By IINA,
Jeddah : On the invitation of the Commission of the African Union (AU), officials of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) General Secretariat participated in the consultative meetings on the situation in Mauritania and Guinea, which were held in Addis Ababa on January 28 and 30 respectively. The meetings were also attended by the representatives of the United Nations, Arab League, the International Organization of Francophonie, the European Union and the African Union. The meetings were held on the sidelines of the 12th Session of the African Union Summit and at the initiative of the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU) and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), according to an OIC statement.
Addressing the meeting on Mauritania, the representative of the OIC drew attention to the immediate strong condemnation by the Secretary General of the OIC of the military coup in Mauritania and the refusal of the destitution of the democratically elected President in Mauritania. He also indicated that the OIC is fully committed and actively engaged in the efforts of the international community aimed at the restoration of the constitutional order in Mauritania. The OIC official reiterated the principled position of the OIC on the refusal to impose sanctions against the civilian population in Mauritania and elsewhere. He also reaffirmed the readiness of the OIC to continue to support all the efforts of the African Union and the other organizations aiming at the restoration of the constitutional order in Mauritania.
During the debate on the situation in Guinea, the OIC representative informed the participants of the OIC Fact Finding Mission dispatched by the Secretary General in early January 2009 which met all the political stakeholders, representatives of the civil society, religious leaders, the Prime Minister and other officials. The OIC official underlined the request of the OIC to the Guinean authorities to hold free, transparent and democratic elections as soon as possible. He also referred to the principled position of the OIC to avoid sanctions against the civilian population. He finally stressed the need to work together with the other organizations to help Guinean authorities to restore the constitutional order.