The most important achievements of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation since 2005

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AND INITIATIVES OF THE OIC

SINCE 2005

1. REFORMS INTRODUCED TO THE ORGANIZATION

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2. NEW OIC INSTITUTIONS/ORGANS

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AND INITIATIONS SINCE 2005 3. IMAGE BUILDING AMONG

9

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 4. POLITICAL AFFAIRS

11

5. THE CENTRALITY OF THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE

19

6. MUSLIM MINORITIES

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7. ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

27

8. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

31

9. CULTURE, SOCIAL AND FAMILY AFFAIRS

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10. HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

45

11. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS

47

12. INFORMATION AFFAIRS

57

13. Legal

59

14. IT

60

15. CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (previously the Organization of the Islamic Conference) is an expression of a shared will for solidarity and cooperation expressed by the Muslim World.

At present with its 57 member States, the Organization is the second largest intergovernmental political institution outside the United Nations system considered to be the sole official representative of the Muslims around the world. Established in 1969 today it has already travelled four decades in time.

Though the creation of the Organisation owes mostly to the feeling of solidarity on the basis of Islam, during more than three decades of its existence it had to go through various experiences and efforts to consolidate and conceptualize the idea of solidarity. By doing so, the Organization was looking for some effective ways and means to fulfill the aspirations of the Muslim World as well as create a broad-based appeal to the mass Muslim population as an Organization upholding their interests.

It was in 2005, the Organisation practically witnessed a paradigm shift as well as a conceptual change from its previous position towards having a complete overhaul for addressing effectively the real aspirations of the Muslim World. A reform process was effectively launched translating the concept of “solidarity” into ‘action” with three firm objectives in hand i.e. (1) Reform within the OIC; 2) Reorganization of the OIC to meet the contemporary challenges through a process of modernization and (3) Establishment of the OIC’s position as a major player in international affairs.

The aim was to incorporate the contemporary international core values in the OIC system: tolerance, human rights, fundamental freedoms, freedom of religion, justice equality, dignity, rights of women, concept of democracy based on rule of law, good governance, liberalization 4

of political system, accountability and transparency in order to bring the Organization to a stature that would be at par with other similar institutions at international level capable of meeting the demands of present times.

An indication to the beginning of this new era in the Organization was noticed in the OIC’s Thirty-first Ministerial Meeting, held in June 2004 in Istanbul, where the OIC Member States voted democratically for the first time for electing the OIC Secretary General. Electing a new Secretary General in this manner indeed represented a turning point in the history of the OIC. It ushered in a new and irreversible work philosophy that favoured reforms, efficiency and result-oriented endeavours.

Today, under the ongoing reform process the principal mission that the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation assumes is to achieve modernization and moderation in the Muslim world. These two animating principles, together with a number of related measures, shape the guiding concept and vision of the present days’ OIC being implemented under the motto of ‘Solidarity in Action’.

The essence of all these reforms and initiatives is that the OIC is now being recognized as a global actor in the international affairs and an agent of moderation and modernization in the Muslim World.

In this monograph, significant achievements and outcomes of the process that started in 2005 to reinvigorate the erstwhile Organization of the Islamic Conference and at present the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been put under two broad categories titled: a) Conceptual and b) Structural/Executive/Administrative. In addition, an attempt has also been made to give an account of the goals so far achieved and initiatives so far taken since 2005 under specific fields namely Political, Economic, Science, Technology and Innovation, Social & Cultural, and Information Affairs.

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1. REFORMS INTRODUCED TO THE ORGANIZATION A) Conceptual Reforms: • Adoption of a new vision for joint Islamic solidarity based on “Solidarity in Action” underlining the principles of moderation and modernization.

• Elaboration and adoption of a Ten-year Programme of Action to face the challenges of the 21st Century and prepare for the renaissance of the Muslim Ummah.

• Adoption of a new charter almost completely overhauling the previous charter to adapt it to the new challenges faced by the organization.

• Change of the name of the organization to “ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION” (Resolution of 38TH CFM held in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 2011).

• Change of the Logo of the Organization keeping in line with the new vision and mission of the Organization.

• Elaboration and adoption of the rules for the full Membership and the Observer Status.

• Initiating a process by which the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers recommended the Islamic Summit to consider holding its sessions biennially instead of every three years.

B) Structural/Executive/Administrative Reforms: • Accelerating the rhythm of the signature and ratification of the new Charter. The Number of signatories is 51 Member States and of ratifying states is 26 in three years, to be compared to the number of 6

signatories for the previous Charter which were less than the one-third of the Member States for more than 30 years.

• Increasing of the Organization’s budget and improvement of the salaries and other personal allowances.

• Improvement of the capacities of the staff through training in cooperation with OIC Partners.

• Move to new and better premises for the General Secretariat Headquarters and follow up of the permanent building to which the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz made a generous donation of a land in Jeddah. An international competition was organized and the design for the permanent headquarters building was selected in 2006 through this competition.

• Extension of the use of computer and digital archiving of OIC documents.

• Development of the Organization’s website and launching of special websites for the Islamic Summits and ministerial conferences.

2. NEW OIC INSTITUTIONS/ORGANS AND INITIATIONS SINCE 2005 • The OIC Peace, Security and Mediation Support Unit with an aim to specifically concentrate on preventive diplomacy have been finalized in December 2012; • The OIC Food Security Institution is to be established in Astana, Kazakhstan; • Establishment of OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) in June 2011 and holding its first session in Jakarta, Indonesia in February 2012; 7

• Finalizing the Rules of Procedure for the IPHRC in November 2012 at the 39th CFM; • Opening of OIC Humanitarian Mission in Mogadishu, Somalia in March 2011 and acquiring permission to operate an office from Nairobi; • Purchasing its own building for the OIC office to the United Nations in New York, USA in 2010; • Finalizing the headquarters agreement for the OIC Office to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium and processing purchase of its own building for the office; • Establishment of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in August 2010 (Headquarters Istanbul); • Establishment of the Specialized Organ for Women Development in May 2010 (Headquarters Cairo); • Opening of OIC Permanent Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2010; • Opening of an OIC humanitarian coordination Office in Islamabad in March 2010; • Establishment of Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO) in February 2010 (Headquarters Islamabad); • Establishment of the OIC Humanitarian and Development Office in Niamey for the implementation of the recommendations of the Doha international conference on food self-sufficiency in Niger in July 2009; • Establishment of the Family Affairs Department in the General Secretariat in May 2009; • 8

Opening of OIC Office in Baghdad, Iraq in 2009;

• Establishment of the International Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs department in June 2008. The department acts as the first ever channel of communication between the OIC and the civil society organizations of the OIC Member States; • Creation of a Library in the Headquarters for the first time in the history of the Organization (2005).

3. IMAGE BUILDING AMONG THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY One of the biggest successes that the OIC achieved since 2005 is in the field of image building and opening up to the International Community.

It is about establishing relations and widening the scope of its receptivity of different significant international actors with an aim to utilize these relations to the benefit of the Muslim World. Member States and nonMember States alike felt a qualitative change in the approach of the OIC since 2005 when this whole new understanding of opening up actively towards gaining its rightful place in the International arena was adopted.

The process of image building of the Organization did not limit itself within the boundary of political, economic, social, cultural or organic domains. It is a comprehensive approach which touches base in all these spheres.

Opening up the doors of the OIC to influential international actors through innovative and different mechanisms is one of the unique and visionary steps taken in the post 2005 period. Granting the Russian Federation the observer status on special consideration, establishing relations with the USA through US President’s Special Envoy to the OIC, working towards developing institutional relations with China, the United Kingdom and France through official bilateral visits – all these indicates to one thing. The world powers and actors want to strengthen their ties with the Muslim World and they consider the OIC as the ‘Gate to the Muslim World’. This also signifies the trust the international 9

community put into the OIC as the sole official body representing the Muslim World.

This conviction is strengthened by the list of countries who have officially expressed their intentions to establish formal relations with the OIC either through obtaining full membership, observer status or having special envoys to the Organizations. The list includes countries like Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Nepal, Belorussia, Kenya, Mauritius, Congo, Montenegro, the Philippines etc.

To consolidate the achievement in this domain the Organization for the first time worked, finalized and adopted the criteria for full membership and observer status to the Organization which would facilitate and ease the communication between the Organization and the international community.

Credibility of the OIC in international area has enhanced manifold because of this policy of active cooperation and coordination with other international entities. It is reflected in issues like the Goldstone report which was initiated at OIC’s insistence or the consensus resolution of HRC 16/18 which came as the result of OIC’s open door policy to negotiation with the other stakeholders of the HRC. Important thing to notice here that not only for non-Member States but for its Member States as well, the OIC generated renewed interest and trust. The OIC encouraged the Member States to get more actively involved in the Organization’s activities more than ever before. A simple example would reflect the renewed trust that the Member States are putting into the organization. The OIC Conference on Agriculture and Food Security issues was held in Khartoum, Sudan in 2010 and the following one was in Istanbul Turkey in October 2011. Senegal is looking forward to hosting the next one. On such an important topic, the previous meeting before 2010 was held in 1995 which is a gap of 15 years. Therefore, the contrast is really visible.

The OIC has been acting to establish linkage not only at states’ level 10

but between and among regions as well. Given its unique nature as a cross-regional organization and taking advantage of this specificity, the Organization worked and succeeded in bringing different regions together at physical as well as diplomatic level in order to cooperate and coordinate on various issues of common concern. Diplomatically, the OIC took specific initiatives to establish closer link between the Central Asia and the rest of the Muslim World. Maintaining closer link with other regional organizations like the League of Arab States, African Union or ASEAN where membership overlaps with that of the OIC helped the Organization to encourage further regional cooperation.

Physically, the OIC has initiated very important rail-link projects which once materialized would bring member states in close proximity through easy communication resulting into more regional cohesion. They are Dushanbe-Mazar-i- Sharif- Herat Railway Project, TurkmenistanIran-Kazakhstan Joint Railway project and Dakar-Port Sudan railway project.

In short, these relations building between and among international actors and entities enhanced the image of the OIC to an extent that the Organization succeeded in having its rightful place in the international community.

4. POLITICAL AFFAIRS In general, before 2005 the Organization was hardly seen in the international political arena making some statements once in a while on some given issues. The approach was basically to adopt some rhetoric in the form of resolutions during the annual ministerial meetings. Actions to implement those resolutions were seldom noticed. With the new mission taken in 2005 namely “solidarity in action” – the organization adopted a completely changed approach based on action oriented policy guidelines in the political field.

Realizing the fact that most of the political hotspots fall within the purview of the OIC, it took a proactive stance in dealing with peace 11

and security issues faced by the Islamic world. As a strategy, regular appointment of OIC Secretary General’s special representatives and envoys to effectively address conflict situation in its member states made substantive impacts. Recognition came from the United Nations to the efficacy of its new strategy when the UN Secretary General stated that OIC became a strategic partner to the UN in dealing with peace and security issues in the world. Towards having a well-thought and strategy based approach to peace and security issues of its member states, the organization is on the way to establish its own think tank which would determine the future role of the OIC in security and peace keeping and making as well as in conflict resolution in its member states.

In conflict resolution, introducing the concept of preventive diplomacy and stressing on mediation technique mostly in the form of utilizing the good offices of the Secretary General, is another novel initiative of the post 2005 OIC. A new Unit dedicated to the issue of conflict resolution and conflict prevention has been established to coordinate the efforts of the OIC in this regards. A brief account of the Organization’s activities and initiatives in the political field is placed below: • Iraq: holding successfully the meeting of Iraqi Sunni and Shiite religious leaders and the signing of the Makkah Document on Iraq to stop shedding Iraqi blood in October, 2006 is one of the biggest achievements of the OIC since its inception on several counts. This declaration, according to the Iraqi authorities, paved the way for national reconciliation in the country. Therefore, it had not only temporarily stopped the clashes rather had far-reaching impact in opening the door for negotiation between political factions towards bringing security and stability in the country. It was followed by the opening of the OIC Office in Baghdad for the follow up of the cooperation with the Iraqi authorities and interaction of religious leaders in Iraq. This cooperation was underlined once more during the visit of the Secretary General to Baghdad in March 2011. The OIC participated in all conferences of the States neighboring Iraq. The OIC continuously supports the unity, security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq.

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• Syria: From the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the OIC has undertaken a number of initiatives aiming at resolving the crisis through putting an end to the violence and bloodshed through peaceful means. The OIC Secretary General has repeatedly stressed the need for a commitment to protect civilians, respect human rights, activate the principles of good governance and implement the reforms promised by the Syrian leadership. In 2011 and 2012, two Extra-ordinary meetings of the Executive Committee were convened to discuss the grave situation in Syria and putting an end to violence against civilians. Due to the Syrian regime’s intransigence and persistent pursuit of a military solution to the crisis, the meetings recommended to the Council of Foreign Ministers to suspend the membership of Syria from the OIC, which later decided upon by the Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in August 2012.

• Somalia: The situation in Somalia continues to be among the OIC top priorities. OIC Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the Djibouti Agreement as the basis for conflict settlement in Somalia.

The OIC played a significant role in forming the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Apart from the full support that it extended to the TFG, the OIC actively contributed to the successful implementation of the political transition in Somalia which for the first time produced a democratic outcome in the country. It remained as an active member of the International Contact Group on Somalia and most importantly hosted, in December 2009, for the first time, the 16th meeting of the said group. This can be termed really as a significant achievement of the Organization as the very fact signifies that the International community has put its trust in the OIC. Through opening an office for coordination of humanitarian affairs in Mogadishu, the OIC proved that it enjoys a comparative advantage on Somalia issue vis-à-vis its other international counterparts and is ready to cooperate to reap the best possible benefits for the country. In October 2012, I paid a historic visit to Mogadishu, the first by any Secretary General. I met with the high Somali officials 13

to explore ways and means of reinvigorating Somalia- OIC bilateral relations under the new dispensation and to assist in the stabilization, rebuilding and recovery process in Somalia.

• Afghanistan: The same trust shown by the international community in the OIC on Somalia issue was repeated in case of Afghanistan when the Organization hosted the 10th meeting of the International Contact group on Afghanistan at the Organization’s headquarters in Jeddah in March 2011. It also came as recognition to the OIC’s potential and crucial role in reconstruction and peace building in Afghanistan. The Organization continued its strong position in support of the people and Government of Afghanistan. In addition to its support for the country, the Secretary General appointed a special representative to Afghanistan and opened a Mission based in Kabul. OIC actively participated in almost all the international and regional meetings on Afghanistan in order to uphold its commitment to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan. In order to actively contribute to the regional initiatives on Afghanistan, the OIC has adopted “Regional Initiatives in support of Afghanistan” in order to facilitate regional cooperation on different fields and levels aiming at peace, security and development in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is also a part of the OIC Plan of Action for Cooperation with Central Asia which contains cooperation in various areas of agriculture, rural development and food security, trade exchanges, health, education, poverty alleviation, transport as well as research and scientific cooperation.

• Libya: On the verge of the Libyan people uprising, the OIC Secretary General was the first international personality to declare his Organization’s position on the necessity to reach a political solution involving a process of political transition to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people, denouncing in its statement dated 22 February 2001 the use of force against innocent civilians. The Organization held an emergency meeting on March 8, 2011 at the OIC General Secretariat’s headquarters which called for an immediate cessation of military operations against civilians and the need to engage in a comprehensive 14

dialogue to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis. The OIC convened an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Executive Committee on March 19, 2011 on the situation in Libya and recommended various actions to be taken by the International community to end the violence in Libya and respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people in conformity with the UN Security Council’s resolutions 1970 and 1973. The OIC actively participated in all international conferences and meetings on Libya held in London, Doha, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Rome, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul and Paris. To face the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya during the Libyan crisis, the OIC mobilized urgent humanitarian assistance for the Libyan people with the support of the Member States. • The Sudan: The Secretary-General of the Organization paid several visits to the Sudan, including a joint visit to Darfur with the Arab League Secretary General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Besides regular activities, the OIC took a unique initiative of organizing a donor conference on Darfur in Cairo, Egypt in March 2010, which was primarily meant for collecting humanitarian assistance for the people of Darfur. The Conference witnessed pledge of around US$ 850 million. However, the underlying cause was to pave the way to peace and stability by mitigating the suffering of the people through executing reconstruction, providing basic services like education, health and water facilities etc. This is an innovative approach to deal with political instability through social development. The OIC Executive Committee held numerous meetings on the Sudan. The OIC facilitated the signing of the Agreement between the Sudan and Chad aimed at restoring peace and harmony between these two brotherly peoples alongside the Eleventh Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Dakar with the participation of the two Presidents under the auspices of President Wade of Senegal in March 2008. It also participated in the ceremony of signing the framework agreement on peace between the Sudanese Government and the Justice and Equality Movement in Doha in February 2010. The Organization participated actively in the Doha 15

process for a peaceful and lasting solution to the Darfur conflict. The OIC expressed satisfaction at the holding of the referendum on selfdetermination for southern Sudan and urged all Sudanese stakeholders to reach a settlement through negotiation on important issues in the post-referendum phase.

• Guinea: The OIC participated in international efforts to resolve the crisis in Guinea by peaceful means. It attended the meetings of the International Contact Group on Guinea. The Organization participated in elections monitoring in this country and in the inauguration of President Conde. It urged the President to pursue a policy of national reconciliation. It actively participated in the High level Meeting on the peace and security in Guinea organized by the UN in September 2011.

• Mauritania: Regional and international efforts involving the OIC General Secretariat contributed to reaching the Dakar Agreement and the return of constitutional life in Mauritania, which achieved a compromise in that constitutional crisis and paved the way for the return of constitutional order in the country. The Organization also participated in elections monitoring in Mauritania and in the inauguration of the President-elect.

Mali: The situation in Mali and the Sahel continues to remain a source of grave concern to the OIC because of its wider implications on peace, security and stability in the region. In response to the deepening crisis, which was discussed by the meeting of the Executive Committee at Ministerial level in June 2012, the issue also featured high on the agenda of the 4th Extraordinary Summit in 2012 in Makkah. The leaders reaffirmed their full solidarity with the new Transitional National Government in Mali in the face of the serious challenges to its unity and sovereignty and also firmly supported the ECOWAS peace mediation led by Burkina Faso. As mandated by the Summit, HE Mr Djibrill Bassole, the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso have been designated as the representative of the ECOWAS led mediator to also serve as the OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy to the region in order to lead •

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OIC’s efforts in contributing to the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The OIC has also dispatched a high level mission to Mali and Burkina Faso from 25th November to 5th December 2012 to encourage all the parties to commit themselves more seriously to dialogue and mediation in order to avoid a military intervention in the North as approved by UNSC Resolution 2071 which the second Ministerial meeting of the Group of Support and Follow-up on the Situation in Mali held on 19th October 2012 in Bamako and the subsequent ECOWAS summit had backed. While in Ouagadougou, the OIC delegation participated in the first ever face to face meeting between the governments of Mali, the rebel movements of MNLA and Ansar Dine based in northern Mali. The historic meeting agreed to launch and formalize the dialogue process under the mediator, President, Blaise Compaore. In response to the dire humanitarian situation in the Sahel, a joint OIC-OCHA mission toured Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in October 2012 to assess the needs of the region and mobilize the international community for an urgent humanitarian intervention to minimize the sufferings of the populations.

An OIC delegation also visited and met the highest authorities in Mali in order to device the Organization’s strategy to deal with the Malian crisis.

Niger: OIC is active in the International Commission to follow up the situation in Niger. In the context of the Secretary-General’s preventive diplomacy initiative, the OIC in January 2010 sent a highlevel delegation with a message to the President calling for a compromise and reconciliation among all parties. The OIC also participated as an observer in the mediation process and talks held in February 2010, and in two rounds of the presidential elections which restored constitutional order in the country.

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• Jammu and Kashmir: The OIC, and through its Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, has continued to extend its full support to the people of Kashmir and their legitimate right of self-determination through peaceful means and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions. The OIC-SG appointed a Special Envoy who paid visits 17

to Pakistan and to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, with the help of some Kashmiri personalities and circles in Europe, there was an initiative to start interaction with the European Parliament on the issue of Kashmir and there have been some useful contacts with them in Brussels and in Jeddah.

Terrorism: The OIC is an exemplary organization with an idea to promote moderation and modernization in order to provide the world with the environment of peace and tolerance. Its position against the phenomenon of terrorism is based on its principle and its policy. Its conviction is that absolutely nothing justifies acts of terrorism. Thus its activities and interactions are aimed at removing any motivation or provocation whatsoever from people’s mindset and psyche towards eliminating the threat of terrorism. The Ten-Year Programme of Action issued by the Third Extraordinary Summit of Makkah in December 2005 stressed its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and its rejection of any excuse or justification for it, recalling that terrorism is an international phenomenon which has no ties to any religion, race or country. The Ten-Year Programme of Action also established a distinction between terrorism and people’s legitimate struggle against foreign occupation, a struggle which does not permit harm to the innocent. The Organization continued to voice condemnation of all terrorist acts perpetrated against innocent people in contradiction to the teachings of Islam and all other religions. The Secretary-General addressed the special meeting of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, held in April 2011 at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He called for a meaningful dialogue and partnership that would bring together the OIC, the UN and the Council of Europe for the fight against terrorism. The OIC submitted a paper to the forum titled “The Role of Internet in the Fight against Terrorism and Extremism”, held in Riyadh in 2011. It also organized a workshop on the legal aspects of combating terrorism, with the participation of a number of experts, at its headquarters in Jeddah at the beginning of 2011 in coordination with the United Nations.

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• Political consultations: Bilateral political consultations were held between the OIC and quite a number of non-OIC member states including the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. In order to consolidate their bilateral relations with the OIC, some nonOIC countries have appointed Special Envoys to the Organization.

The efforts being exerted by the OIC as an effective partner at the international level led also to the increase in the number of international and regional organizations seeking to strengthen their ties with the OIC. These organizations include the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The OIC has concluded Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation Agreements with many of regional and International organizations aimed at building, preserving and promoting close relations and fruitful cooperation between the OIC and those organizations.

• OIC Regional Offices: The OIC has made great strides towards the completion of administrative procedures for opening its office at the European Union in Brussels, which is expected to be inaugurated soon in its own premises. There is another decision to establish two more new regional offices.

5. THE CENTRALITY OF THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE: The issue of Palestine is, as we call it ‘the raison d’etre’. i.e the principal reason for the creation of the OIC. However, the first pro-active stance besides years’ old OIC summit and CFM resolutions was noticed in December 2006 by shuttle diplomacy undertaken personally by the OIC secretary general commuting through Al-Quds Ramallah, Gaza and Damascus in order to facilitate contacts between the concerned parties to reunite them and to promote Palestinian national unity. this shuttle diplomacy, which actually formed a part of the new approach to peace and security through quite and preventive diplomacy primarily through the good offices of the OIC secretary general, paved the way for further 19

reconciliation efforts by the Member States between the Palestinian factions. Substantive and tangible actions taken by the OIC on Palestine could be traced as follows: • A field visit by the Secretary General to Gaza following the was which Israel had launched against it is 2008.

• Diplomatic efforts exerted by the OIC and the Secretary General, at the Ninth Special Session of the UNHRC in January 2009, led to adoption of a Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel’s infractions and calling on it to stop its aggression and adopting of the decision of HRC to form an independent fact-finding mission to investigate the Israeli crimes; • The UN fact-finding mission, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, was established at the Ninth Special Session of the UNHRC in January 2009. As a result, Goldstone Report on the Gaza Conflict was published and its recommendations were endorsed.

• First-hand knowledge on the situation in al-Quds. The OIC and its specialized organ IDB paid a working visit to access the urgent needs in eastern Al-Quds/Jerusalem.

• Extending financial support to the health and education sectors in the city of Al-Quds Jerusalem , after consultations with the Islamic Solidarity Fund , IDB and other development institutions, to mobilize resources and provide further financial support.

• Continued consultation and coordination regarding the Palestinian issue have been maintained with the United Nations, EU and the League of Arab States.

• Active participation in the annual coordination meetings on Palestine on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and the UN 20

Human Rights Council in Geneva.

• Active participation in the International Conference on the reconstruction of Gaza, held in Istanbul, June 2009.

• Holding several ministerial meetings of the OIC Executive Committee on the Israeli Aggressions against Al-Aqsa Mosque, AlQuds and Gaza.

• The OIC condemned in the strongest possible terms the heinous Israeli attack on a group of ships some humanitarian assistance carrying ships for the sufferers of Israeli blockade on Gaza popularly known as the “freedom flotilla”. An expanded meeting for the OIC Executive Committee was held to discuss this attack and to call for international condemnation and enquiry.

• The OIC group in Geneva and New York played significant role in prompting international action with the votes of the OIC Members States on the Flotilla incident. The HRC adopted, again because of the OIC members acting as a vote bloc, a resolution condemning the attack and forming a fact-finding mission.

• Holding of a meeting for an intergovernmental experts group to discuss ways and means for lifting the Israeli block made on Gaza.

• In partnership with Faisal Hesseini Foundation, the General Secretariat founded and oversaw the implementation of a capacitybuilding project for youth-serving institution in Jerusalem.

• Participation in several meetings and conferences organized by the UN and regional organizations on Palestine.

• Several humanitarian convoys were dispatched to Gaza to help the besieged people therein.

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• The Secretary General held a series of contacts with Palestinian leadership on supporting Palestine in its bid to expand international recognition and UN membership.

• The Secretary General designated an OIC Ambassadorial delegation in march 2012, who met the Foreign Minister of the Holy See, and conveyed his letter requesting from the Vatican to comply with the International Law, UN Resolutions as well as territorial and legal rights of the Palestinian people, and to honour the fundamental agreement between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Holy See. • Considerable efforts exerted by the Secretary General to support and implement the Multi-Sectoral Strategic Plan on East Jerusalem, which was adopted by the 4th Extraordinary Summit and the 38th CFM, and entrusted to the Secretary General with following up its implementation.

• Within an active support of the OIC and the Secretary General himself, Palestine acquired full membership of the UNESCO in October 2011, and the Non-member Observer Status at the United Nations General Assembly in November 2012. Because of the strenuous efforts, 53 OIC Member States and 18 EU member States voted in favour of Palestine’s candidacy.

6. MUSLIM MINORITIES Issues related to Muslim Minorities and Communities in the non-OIC Member States was brought into the priority list of the OIC during last five-six years period. OIC Secretary General’s official visit to countries like the USA, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, China and other non-OIC countries and discussing with the relevant authorities issues related to their Muslim citizens brought new hope for the Muslim people living outside the OIC countries. The OIC is considered as the 22

sole representative of the Muslim World. However, these new initiatives related to Muslim minorities and communities have put the Organization in its perspective in real terms i.e. not only in words but also in action it is now the sole representative of the whole Muslim World. As follows the highlights of the OIC activities in this field: • Contributes to peace building process in various countries such as the Philippines and Thailand and facilitate to find out peaceful solution of Rohinga refugee problems (for those who were driven out from their homeland of Arakan, Myanmar).

• OIC has been heavily engaged for creating peaceful solution and lasting, genuine and practical implementation of the 1996 Final Peace agreement on the implementation of the 1976 Peace Agreement which was signed between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Hence, it has hosted and attended various meetings of the Tripartite Process between the OIC, GPH and the MNLF since 2007.

It has been decided that a new tripartite meeting will be held in 2013 to assess the problems pending between the GPH and MNLF. On 5 October 2012, the OIC Secretary General attended the signing ceremony of the Road Map between the GPH and MILF. On this occasion, the OIC Secretary General emphasized the necessity of implementing the 1976 peace agreement.

• The situation of Muslims in Thailand is closely followed.

The Secretary General paid an official visit to Thailand in 2007, the first visit of an OIC Secretary General in forty years, to enhance the existing relationship and to discuss the problems of Muslims living in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand where they constitute the majority of the population. The OIC succeeded substantially to address its concerns for the Thai Muslim Population which was reflected in the joint statement issued at the end of the Secretary General’s visit. Official 23

delegations from Thailand visited the OIC Headquarters to follow up the said issue and the implementation of the provisions outlined in the joint press statement signed at the conclusion of the visit of the Secretary General.

In line of follow up purpose, a high-level delegation from the OIC was sent to Thailand from 8 to 11 of May 2012. The delegation visited various regions of Southern Thailand and made a joint Press Statement with the Thai side on the Muslim’s issues in the country. However, the delegation highlighted that the improvement of the situation of the Thai Muslims is still facing many obstacles.

The OIC also organised informal meetings and conferences with scholars, experts and representatives of Muslim and non-Muslim NGOs to discuss the problems of Muslims and explore the most convenient ways to assist them. The department is planning to organise a Seminar and Consultation on the situation of Muslims in the Southern Thailand soon.

• The OIC also monitors the situation of Muslims in China in general, and in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in particular. For this purpose, for the first time in the history of the OIC, the Secretary General paid an official visit to China on 17-21 June 2010. The visit also covers the capital cities of Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous regions and the city of Urumqi and Kashgar in Xinjiang Uyghur region. The most important aspect of this visit is that it is not only the first time official visit of an OIC Secretary General but it was for the first time for a country like China to open up to an outside entity like the OIC and allow it to discuss its internal issues. This is a very significant achievement on the part of the OIC as it signifies the credibility that the OIC has established in the international system as a trustworthy and effective organization. The success of this visit was marked by a joint statement by China and the OIC, an unprecedented action on China’s part and another sign of its 24

recognition of OIC’s crucial but positive role. • The OIC facilitated a meeting of senior leaders and eminent persons of Rohingya refugee communities located in different countries to unite their efforts and address the problems of displaced refugees and their needs for return to their homeland of Arakan, Myanmar, in May 2011.Consequently, Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) was formed by the participants and endorsed by all OIC Member States in the 38th Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The OIC called for an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee, which convened at the OIC General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah on 24 June 2012, urging all Member States to condemn the violence against the Rohingya Muslims, provide humanitarian assistance and exert collective pressure with international bodies on the government of Myanmar in order to halt violence and attacks against Rohingya Muslims.

The plight of the Rohingya minority of Myanmar was also among the agenda items of the 4th Extraordinary OIC Summit, which took place in Makkah Al-Mukkaramah on August 14 to 15, 2012.

In implementation of Summit Resolution, the Secretary General dispatched a high-level advance observation delegation to Myanmar.

The OIC delegation signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Myanmar Ministry of Borders Affairs to implement a humanitarian program for the benefit of all communities living in the State of Rakhine.

The Summit also called for the establishment of an OIC Ministerial Contact Group, which was convened on the sidelines of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 26 September 2012. The Contact Group agreed on the need to provide development projects in the Arakan region of Myanmar in addition to humanitarian aid. The meeting stressed the importance of supporting the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar to gain their legitimate rights as citizens and stressed on their human rights.

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• The OIC observes the situation of Muslims in Bulgaria. Lately; the Chief Mufti of Bulgaria visited the General Secretariat, in October 2010, to brief the officials and hold consultation for the betterment of conditions of Muslims there and solving the issue of electing their Mufti. The Secretary General dispatched a high level delegation to attend Extraordinary National Conference of Muslims of Bulgaria, in February 2011, which was convened to elect the Chief Mufti. The election was finally registered as legitimate election by the Bulgarian authorities.

In November 2012, the OIC Secretary General dispatched a delegation to Bulgaria to follow up on the situation of the Bulgarian Muslim minority. The delegation had many contacts and meetings with some officials and the newly elected Chief Mufti. The discussions were fruitful; however the delegation raised the endowment issue which was a point of contention and misunderstanding between the Muslims and the Bulgarian Government. The OIC delegation had mentioned that this matter is a priority for the Muslims in Bulgaria and therefore the Government should pay full attention and take necessary measures to find an adequate solution to it.

• The elected Muftis of Xanthi and Komotini of Greece visited General Secretariat and brief the officials on policies of the government towards Muslim minorities there. These officials were contacted and requested to allow a visit of the OIC delegation to get firsthand information on the condition of Muslims there.

The OIC Secretary General received a high-level delegation from Greece in June 2012 and discussed with them issues of common interest and the ways and means of promoting bilateral relations between the OIC and Greece. It has been concluded that a delegation from the OIC will be visiting Greece to make follow up on the Muslim minority’s issues.

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• The OIC held Symposia on Muslim Minorities; the Second Symposium was dedicated to Muslim communities and minorities of East and Central Europe in December 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. The OIC is planning to organise a Symposium on Muslim Communities and Minorities in North and South America in 2012 in Washington DC, USA, but due to the US presidential elections, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) requested that the Symposium has been postponed at the request of ISNA and will be held in February 2013. • A high-level delegation headed by the representative of the President of the Republic of Russia visited the OIC General Secretariat on 24 May 2012. This visit was a good opportunity for the OIC Secretary General to exchange views on general matters and issues related to the Muslims in Croatia Georgia in particular.

7. ECONOMIC AFFAIRS The promotion of economic cooperation among its Member States is one of the main objectives of the OIC since its establishment. The mainstreaming of this cooperation has become more pronounced upon the implementation of its Ten Year Programme of Action adopted in 2005.

The tasks of expanding intra-OIC trade, increasing competitiveness of OIC products and combating poverty and food and nutrition insecurity remained the major areas of impact in the realm of OIC activities. The elaboration of a common legislative framework for harmonization of tariffs, the creation of poverty alleviation funds and similar projects and programmes for cooperation in the domain of agriculture, tourism and transportation have remained prominent among the major achievements of the OIC in the recent phase. Foremost among the major achievements in the domain of economic cooperation for sustainable development in OIC Member States are the following: Harmonization of Tariffs: The execution of the three main OIC/TPS instruments namely the Framework Agreement, PRETAS and the Rules 27

of Origin and their entry into force in 2002, 2010, 2011 respectively provided for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and facilitated increased trade exchanges as well as increased access to an estimated 1.6 billion strong OIC market.

Trade Financing Intervention: The establishment of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in 2008 has catalyzed increased trade financing interventions. The cumulative net trade financing approvals for OIC Member States increased by 63% from US$24.4 billion in 2005 to US$39.9 billion in 2011; Increased Intra-OIC Trade: The net result of the efforts made in trade facilitation, promotion and financing and the reinvigorated activities of the Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) is an increased volume of intra-OIC trade from 14.44% in 2004 to 17.71% in 2011.

This represents in monetary terms a more than three folds increase from US$205 billion in 2004 to US$687 billion in 2011; Creation of Poverty Alleviation Fund: The establishment of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) in May 2007 as a Waqf with a capital of US$ 10 billion has greatly assisted OIC Member States in addressing the developmental problems associated with dearth of finance for SMEs, absence of social safety nets and inadequate agricultural productivity to support food security. Up to date, the Fund has extended funding to 29 projects in the various OIC countries, amounting to about US$1.06 billion; Establishment of Special Regional Programme for Africa; and Central Asia: The establishment in 2008 of a five-year Special Programme for Development of Africa (SPDA) with a financing window capital of US$12 billion has facilitated OIC targeted interventions in such areas as human and agricultural development, social infrastructure, energy and transportation. As the Programme winds up in 2012, all the funds allocated under the SPDA have been disbursed for the purpose 28

of financing a total number of 428 development projects in 22 OIC Member States, comprising the amount of US$4.8 billion disbursed by the IDB Group and an amount of US$9billion expended by development partners. The successor Programme, named SPDA2 is being elaborated and is expected to place emphasis, among others, on cross-border and regional projects in OIC Member States.

Similarly, the OIC Plan of Action for Cooperation with Central Asia is expected to expand cooperation with OIC Member States in Central Asia in the domains of trade and investment, human capital and infrastructure development, environment and culture.

Development of Halal Standards and Establishment of SMIIC: In order to further promote intra-OIC trade and the development of common Halal Food standards, the OIC harmonised documents on Halal standards, accreditation and certification were adopted in 2010.

Subsequently, the inauguration of a new standards harmonization institution, namely: the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) in 2010 has now consolidated intra-OIC cooperation in the area of standardization and metrology, foremost of which are the Halal Food standards.

Increasing of the Capital of Islamic Development Bank: The increase in the subscribed capital of the IDB by Member States from Islamic Dinars 8.1 billion to Islamic Dinars 15 billion in 2006 significantly enabled this institution of the OIC to continue excelling in providing financial support and technical assistance to the Member States, thereby maintaining its AAA+ rating awarded by agencies such as Standard & Poors’, Fitch, Moody’s over the past eight years successively; Cooperation in the Tourism Sector: The adoption of a Framework for Development and Cooperation in the domain of Tourism between OIC Member States 2008-2018 has paved the way for participation in the implementation of a project on a Network of Cross Border Parks and Reserves in the West Africa, in collaboration with such partners as 29

UNWTO and KOICA. OIC Dakar Port-Sudan Railway Project: This Project, aimed at covering a network of 10,000km, was initiated in 2008. Presently the feasibility studies of the Project have reached an advanced stage and is being executed in alliance with with African Union/ NEPAD, including funding from IDB Group within the framework of Presidential Initiative on Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIIDA); Common Agricultural Policy: The execution of joint projects between OIC and other international partners has revitalized the agricultural sector in OIC Member States. Under the IDB Jeddah Declaration, established in 2008, an amount of US$1.5 billion was committed to financing over 27 projects in OIC Member States with the technical participation of FAO and IFAD respectively. In the same vein, several workshops, expert group and ministerial meetings held in 2010/2011 resulted in the elaboration of a Framework for intra-OIC cooperation in Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security.

Establishment of OIC Cotton Action Plan: Cotton is an important cash crop for many OIC Member States hence the adoption of this Plan aimed at revitalizing this important sub-sector. The work of the Committees put in place to oversee the implementation of the Plan has resulted in the selection of 27 priority projects, out of which 6 are already disbursing.

Enhancing the role of Private Sectors in the OIC activities: The establishment of agencies such as International Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) within the IDB Group and the closer cooperation with institutions such as Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (ICCIA) are some of the examples of the importance the OIC attaches to the development of a vibrant private sector among the OIC Member States.

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Cooperation with Regional Organisations: The policy of enhancing implementation of OIC programmes and projects through closer cooperation, synergy and alliance between OIC and other international and regional economic groupings has resulted in the conclusion of framework agreements with such institutions as: United Nations, FAO, IFAD, the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and D-8 Organization.

Assistance to Member States for Capacity Building: The three pilot projects in Sierra-Leone, Bangladesh and Mauritania under the Malaysian Capacity-Buidling Programme for OIC Countries as well as the activities of the various national development funds have remained the fulcrum of OIC activities in the domain of national responses to the developmental aspirations of needy OIC Member States.

Cooperation among Stock Exchanges of the OIC Member States: The efforts in this domain led to launching of the Standard and Poor’s (S&P)/ OIC- COMCEC index, the establishment a Forum for the Capital Markets regulatory Authorities of the OIC Member States to work on such issues as Market Development, Capacity Building, Islamic Finance and Financial Literacy respectively as well cooperation between Central Banks and Monitory Authorities in OIC Member States.

8. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: The geographical area covered by the OIC Member States is highly prone to natural disasters. In addition, because of the presence of almost all the political hotspots again within the geographical boundary of the OIC, it is extremely vulnerable to man made disasters as well. This fact legitimizes the frequent need and requirement for humanitarian assistance to be extended to the OIC Member States.

The OIC as an Organization was not born with any specific mechanism 31

for dealing with humanitarian situations in its member states. Whatever actions were taken were on ad hoc basis. It was as early as January 2005, at the aftermath of Tsunami, that a concerted humanitarian effort was launched for the first time in the OIC. At the same time, a need for having a concrete mechanism to deal with humanitarian disasters was felt more than ever.

Keeping in line with its new mission and vision enumerated in the OIC Ten Year Program of Action and the new Charter, a process was initiated and the department of International Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs (ICHAD) was created in June 2008 by the 35th Council of Foreign Ministers. Subsequently in May 2009 the OIC adopted a document covering the strategic objectives of the OIC’s action in the humanitarian areas. What is important about this newly created mechanism is that it works as a unifying force of the efforts deployed by various government and civil society institutions of the Muslim World working in this field.

As a result, the efficiency of such assistance increases manifold because of its channeling in a coordinated and target oriented manner and avoiding duplication towards its optimum utilization. This last factor related to ‘avoiding duplication’ is very important as the fact remains that our resources are limited but needs are never ending. The actions in the humanitarian area include: • Energizing humanitarian action and establishing the Alliance of OIC Humanitarian Institutions to facilitate relief operations and field intervention in natural and man-made disasters.

• Reaching out to NGOs and civil society institutions in the humanitarian field through paving the way for their access to a consultative observer status subject to certain conditions • 32

Launching a programme to sponsor 25000 orphans who lost

their families as a result of the Tsunami in Banda Aceh, Republic of Indonesia, through coordination with the IDB and at a total cost of US$135 million.

• Holding donor conferences for Niger, Sierra Leone, Comoros Islands, Mali Pakistan flood affected people and Darfur.

•

Relief campaign for Gaza (US$14 million).

• Inaugurating an eye hospital in Gaza at a cost of US$1.5 million and establishing a logistic unit in Arish, Egypt to reach the population in Gaza.

• Construction of 200 housing units in Pandang, Western Sumatra, Indonesia at a cost of US$2 million for the earthquake victims.

• Setting up special funds for the refugees of Bosnia Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.

• Cooperating with the UNDP and the South- South Cooperation Unit in the United Nations. OIC-UNDP Partnership Programme at a cost of US$25 million to establish training, health, educational projects in Somalia.

• Field visits to assess damages in Guinea, Niger, Burkina Faso, Comoro Island, Gaza, Yemen, Kenya (Somali refugees), Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

• Establishment of the OIC Humanitarian and Development Office in Niamey for the implementation of the recommendations of the Doha international conference on food self-sufficiency in Niger in July 2009.

•

Opening of an OIC humanitarian coordination Office in 33

Mogadishu, Somalia in March 2011.

• Opening of an OIC humanitarian coordination Office in Islamabad in March 2010.

• Signing of a MoU with WFP for the distribution of food for 366,000 IDPs in the Afgoy Corridor in Somalia.

• Enhancing cooperation with key international humanitarian actors such as DFID, ICRC, Australian Aid Agency, OCHA, Swiss Development Agency, ICRC, Medecin Sans Frontieres, etc.

• Despatching Emergency humanitarian missions to the TunisianLibyan borders and to the Libyan-Egyptian borders.

• Established an OIC Coalition from major Humanitarian actors in the OIC Member States to assist Somalia.

•

NGOs conferences in Libya, Islamabad, Doha and Khartoum.

• Construction of houses for the floods victims in Pakistan. OIC is committed to construct 600 houses for Pakistani floods affected people.

Work has already started for the construction of 225 houses.

• Extraordinary Conference in Istanbul for Somalia which received pledges for 350 million US dollars from OIC Member States.

• Elaboration of draft rules on granting consultative status to humanitarian, philanthropic and relief Non- Governmental Organization, to be considered by an inter- governmental group of experts and submitted to the CFM’s consideration for adoption.

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Highlights of some humanitarian activities:

I. In order to express solidarity and provide assistance to all the needy without discrimination, emergency interventions were carried out in the following countries: 1.

Somalia: In March, 2011 the OIC Humanitarian Coordination Office was established in Mogadishu, Somalia for close coordination of humanitarian intervention. A meeting of NGOs from Member States, was convened in Istanbul on July 28, 2011 and established a coalition of 38 NGOs, now operational under the umbrella of the OIC on the round in Mogadishu.

Work was divided into five sectors for which five organizations were selected to ensure coordination in their respective fields of specialty as follows:

- Management of camps: Assigned to the Turkish Red Crescent Society

- Health: Federation of Arab Doctors

- Food and Emergency needs: Qatar Red Crescent

- Media and documentation: Islamic Relief – Britain

- Mobilization of Resources: OIC Department of Humanitarian Affairs

The OIC also convened an extraordinary Executive Committee meeting on 17th August 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey whereby an Ad-hoc Committee comprised of Kazakhstan, Turkey, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the OIC was established, to closely follow up the humanitarian situation in Somalia and take appropriate action where deemed necessary. Member states also pledged a contribution of USD350 million towards alleviation of the plight of the famine affected people in Somalia.

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So far, the OIC through its Coalition of NGO partners has managed to distribute over 50,000 MT of food aid in Mogadishu and in areas under the control of non-state armed groups, benefiting 1,500,000 people, out of which 30% beneficiaries are in Mogadishu and 70% outside Mogadishu. Also 100 Health Units have been established to cater for 306 IDP camps.

OIC has also organized a conference under the title “Water for Life� for Somalia in Cairo on 5th October 2011 where OIC partners pledged 85 million US dollars to dig 675 water wells.

2.

Palestine: The OIC has also been very active in Gaza mobilizing resources from member states and its civil societies for both the relief and recovery phases. Several projects are being implemented with major NGOs and different stakeholders such as:

- The opening of an eye specialized clinic in the Gaza Strip.

- A surgery room was opened in the European hospital.

- OIC prepared a complete rehabilitation and development project package for different sectors in Gaza at a cost of 50 million US dollars.

- The opening of logistic units in Cairo and Gaza to coordinate and facilitate humanitarian support to Gaza.

- Several rehabilitation and developmental projects were implemented with major NGOs and different stakeholders for a total amount of 29 million US dollars as follows:

(1) US dollars.

Food security sector: 3 projects at a cost of 14 million

Housing sector: 3 projects for 10 million US dollars.

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(2)

(3) dollars.

Health sector: 5 projects at a cost of 5 million US

(4) Economic sector: the signing of a contract for the programming unit project at a cost of 250,000 US dollars.

3.

Yemen: A field hospital had been erected in the Mazrak IDPs camp and several medical activities are under-way through the joint OIC-MSF partnership doing the utmost to alleviate the suffering of the needy people in the field of healthcare.

4.

Pakistan: Following a large influx of IDPs in the Swat Valley, OIC held high-level talks with Pakistani authorities. Both the ISF and the IDB provided funding for meaningful projects to help restore capacities and institutions.

The OIC also played a leading role in rallying support to Pakistan after the huge floods that were not seen the likes of in over 80 years.

Several initiatives and on 11th January 2011, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, UN officials and other ranking official, the Secretary General dedicated the OIC village for flood-affected people composed of 100 houses out of the total 600 houses that were pledged by the OIC. 5.

Niger: Two agricultural and environment conservation projects were jointly funded for 250,000 US dollars and have both been completed. 41 projects for irrigation, environment conservation and agricultural schemes were studied and the amount of 1.5 million US dollars has been earmarked for their implementation in 2012.

6.

Sierra Leone: A decision was taken to reactivate the activities of the Fund which has been facing since its inception dire financial constraints. Low income houses are going to be built with some OIC Member States in targeted vulnerable areas.

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7.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: The project Hajj 2011 for returnees financed by Foundation Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahayan from Abu Dhabi has been sucessful. 10 candidates from 10 different cities performed Haj (9 by bus and 1 by plane). Funds have been mobilised for the implementation of primary schools in Mosta, Tursanovo brdo; of a mechanical enginerring school in Mosta and of a kindergarten in Sumejja.

8.

Afghanistan: The OIC Assistance Fund for Afghan People (OIC/AFAP) has been implementing since its inception in 2003, a string of projects ranging from education, general healthcare, vocational training, gender awareness, agriculture, environment, income generating schemes, etc. 33 clinics have been commissioned nationwide and several centres of excellence on vocational training both for boys and girls have been opened.

9.

Indonesia: In collaboration with IDB, the daily management of orphans has continued along with the supervision of PIAs operating on the ground.

10.

Libya: Two fact finding missions were sent to the TunisianLibyan and Egyptian-Tunisian borders for needs assessment purposes following the influx of Libyan refugees due the social unrest and disturbances which hit Libya.

11.

Philippines: A joint humanitarian mission was sent to the Philippines following the disastrous passage of Cyclone Sendong. Over 21,000 people benefitted from OIC humanitarian assistance which included food and non-food items.

II.

Relationship with civil society in OIC Member States

At the regional level, much focus and lot of energies were put on establishing an OIC NGOs forum. To this end, a meeting was convened in Khartoum, Republic of Sudan in 2011. A code of conduct was adopted 38

and a network of NGOs established.

The resolution on the OIC Humanitarian NGOs seeking consultative status has been endorsed in Djibouti by the 39th session of the CFM which was held on 15-17 November 2012.

III.

International cooperation

At the international level, the OIC has widened its scope of cooperation with many international humanitarian organizations such as OCHA, UNHCR, UNDP, WFP, DFID, UNISDR, USAID, AusAid, Swiss Development Agency (SIDC), the Saudi Red Crescent Society, the Turkish International Cooperation Agency, Qatar Red Crescent Society, MSF, Muslim Aid, etc. In the same vein, several MoUs have been or are about to be signed, the latest one with OCHA following the high-level visit of Baroness Amos to the OIC General Secretariat, mid November, 2011. A three-year plan of action (2012-2015) was laid down to cater for four domains: policy; operational engagement; information management; humanitarian financing and capacity building.

The OIC and OCHA conducted joint needs assessment mission to Syria in mid to end of March 2012. Likewise, the two organizations embarked on a joint partnership tour of Sahel on 14-21 October 2012 which led them to Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Prior to this joint mission, ICHAD visited Myanmar and held important talks with local authorities there and a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed in September 2012 between the OIC and the Ministry of Border Affairs so as to provide humanitarian assistance to IDPs in Rakhine State.

9. CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND FAMILY AFFAIRS One of the main priorities dealt with by the General Directorate of Cultural, Social and Family Affairs is combating the scourge of Islamophobia. The issue of Islamophobia was taken to a new height with the active campaign conducted by the OIC at the aftermath of the 39

Danish cartoon crisis. Because of the tireless efforts of the Secretary General all through the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006, for the first time ever a tri-partite statement was issued by the UN, OIC and EU in this regard. In the field of Interfaith and Intercultural interaction, the OIC established itself as one of the principal interlocutors of the UN Alliance of Civilizations initiative. Besides, Islamophobia the OIC championed the cause of Human Rights by establishing its Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights at its 38th Council of Foreign Ministers. Success in the field of Women, Children and Family issues is depicted through the establishment of the department of Family affairs at the General Secretariat, adoption of the OIC Plan of Action for Advancement of Women (OPAAW) as well as through the establishment of a specialized institution called Women Development Organization.

Some of the notable achievements in the sector are underlined below: • The Islamophobia Observatory established by the 34th CFM in Islamabad in May 2007 has been active in monitoring and countering Islamophobia. The Observatory has been successful in raising global awareness of the dangerous implications of the phenomenon.

The Observatory, aside from issuing daily and monthly reports on Islamophobia, prepared and released Five Annual Islamophobia Reports in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 respectively.

• The OIC together with the Alliance of Civilizations, the Council of Europe (CoE) and the British Council organized an open roundtable on “Addressing Islamophobia: Building on unused opportunities for mutual respect and inclusion” on the sidelines of the AoC Third Global Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro on May 27-29, 2010 and coordinated a Brainstorming Session of a Panel of Eminent Persons on the OIC Sponsored Resolution on ‘Combating Defamation of Religions’ in Istanbul on July 4-5, 2010, with a view to evolving a common understanding on the way forward with particular reference to a legally sustainable stance and strategy for this issue of utmost importance to the OIC. 40

• Signing of the MoU between the OIC and the UN Alliance of Civilizations on the sidelines of the 2nd AoC Annual Forum in Istanbul in April 2009 and an Action Plan was signed between the two entities during the Third AoC Global Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro on May 27-29, 2010, aiming at setting out joint plans and programmes to be implemented by the two institutions over the period from 2010 – 2012.

• OIC hosted the 1st Meeting of AoC Focal Points of the OIC Member States, held in Jeddah on April 24-25, 2010, which had the objective of creating an opportunity to put Focal Point’s minds together on developing a common OIC stance at all AoC Forums.

• Coordination with relevant institutions such as IRCICA and ISESCO to promote Islamic Culture. The Secretary General in his various lectures and statements have underscored the true teachings of Islam and has upheld the values of tolerance, compassion and peace embodied in Islam and also tried to remove the misperceptions and distortions about Islam.

• The OIC started the establishment of an Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), based on the mandate of the TenYear Programme of Action and the new OIC Charter. The statute of the Commission was adopted during the 38th CFM held in Astana in June 2011and entered into force following its adoption. The 38th CFM also elected 18 independent experts composing the Commission, which would constitute an important pillar of the ongoing process of reform at the OIC. • OIC was involved in following up the issue of human rights in the UN. It took part in the Durban Review Conference in Geneva 2009.

The OIC delegation led by its Secretary General played an important role in cooperation with the Member States to uphold the OIC’s interests in promoting human rights and in particular against incitement of hatred and abuse of the right to freedom of expression.

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• The OIC has been taking a leading role at the United Nations Human Rights Council to bring the international community to adopt a common position on combating intolerance and incitement based on religion or belief. While addressing the Human Rights Council Session in September 2010, the OIC Secretary General had proposed eight points enumerating some practical steps towards facilitating a consensus between the OIC and the Western Group. These eight points received immediate attention and acceptance of the United States Government.

The US approached the OIC to work towards a consensus in line with the eight points and at the latter’s advice brought the EU on board.

This international coordination and cooperation on the basis of the eight points given by the OIC Secretary General yielded very significant result. The 16th Session of 2011 of the UN HRC adopted by consensus, the historic HRC Resolution 16/18 on Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief.

• The OIC organized Istanbul Meeting of 15th July 2011, cochaired by the OIC Secretary General Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and participated by a number the Foreign Ministers of both the West and the OIC Member States.

The Conference reiterated the importance of the implementation of the Resolution 16/18 in letter and spirit. However, this was not just any conference but a significant achievement given that it has probably put the first stone to pave the way for creating a legal mechanism on national as well as international level which would result into lessening the tension between the West and the Muslim World in terms of religion and faith. The joint statement of the co-chairs already is an expression of political will in this line. Another positive outcome that could be envisaged is in terms of reducing the intensity of Islamophobia as in general the phenomenon is an outcome of tensions between the followers of different religions and faiths.

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Following the visit of United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights, Mrs. Navanethem Pillay, to the General Secretariat on April 19, 2010, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights organized for the OIC Task Force an orientation visit to Geneva on the establishment of IPHRC which took place on May 26 to June 01, 2011.

• Within the mandate of the OIC Ten Year Program of Action (TYPOA), the 36th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Damascus, on 23-25 May 2009 decided to establish a Department for Family Affairs within the framework of the General Secretariat’s restructuring. The new Department was established and was a milestone event for the OIC. • The Specialized Organ known as Women Development Organization with its Headquarters in Cairo was established in accordance with 36th CFM decision in May 2009 and the Statute of this institution was adopted by the 37th CFM in Dushanbe in May 2010.

• Adoption of the OIC Plan of Action for Advancement of Women (OPAAW) by the 2nd Ministerial Conference on Women’s Role in the Development of OIC Member States in Cairo in November 2008 was a landmark achievement for the OIC. • The Third Session of the Ministerial Conference on Women’s Role in the Development of OIC Member States, held in Tehran, Iran, on December 19-21, 2010 adopted the Mechanism for the implementation of the OPAAW. Consultations are underway with some Member States to host Conferences on OPAAW Follow-up Implementation Mechanism and Conference on Values of Family in Islam.

• The Fourth Ministerial Conference on Women’s Role in the Development held on 4-6 December 2012 in Jakarta took stock of the implementation of the decisions taken by the relevant OIC ministerial conferences particularly the OPAAW and discussed ways and means 43

of further coordinating efforts to promote women in the OIC Member States.

• In line with the OIC Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam, as well as Ten Year Program of Action, Childcare, child protection and child welfare are among the priority areas of the OIC. After the 1st and 2nd sessions of the Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood held in Rabat and Khartoum respectively, the 3rd Conference convened in Tripoli, Libya on February 7-11, 2011 under the motto “Reinforcing Development: Meeting the Challenge of Early Childhood Promotion in the Islamic World”. The Conference issued the “Tripoli Declaration on Accelerating Early Childhood Development in the Islamic World”.

• OIC General Secretariat along with its Subsidiary, Affiliated and Specialized bodies as well as Member States continued to have a fruitful cooperation with UNICEF for the benefit of child’s survival, protection and development in the Muslim world.

• The OIC remains committed to the development of youths in the Muslim World. In this regard, the OIC has been active in the field of development and empowerment of youths morally and intellectually through several initiatives and programs on dialogue and mutual understanding towards developing a culture of peace, tolerance and respect among diverse faiths and cultural backgrounds. In line with this vision, the OIC has been working in close coordination with other bodies active in the field of youth, including the Islamic Solidarity Sport Federation (ISSF), International Union of Muslim Scouts (IUMS), and Islamic Conference of Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC).

• The 3rd Round of Islamic Solidarity Games is scheduled to be held in Riau, Republic of Indonesia from 6 to17 June 2013, the General Secretariat has been coordinating with the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation and the host country for the preparation of the games.

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10. HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES • The OIC started the process of establishing of an Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), based on the mandate of the Ten-Year Programme of Action and the new OIC Charter. The statute of the Commission was adopted during the 38th CFM held in Astana in June 2011and entered into force following its adoption.

The 38th CFM also elected 18 independent experts composing the Commission, which would constitute an important pillar of the ongoing process of reform at the OIC. • Establishment of the Commission that was achieved in half the stipulated period, constitutes a singularly significant event in the four decades long history of OIC. It symbolizes the new OIC propelled by the vision of ‘moderation and modernization’. It is based on the collective will of Member States to mainstream the human rights dimension across the programs and activities of the OIC. It is a major focus of international attention as the first cross regional human rights mechanism owing to the nature of OIC’s membership.

• The Commission having been established held its first formal session in Jakarta in February 2012. The Commission elected a distinguished Lady from amongst the 18 Commissioners to serve as its First Chairperson. The second formal session was held in Ankara, Turkey, in August 2012, where Rules of Procedure were finalized for onward submission and adoption by the CFM. • The Rules of Procedures were adopted at the 39th CFM held in Djibouti in November 2012, allowing the Commission to be fully functional. In this regard, working groups were held in Jeddah in December 2012 with a view to initiating discussions on priority areas, which included women’s and children’s issues, political and minority rights, as well as the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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• It is being seen and acknowledged as a paradigm shift. We hope its work would dispel the misperceptions regarding Islam’s incompatibility with human rights. It would represent a confluence of universal rights and freedoms and Islamic values. It would catalyze a coherent and strong OIC system aimed at facilitating the full enjoyment of all human rights in the Member States.

• OIC was involved in following up the issue of human rights in the UN. It took part in the Durban Review Conference in Geneva 2009.

The OIC delegation led by its Secretary General played an important role in cooperation with the Member States to uphold the OIC’s interests in promoting human rights and in particular against incitement to hatred and abuse of the right to freedom of expression.

• The OIC has been taking a leading role at the United Nations Human Rights Council to bring the international community to adopt a common position on combating intolerance and incitement based on religion or belief. While addressing the Human Rights Council Session in September 2010, the OIC Secretary General had proposed eight points enumerating some practical steps towards facilitating a consensus between the OIC and the Western Group. These eight points received immediate attention and acceptance of the United States Government.

The US approached the OIC to work towards a consensus in line with the eight points and at the latter’s advice brought the EU on board.

This international coordination and cooperation on the basis of the eight points given by the OIC Secretary General yielded significant results.

The 16th Session of 2011 of the UN HRC adopted by consensus, the historic HRC Resolution 16/18 on Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence, and violence against persons based on religion or belief.

• The OIC organized Istanbul Meeting of 15th July 2011, cochaired by the OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and participation of a number 46

of Foreign Ministers of both the West and the OIC Member States.

The Conference reiterated the importance of the implementation of the Resolution 16/18 in letter and spirit. However, this was not just any conference but a significant achievement given that it has probably put the first stone to pave the way for creating a legal mechanism on national as well as international level which would result into lessening the tension between the West and the Muslim World in terms of religion and faith. The joint statement of the co-chairs already is an expression of political will in this line. Another positive outcome that could be envisaged is in terms of reducing the intensity of Islamophobia as in general the phenomenon is an outcome of tensions between the followers of different religions and faiths. This conference launched what came to be known as the Istanbul Process aimed at facilitating the implementation of 16/18, and two follow-up meetings were held in Washington in December 2011 and London in December 2012.  • Following the visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Navanethem Pillay, to the General Secretariat on April 19, 2010, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights organized for the OIC Task Force an orientation visit to Geneva on the establishment of IPHRC which took place on May 26 to June 01, 2011. Another visit was held to UN Institutions in New York on 10-14 December 2012 with a view to marketing the Commission, expanding its network, and to look for cooperating partners within the human rights context.

11. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS As a result of national actions and strategies, cooperation among OIC Member States, ongoing OIC programmes and activities and concerted efforts by the relevant intuitions, encouraging progress has been registered in the domains of science, technology, higher education, health and environment.

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Before delving into the details of the OIC activities and programmes, it would be worthwhile to have an overview of progress in certain areas.

Since the adoption of the TYPOA, substantial increases in research budgets have been reported by certain OIC Member States. In certain cases gross R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP nearly doubled.

Prior to the adoption of the TYPOA (in 2003), the OIC Member States were, on an average, spending 0.2% of the GDP on R&D. From 2003 to 2011, this percentage has quadrupled to 0.81% which is in the vicinity of the target set by the TYPOA. In the year 2000 scientific publications in international journals by scientists and engineers from 57 OIC Member States numbered 18, 391. This number increased five folds to 92, 503 in 2011.

In 2003, the number of researchers, scientists and engineers in the OIC countries engaged in R&D was around 250 per million i.e. one-tenth of the world average of 2532 per million. This number has nearly doubled to 457 i.e. one-fifth of the world average. Six Member States have more than 1000 researchers per million people: Tunisia 3240; Jordan 1934; Turkey 1715, Iran, 1491; Azerbaijan 1218; Egypt 1018.

The Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII), published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), lists a number of OIC Member States, such as Malaysia, Jordan and Senegal as good performers.

In the domain of Higher Education, nine universities from the OIC Member States are included in the top 400 World University Rankings Supplement of the QS for 2012.

The next section summarizes some of the key activities, programmes and achievements by the OIC since 2005 in the areas of science, technology 48

and innovation, higher education, health and environment.

Science, Technology and Innovation Establishment of the Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO) The OIC institution by the name Science, Technology and Innovation Organization (STIO) was established as a Specialized Organ of the OIC in accordance with Chapter XIII, article 24 of the OIC Charter. The Statute of the STIO came into force with its adoption by the Founding Members at their meeting in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held on 24th February 2010.

The STIO is conceived as an institution responsible for implementing the STI related decisions of the OIC policy making forums. Its objectives include the promotion of smart partnerships and pooling resources of the private and public sectors for research and development, maximum utilization of the scientific talent and technological potential of Member States, fostering technical competence and capabilities and launching specific bilateral or multilateral projects, involving industry, research and academic centers.

Atlas of Islamic World Science and innovation project Launched in 2008, the Atlas of Islamic World Innovation project is an initiative to map key trends and trajectories in science and technologybased innovation in the OIC Member States. The Atlas country reports are intended to look in detail at a geographically and economically diverse sample of selected OIC countries, and offer an independent assessment of how their innovation capabilities are changing, and the opportunities and barriers to their further progress.

The Atlas project is being implemented by the OIC and its institutions 49

in partnership with the UK’s Royal Society, British Council, renowned science magazine Nature, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Qatar Foundation.

Under the project, which is likely to be completed soon, case studies have been conducted in Malaysia, Egypt, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Jordan and Senegal and the country reports are in various stages of preparation.

In addition to the various country reports, the Atlas project envisages a final report which will include a desk-based analysis of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) indicators across the 57 OIC countries, the lessons OIC countries can learn from successful national innovation systems and discussion of common strengths, challenges and recommendations.

Promotion of peaceful application of nuclear energy The 4th Extraordinary session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Makah on 14-15 August 2012 reiterated its resolve to promote scientific and technological development and innovation, in particular, self-sufficiency in fields such as the peaceful uses of technology under the aegis of the IAEA. In collaboration with the IDB and IAEA, the OIC General Secretariat is pursuing projects for the strengthening and establishment of cancer radiotherapy facilities in the OIC member States from Africa, where cancer has become one of the major causes of death.

Likewise, projects on isotope hydrology and mosquito sterilization are being pursued in earnest in collaboration with the IDB and IAEA. These projects highlight the potential of regional cooperation in tackling the challenges of disease, access to safe drinking water and 50

other developmental issues.

OIC project on Communications Satellite The project for the development of a new satellite operator for the Islamic countries was declared at the 35th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Kampala (Uganda) on the 20th of June 2008. The aim of the project is to provide cheaper and better satellite services in OIC countries and, indirectly, foster the development of a satellite manufacturing and services industry.

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), in collaboration with Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), is leading the project on communication satellites. Stakeholders of the project include Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Turkey, Malaysia and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The feasibility study for the project has been done. In view of the positive findings of the feasibility studies, KACST has been mandated to conduct survey of the requirements for communication satellites services, space capacity commitments and technical capabilities available within the OIC Member States.

Selection of Centers of Excellence The OIC General Secretariat, COMSTECH and IDB have selected five Centers of Excellence which will receive IDB support for high level training of scientists and engineers and for promoting cutting-edge research in science and technology. These five Centers are as follows: i) International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research (ICDDRB), Dhaka, Bangladesh; ii) International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry), Karachi, Pakistan; iii) Department of Physics, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey; iv) Institute of Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Zanjan, Islamic Republic of Iran and v) National Institute of Agronomy Research (INRA), Rabat, Morocco.

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Institution of Awards and prizes for Science and Technology Promotion of research requires efforts for developing a culture which values knowledge and attaches importance to innovation.

With the aforementioned in view, special awards and prizes have been instituted for outstanding scientific and technological achievements by Muslim scientists and institutions in the OIC Member States.

COMSTECH Award is offered every two years during COMSTECH’ General Assembly to two prominent Muslim scientists in the disciplines such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. The IDB Science & Technology Award is offered every year to three prominent scientific, research institutions. ISESCO Award is offered every three years.

Higher Education Educational Exchange Programme With a view to taking practical steps towards strengthening the bonds of Islamic solidarity and achieving its renaissance, the OIC General Secretariat has put in place a framework for greater cooperation and linkages in academia i.e. learning, teaching and research.

The ‘OIC Educational Exchange Programme: Solidarity through Academia in the Muslim World’ aims at promoting solidarity through academia and cooperation among Member states in the crucial field of higher education. The Programme is receiving increasing attention at the international level. Under the OIC Programme, scholarships have been announced by several public and private sector universities in the OIC Member States. A dedicated webpage for the Programme facilitates timely provision of information about scholarship offers to the widest possible audience. The Programme also involves faculty exchange, short term student exchanges, research collaboration and vocational training.

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Adoption of ‘Key Performance Indicators: A Guide for Assessment and Quality Enhancement for Universities in the Islamic World’ In October 2011, the OIC Ministers of Higher Education adopted a document entitled ‘Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): A Guide for Assessment and Quality Enhancement for Universities in the Islamic World’. This document is meant to serve as a guide for universities in the OIC Member States for achieving academic excellence, enhancement of R & D, improvement of quality of education to compete with the World Class universities. Further guidelines to facilitate the implementation of the KPIs by the universities in the OIC Member States are being developed.

Establishment of the Association of Quality Assurance Agencies of the Islamic World The Association of Quality Assurance Agencies of the Islamic World which was established as a follow-up of the decision of the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in 2009 and is based in Malaysia.

The Association provides a platform for cooperation in capacity building and exchange of best practices, experience and expertise among quality assurance agencies of countries of the Islamic world.

Strengthening of OIC universities The period 2005 to 2012 has seen progressive strengthening of the OIC universities i.e. Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Dhaka, Islamic University of Niger (IUN), Niamey, Islamic university in Uganda (IUIU), Kampala, and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur.

The OIC universities have seen expansion of faculties, development of infrastructure, new ICT facilities, training of staff and improvements in educational standards.

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Health Institutionalization of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM) The domain of health is central to overall social and human development.

The Ten-Year Programme of Action placed special emphasis on the need for programmes for combating diseases and epidemics and improvements in mother and child health care across OIC Member States.

In order to pursue effective action in the domain of health and promote international cooperation, the OIC General Secretariat initiated the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers on biennial basis.

Establishment of the OIC Health Implementation Unit (HIU) Pursuant to the decision of the 3rd ICHM (Astana 2011) a Health Implementation Unit is being established in the Department of Science and Technology at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah. Functions of the HIU include streaming lining and monitoring implementation of the resolutions and declarations emanating from the ICHMs and to provide expert advice on health related issues.

International partnerships for preventing and combating diseases The OIC General Secretariat continues to work in cooperation with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Secretariat in Geneva in accordance with the bilateral work programme to enhance collaboration on polio eradication for 2009 and beyond. The OIC General Secretariat has been instrumental in obtaining religious injunctions (Fatwa) and mobilizing political support and funds in favour of polio eradication campaigns in the Member States.

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The OIC has been pursuing close cooperation with the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two sides in 2009. The General Secretariat is also elaborating a Joint Work Plan with the Stop TB Partnership.

Mother and Child Health projects in Mali and Bangladesh The OIC and the US Government signed a Cooperation Framework in 2009 to implement projects on Mother and Child Health. Currently Mother and Child health projects are being implemented in Bangladesh and Mali based on collaboration between OIC, USAID, other international partners and the governments of the two countries.

Self-Reliance in vaccine and drugs The OIC General Secretariat and relevant OIC institutions have been carrying out efforts for the promotion of self-reliance in vaccines and drugs in the OIC Member States. These include coordination with private sector manufacturers and relevant international partners for the participation of experts from the OIC member States in international capacity-building activities in the area of vaccine and drug production.

Preparation of the OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action: 2013-2022 In line with the decisions of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers, the OIC General Secretariat, SESRIC and IDB are collaborating in the preparation of the OIC Strategic Health Programme of Action 20132022 which will provide a framework for more effective efforts and international cooperation for addressing the various health challenges facing the OIC Member States. Several international partners, including WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are also been engaged for the preparation of 55

the Programme of Action.

Climate Change and Environment The challenges of environmental degradation and climate change are assuming increasing significance for OIC countries. The OIC General Secretariat and OIC institutions have accordingly stepped up their activities and programmes in these areas.

Adoption of the OIC Water Vision The OIC Water Vision was adopted by the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Water held in Istanbul in March 2012. The OIC Water Vision gives a brief overview of the diverse water environments across the OIC countries and the different dimensions of water related challenges being faced by them. It recognizes the critical role of the OIC in promoting cooperation among Member States on water-related issues and its ability to bring together expertise from diverse countries with unique water characteristics.

The Water Vision not only identifies the opportunities for concerted action but also lays out a roadmap for promoting collaboration among Member States in all aspects of water.

The Conference of Ministers Responsible for Water also adopted a set of recommendations for the implementation of the OIC Water Vision.

The next meeting of the Water Ministers, to be convened in 2013, will be considering follow up actions.

OIC Green Technology Blue Print The OIC General Secretariat is coordinating closely with COMSTECH for the preparation of the OIC Blue Print on Green Technologies. The feasibility study for the Blue Print is being conducted by the University 56

of Technology Malaysia (UTM) and will be funded by the IDB. 12. INFORMATION AFFAIRS It would not be an exaggeration if it is said that the OIC General Secretariat had no substantive achievements as far as the activities related to dissemination of information was concerned till 2005. A department of Information Affairs at the General Secretariat and two OIC institutions namely ISBU (at present IBO) and IINA were in existence.

However, no substantial contribution from these entities were made to the Organization, which resulted into the fact that the OIC activities were mostly ignored or remained unknown or less known in the international Media. The current status of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation among the international community and the response and reactions to the OIC activities in the international Media is a clear testimony of the Organization’s pro-active approach towards international issues coupled with a befitting media policy adopted since 2005.

For the first time in the OIC history, a full-fledged magazine in a professional content and style is being published by the OIC. The weekly newsletter is a first time initiative as well. A Media Guide is also a new thing in the OIC. Some of the accomplishments in this area are: • Publishing the OIC Journal a quarterly magazine in Arabic and English Languages regularly. The French version is expected to be published soon.

• Providing wide and extensive press coverage for the OIC conferences and activities held inside and outside the host country as well as increasing the flow of press releases to keep pace with developments at the international and Member States’ level.

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• Securing journalists and media outlets’ data for their inclusion in the new OIC data base and establishing a data base on information institutions and journalists in Member and non-Member States aiming to provide them with OIC press releases. A photo-archive for relevant photos has also been created.

• Printing information leaflets/booklets on all departments at the General Secretariat for circulation during conferences.

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Publishing a Media Guide for the first time in the OIC.

• Producing documentaries about OIC in cooperation with Media partners.

• Elaboration of a daily bulletin gathering all news on the OIC activities in member states and international media.

• Elaboration of the weekly e-newsletter distributed at a large scale.

• Pursuing electronic and digital archiving of documents of the department of information and media relations with the WebTop system.

• Furthermore, in response to the various public demands in the information sector, a proposal to establish an OIC Satellite channel was adopted at the 9th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) and endorsed by the 39th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). Follow up meetings are being held to discuss various details related to the establishment of the Channel, which is expected to contributed towards boosting Islamic solidarity and enhance intra-OIC countries exchanges and cooperation in various fields including culture, trade, economy and tourism.

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• Establishment of an OIC Journalists Forum, which will be headquartered in Turkey. The establishment of the Forum was endorsed by the 39th Session of Council of Foreign Ministers.

• Launching of an OIC Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum to be based in Turkey. This body will act as a platform for exchange of views on the sector of Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities in order to assist developing countries to enhance their capabilities in this domain. Establishment of this body was approved by the Council of Foreign Ministers during their 39th Session.

• OIC Member States were called upon by the 9th ICIM to open a media coordination office at their own expenses in order to coordinate and exchange information at the General Secretariat and affiliated media organs of the OIC. The same issue was endorsed by the 39th CFM. • Development of mechanism to deal with the issue of Islamophobia in the western media institutions and public opinion.

13. LEGAL AFFAIRS Work on legal matters at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) saw important developments since the Extra-ordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah in 2005 and the adoption of the Ten-Year Programme of Action (TYPOA). The 11th Islamic Summit held in Dakar, Republic of Senegal, in 2008 adopted OIC’s new Charter which was signed and ratified by many member states. Until now, the new Charter has been signed by 51 and ratified by 26 Member States. The same period witnessed the member states’ signature and ratification of many economic and legal agreements. A number of new agreements have come into force recently, namely: 1- Protocol of the Preferential Tariff Scheme of the Trade Preferential System (TPS-PRETAS) on 5 February 2010.

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2- Statutes of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) on 27 May 2010.

3- Statutes of the Islamic Telecommunications Union on 27 May 2010.

4- Rules of Origin of the Trade Preferential System on 9 August 2011.

14. IT DEPARTMENT In today’s world, the significance of computer infrastructure in terms of its hardware and software capacities and capabilities in supporting activities of all the entities from small business enterprises to government bodies and/or international organizations and institutions is undeniable. When achievements of the OIC GS are to be reviewed, IT infrastructure before 2005 needs to recalled. When this comparison is made, IT infrastructure and the concerned department of the OIC General Secretariat are definitely among the top beneficiaries of the ongoing modernization process since 2005.

Before 2005, the OIC General Secretariat had a very poor hardware infrastructure comprising a very limited number of out-dated computers of which some were, indeed, donated by the Islamic Development Bank after having been discarded there.

Furthermore, the OIC website on Internet had an amateurish design, a nonfunctional layout and a technically simple static structure as opposed to a dynamic one which permits accessing it remotely for uploading purposes. It was also suffering lack of compatibility with respect to widely-used internet browsers. General Secretariat’s communication system was mainly based on old-generation facsimile system.

In this respect, major achievements since then can be summarized as follows: 60

• A completely new computer hardware and software infrastructure has been created in the following years and this infrastructure has been regularly kept up-to-date by replacing out-dated hardware and software with new products in the market via closely following the new developments in the industry.

• A new OIC website design and layout have been created with a dynamic programming beneath it permitting remote-access, full compatibility with respect to all the internet browsers and higher security against hacking and other types of malware. This website design and layout have been kept subject to regular review and IT Department launched a new layout, designed to better serve the increasing and changing needs of the OIC General Secretariat.

• In line with the decisions by COMCEC regarding cotton issue, a new website on cotton has been designed .

• The OIC communication system has been completely renewed with modern equipment which permits automatic distribution of incoming and outgoing mail to/from the concerned offices in digital format and storing in a newly designed electronic archiving system.

• A digital archiving system, ‘Documentum’, has been established.

• A visual archiving system, comprising photos, videos and other material, has been designed, outlined and established.

• A library has been established for the first time at the OIC GS and it is being maintained electronically. Furthermore, its cataloging system was digitalized and being planned to link it with the OIC website.

• Internet connectivity has been acquired via wireless connection with higher speeds.

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• Under the OIC umbrella, a Computer Emergency Response Team (OIC-CERT) has been established to facilitate information sharing on current ICT security issues and to assist OIC member countries in acquiring the necessary technical knowledge and experiences regarding cybersecurity. Later, it was granted the status of OIC Affiliated Institution by virtue of Resolution INF-36/2 adopted by the 36th Session of the CFM held in Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.

• During the process of moving to new headquarters building in 2009, new IT infrastructure and network have been successfully fixed.

• An OIC intranet, named OIC-GATE has been developed inhouse.

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CONCLUSION «The Islamic world has been aspiring to regain its lost stature and striving to catch up with the progress achieved by the international community through solving its contemporary problems and fostering development in all walks of life. The Islamic world has also been very eager to benefit from the values and principles of freedom, independence, good governance, and justice and to consolidate human rights principles so that Muslims may reap the fruits of progress and prosperity.»

The above lines contained OIC Secretary General’s vision for the reality of the Islamic world at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

In order to follow this vision, reform of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was imperative. As such the adoption of the OIC Ten-Year Program of Action (TYPOA) was a turning point towards advancing the Ummah and energizing the OIC’s role at all levels. The OIC also made great strides starting with the new charter that opens up to modernity and global values and includes principles and objectives consistent with the provisions of the TYPOA. This booklet is just a reflection of the initiatives taken and efforts exerted at the level of the General Secretariat with the support of the OIC Member States in fulfilling the mission and vision as enumerated above.

We believe that this would serve as a valuable document containing the record of successes of our esteemed Organization.

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