OIC ASKS MEMBER STATES TO SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL

Jeddah, 3 Muharram 1434/8 November 2013 (MINA) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will ask member states to sever diplomatic relations with states that recognize Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem or move their embassies to the historic city during the upcoming Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting.

The recommendation, made at a meeting between senior officials at the OIC on Tuesday, is among the resolutions to be discussed at the 40th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers from Dec. 9 to 11, in Conakry, Guinea.

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said a special session on Jerusalem would be held on the sidelines of the ministerial conference, International Islamic News Agency (IINA) quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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There is also a recommendation to coordinate efforts at the Human Rights Council to thwart Israel’s attempt at keeping the council’s examination of the human rights situation in Palestine and other Arab territories occupied by Israel off the agenda. Ihsanoglu said an OIC ministerial delegation would visit Myanmar next week.

Saudi Arabia will be part of the seven-member OIC Contact Group. The other members are Egypt, Djibouti, Turkey, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The visit will include meetings with ministers and high-level government officials and Muslim members of parliament, as well as a visit to Rohingya camps in Rakhine and a meeting with their community leaders.

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The main issues to be raised during the consultations with the Myanmar government are the status of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, their humanitarian needs, resettlement plan, basic human rights and citizenship rights. He explained that the visit is an implementation of a resolution of the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslim Minorities, which was drafted in September during its meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Ihsanoglu said that the OIC Peace Committee for Southern Philippines meeting, which was held at the OIC Headquarters on Monday, reiterated its commitment to continue to engage in contributing to the comprehensive solution for peace in the area. It called particular attention to the humanitarian situation in the city of Zamboanga following clashes between Philippine troops and a faction of the MNLF in September.

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The planned fifth tripartite meeting between the government of the Philippines, the MNLF and the OIC will be held after the 40th CFM in Guinea next month. The CFM will address other issues on its agenda, including the situation in Somalia, Mali, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Afghanistan. (T/P08/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)