By KUNA
Dakar : The 11th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, in its final communique on Friday, “strongly condemned” the killing of Kuwaiti war-prisoners and national of other countries at the hands of the former regime in Iraq.
The leaders of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also condemned the former Iraqi regime’s coverage of these crimes for over 10 years, which is considered a violation of international humanitarian law.
It called for the prosecution of perpetrators of those crimes against humanity, and invited the UN High-Level Coordinator and all concerned parties to continue their cooperation with the International Red Cross Committee to uncover the fate of the missing Kuwaiti citizens.
The communique also condemned ongoing and intensifying Israeli military campaigns against the Palestinian people and expressed “grave concern” over the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in Gaza Strip under the Israeli blockade. It urged the Quartet, the international community and the UN Security Council to address this political and humanitarian crisis.
It also expressed concern over the continuing division among Palestinian political factions. It reiterated the demand to restore the situation that existed on the ground in Gaza Strip prior to the events of June 2007, reaffirming its “full support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas.” It also reaffirmed support for “all democratically-elected Palestinian institutions.” On Lebanon, the conference reiterated its support for the decisions of the foreign ministers in their recent meeting in Cairo, and called for holding presidential elections immediately and with no deferral. It expressed its concern over the implications of not holding these elections and called on Lebanese factions to see that presidential elections were held as soon as possible.
It expressed hope that the holding of the elections “would lead to forming a national unity government that would bring together the different actors, ensure full concurrence with the Lebanese constitution and its democratic system, hereby preventing divisions and guiding Lebanon to the path of unity, security and stability.” It condemned the brutal Israeli aggression against Lebanon in 2006, and affirmed support for efforts of the Lebanese government in its combat of terrorism, particularly “Fatah Al-Islam” in the south. It also called for the finalization of the necessary procedures for establishing the international tribunal on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
As for Kosovo, the conference “noted” its declaration of independence on February 17. It recalled the continued interest of the OIC regarding the Muslims in the Balkans and “expressed its solidarity with the Kosovar people.” The conference reaffirmed the commitment of member states to preserve the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina within its internationally recognized borders as a home to different ethnic, cultural and religious groups living in harmony together.
On Iraq, the conference strongly reiterated that the country’s sovereignty, political independence, national unity and territorial integrity “must be respected by all,” and stressed Iraqi people’s right to freely determine their political future and have full control over their natural resources.
It welcomed the extension of the UN Mission in Iraq as stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1770 for year 2007. It stressed the principle of non-interference in Iraqi domestic affairs and welcomed the country’s declaration to establish good relations with its neighboring countries.
The conference strongly condemned acts of terrorism carried out against Iraqi civilians and officials, and Arab and other diplomats, or against sacred shrines or religious institutions, and called for “support to be extended to end the violence and eliminate the causes of terrorism.” It called for taking expeditious steps to open the OIC Coordination Office in Baghdad, and called on member states to reopen embassies in Iraq.
The communique called for Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan Heights, condemned the US decision to impose unilateral economic sanctions on Damascus, expressed full solidarity with the Sudanese government over efforts for national reconciliation, and positive developments in Darfur. It also reaffirmed respect for Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.
On Afghanistan, the conference welcomed the establishment of political institutions and free media there, and expressed strong support for the continuation of the Ankara Process aimed at developing Pakistani-Afghan relations. It strongly con demned terrorist activities by Taliban and Al-Qaeda against the Afghan people.
On the rising phenomenon of Islamophobia, the conference recognized the need to “further institutionalize cooperation” among member states to effectively combat it, and requested the preparation of a draft comprehensive strategy to this end to be presented to the OIC foreign ministers for consideration and adoption.
It emphasized the need to develop legally binding international instruments to prevent intolerance, discrimination, prejudice and hatred on the grounds of religion and to promote and ensure the respect for all religions. It encouraged the OIC Group in Geneva to pave the way for developing such an instrument.
Furthermore, the conference reaffirmed the inalienable rights of member states to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The conference “called and supported firmly that Iran’s nuclear issue should be settled exclusively by peaceful means and through negotiation without precondition, in the framework of the IAEA and in accordance with the NPT and the statute of the IAEA.” Moreover, it recognized the right of self-defense of member states in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
On terrorism, the conference emphasized that it completely contradicted the peaceful nature of Islam and condemned any connection between any race, religion and culture. It took note of the adoption of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and called for a review mechanism to provide a comprehensive strategy that “takes into account the root causes of terrorism and draws distinction between terrorism and the struggle for the right of self-determination by the people under foreign occupation and colonial or alien domination.” The conference strongly condemned the reprint of the blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by Danish newspapers, which it considered “an outright abuse of the sanctity of freedom of expression.” It observed with satisfaction diplomatic contacts and efforts of the OIC Secretariat and Secretary General in this area, and congratulated the OIC Islamophobia Observatory for producing a well-documented report on the phenomenon.
Moreover, it authorized the secretary general to constitute a group of experts to “develop a draft of a legally binding international instrument to promote respect for all religions and cultural values and prevent discrimination and instigation of hatred against followers of any religion.”
On the economic front, the conference welcomed the annual convening of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) with the aim of strengthening business collaboration among Muslim businesspeople. It expressed satisfaction at the outcomes of the Third WIEF Forum in May 2007.
It welcomed the launching of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) in Dakar on May 2007, as a major step of high importance within the implementation of the mandate for alleviating poverty in member states in conformity with the decisions of the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) Board of Directors.
The conference extended thanks to the member states that announced contributions to the resources of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (IDFD), with special appreciation for Saudi Arabia for pledging USD one billion, Kuwait for USD 300 million, Iran for USD 100 million, Qatar for USD 50 million, and Algeria for its pledge of USD 50 million.
It urged member states that have not made their contributions to do so in order to achieve the USD 10 billion by 2009 and at least USD six billion by 2008.
The conference applauded the IDB’s pivotal role in financing development projects in Africa.
The conference welcomed the granting to the IDB the observer status at the United Nations in recognition of its support to the developing countries.
The conference emphasized the need to make optimal use of the Muslim world’s economic, human and natural resources to promote trade and economic cooperation among member states.
It stressed the role of the private sector in providing impetus to intra-OIC economic, commercial and trade relations and to that effect invited member states to encourage representatives of their respective private sectors to take a pro-active and inter-active role.
The conference expressed concern over the widespread poverty in the developing countries and reiterated the need for “open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multi-lateral trading and financial systems” that benefit all countries in pursuit of sustainable development.
It also urged the international community to address issues pertaining to ecology, and welcomed the Bali Plan of Action adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference held in December 2007.
On the Ten-Year OIC Action Program, the conference expressed its appreciation of the efforts exerted by the secretary general in the process of amending the charter, in implementation of the action plan adopted by the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in December 2005.
It reiterated adherence to the objectives and principles of the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in the service of the causes of Islam and Muslims in “a spirit of genuine solidarity.” It reaffirmed its commitment “to the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the OIC summit and ministerial conference,” and took note of reports by the OIC secretary general covering the activities and measures he took to implement the organization’s resolutions.
To conclude, the conference unanimously welcomed the offer made by Egypt to host the 12th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in 2011. It also took note and welcomed the offers of Iran, Indonesia and Turkey to host the 14th session un 2014.