in Islam’ dating from 1981 recalls the principles of Islam: Believe in God, His uniqueness and recognize the message of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It stresses the specific nature of the Sharia teachings, which seek to ‘safeguard faith, life, reason, honor, property, lineage’ of humanity.