(Sunday) issued the final statement of the emergency open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the level of permanent delegates, which was called for by Saudi Arabia, Chairman of the Fourteenth Islamic Summit, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, regarding the incident of burning a copy of the Noble Qur’an in Sweden, where it was held The Committee held an extraordinary, open-ended meeting at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Organization in Jeddah, and issued a statement, which reads as follows:
Guided by the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United Nations Organization, and other international documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and affirming the obligation undertaken by all States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote and encourage universal respect for the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race, sex, language or religion; Reaffirming that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression entails special duties and responsibilities in the light of Article 19 (3) and Article 20 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the role played by the exercise of those rights in countering all forms of religious intolerance.
Recalling the various resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly calling for global efforts to promote tolerance, peace and dialogue among civilizations; Especially UN General Assembly Resolution 66/167 and Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 of March 2011 to address the issue of intolerance and incitement to hatred and violence on religious grounds; Recalling United Nations General Assembly Resolution 76/254 defining March 15 as the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia,” and Recalling the relevant resolutions and declarations of the Islamic Summit Conference and the Council of Foreign Ministers, in particular the Final Communiqué of the Fourteenth Islamic Summit held in Makkah Al-Mukarramah on May 31, 2019, and the final statement issued by the extraordinary open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee on Rajab 9, 1444 AH, corresponding to January 31, 2023; As well as the decisions adopted by the 49th Council of Foreign Ministers held in Nouakchott, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania on March 16-17, 2023, in particular Resolution No. 32/49-S on “combating Islamophobia and eliminating hatred and prejudice against Islam,” and Resolution No. 34/49-S Concerning “Combating Defamation of Religions” and Resolution No. 35/49-S Concerning “Condemning the Violation of the Sanctity of Copies of the Noble Qur’an”; Expressing grave concern at the increasing incidences of intolerance, discrimination and acts of violence in the world, and noting with concern that Islamophobia is on the rise in many parts of the world as evidenced by the increasing number of incidents of religious intolerance, negative stereotypes, hatred and violence against Muslims; Noting with deep concern the re-emergence of racist movements and right-wing extremism in various regions of the world through repeated acts of provocation by supporters of the extreme right by insulting Islamic religious symbols and sanctities, including the desecration of copies of the Holy Quran; Condemning any advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, whether through the use of print, audio-visual, electronic, social media or any other means; Reaffirming the importance of promoting dialogue, understanding and cooperation among religions, cultures and civilizations for peace and harmony in the world; And that spreading the values of tolerance and peace is the best way to confront hate speech, fanaticism, extremism, violence and incitement:
1- Strongly condemns the recent blatant attack on the sanctity and sanctity of the Holy Qur’an in the Kingdom of Sweden on the first day of Eid al-Adha in 1444 outside the central mosque in the capital, Stockholm, and expresses its indignation at the repeated acts of desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an, and deeply regrets that the authorities issued a permit allowing its implementation.
2- Invites the Secretary-General to send a letter on behalf of the Member States to the Swedish government and to consider the possibility of sending a delegation to Sweden and the European Union Commission to express condemnation of the incident of burning a copy of the Noble Qur’an and to call on them to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of that criminal act under the pretext of freedom of expression.
3- Condemns all attempts to offend the sanctity of the Holy Qur’an and other sacred values and symbols of Islam under the pretext of freedom of expression, which contradicts the spirit of Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and calls on the international community to stand up to these provocative attempts.
4- The ambassadors of the OIC Member States in capitals where heinous acts against copies of the Holy Qur’an and other sacred Islamic symbols have taken place call for collective efforts at the level of national parliaments, the media and civil society organizations, as well as other governmental institutions, to express a position The Organization of Islamic Cooperation urged the relevant authorities to take the necessary legislative measures to criminalize such attacks, taking into account that the exercise of freedom of expression entails special duties and responsibilities.
5- Calls on all OIC missions abroad (New York, Geneva and Brussels) to take the initiative to address, in the relevant international organizations to which they are accredited, acts of hatred against Islam and its symbols and sanctities in the interpretation of relevant conventions as well as the development of new international legal texts for this purpose.
6 – Calls on Islamic civil society organizations to work with civil society organizations in those countries where anti-Islamic attacks occur on copies of the Holy Qur’an and other sacred values, to resort to local courts and to exhaust all local litigation procedures, under the guidance of a specialized legal advisor, before Bringing cases to international judicial bodies, when appropriate.
7- The General Secretariat calls for expediting the implementation of the “Action Plan to Combat Islamophobia”, which was adopted by the ministers of the OIC Member States of the Contact Group on Peace and Dialogue, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
8. Reaffirms the importance of the eight-point action plan unanimously agreed upon by Human Rights Council resolution 16/18 as an important step in the United Nations to combat incitement to hatred, discrimination, stigmatization and violence based on religion or belief, and calls on all Member States to review the progress made In implementing the action plan and making every effort to maintain the international consensus around this important initiative of the organization.
9. Reaffirms the essential role of political commitment at the highest level for the full and effective implementation of United Nations Human Rights Council resolution 16/18, and encourages States to pay particular attention to the importance of criminalizing incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief, while recognizing the positive role of open debate And constructive, respect and interfaith dialogue in this regard.
10. Calls on all governments to fully implement the existing legal and administrative framework or adapt new legislation if necessary in line with their obligations under international law, norms and standards to protect all individuals and communities from hatred and violence based on religion and belief and to ensure the protection of places of worship.
11- Recalls United Nations Human Rights Council resolution 36/34 of March 24, 2017, in which the Council requested the development of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to ensure the start of negotiations on a draft Additional Protocol to the Convention criminalizing acts of a racist nature and based on Xenophobia is like Islamophobia.
12- Calls on the Secretary-General to send a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Security Council urging them to issue statements of condemnation to reject insulting religious symbols and sanctities, which stirs hatred and promotes the growth of violent extremism and fuels terrorism, and calls for mutual respect for all religions and beliefs and the promotion of a culture of peace and tolerance.
13- Assigning the Islamic Group in New York and Geneva to continue raising and informing the relevant organs of the United Nations of the ongoing violations against Islamic symbols and sanctities, and what this represents in feeding hate speech and the growing phenomenon of violent extremism.
14- Assigning the Islamic group in world capitals (especially the capitals in which blatant acts against copies of the Holy Qur’an and other sacred Islamic symbols took place) and international organizations, especially the European Union, to take the necessary measures towards referring this statement to the ministries of foreign affairs and the concerned agencies in those countries and organizations And clarify the seriousness and consequences of persistence in insulting Islamic symbols and sanctities.
15- Continuing to include the item “combating the phenomenon of Islamophobia” on the agenda of the meetings of the Islamic Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries with countries and international and regional groupings.
16- Assigning the Islamic Group in New York to take the necessary measures towards referring this statement to the relevant organs of the United Nations to issue it as an official document of its documents, and to request it to include this issue on its agenda in accordance with the provisions of Article (1) Paragraph (3) of the Charter of the United Nations, which calls for strengthening Respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people, and encouraging this absolutely without discrimination on grounds of sex, language or religion.
17- Assign all Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Geneva to immediately draw the attention of the Human Rights Council to the recent blatant attack on the sanctity and sanctity of the Holy Qur’an in the Kingdom of Sweden by calling for an urgent discussion in its current 53rd session and all its forthcoming sessions; To present a resolution to address the recurrence of these unfortunate incidents, to identify and confront the motives and manifestations of this serious human rights issue in a systematic and institutional manner, and to keep the matter under review.
18- Renew the Secretary-General’s call to take immediate steps to strengthen the Islamophobia Observatory in the General Secretariat, by transforming it into a complete department for combating Islamophobia, dialogue and communication, allocating the necessary resources to enable the observatory to work effectively, implement concrete programs on the ground, and facilitate its link with other centers and mechanisms concerned with monitoring The phenomenon of Islamophobia all over the world, and to announce its periodic reports professionally.
19- Calls for placing the desecration of copies of the Holy Qur’an, Islamic symbols and sanctities on the agenda of the coordination meeting of the foreign ministers of the Member States on the sidelines of the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and the upcoming Islamic summit in Gambia, with the aim of taking more measures to address this negative phenomenon against Islam and Muslims. .
20- Invites the Secretary-General to consider possible steps to review the official framework linking the General Secretariat to any country in which copies of the Holy Qur’an and other Islamic values, symbols and Islamic doctrines are being desecrated with the consent of the country concerned, including suspending the status of the Special Envoy.
21- Requests the Secretary-General to implement Paragraph 9 of Resolution No. 68/48-S to appoint a Special Envoy on Islamophobia, within available resources, to lead collective efforts on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
22. Invites the Secretary-General to consult with Member States to convene an emergency high-level meeting, when necessary.
23- Calls for holding a regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Islamophobia in September 2023, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the despicable attacks against Muslims and sacred Islamic symbols, including the desecration of copies of the Noble Qur’an, and to follow up on the results and decisions of previous meetings of the Executive Committee and the Council of Foreign Ministers, as part of the preparation for a meeting At the ministerial level of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in coordination with the General Secretariat and in consultation with member states.
24- Welcomes the convening of the International Conference on Islamophobia and Anti-Discrimination from 22 to 23 August 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
25- Calls on the General Secretariat to organize events on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia at its headquarters and in countries where anti-Islamic attacks occur, in order to raise awareness at the global level and mobilize Member States and potential partners, to combat Islamophobia in the most effective way.
26- Requests the Secretary-General to follow up on the implementation of this statement and to submit a report thereon to the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers.
