Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 08/03/2011
The Committee of Permanent Representatives to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat on 8 March 2011. The meeting discussed the critical situation in Libya and its dangerous and ongoing implications. The meeting listened to the statement of H.E. the OIC Secretary General on the situation in the Libyan Jamahiriya and the efforts deployed by the OIC at the political and humanitarian levels. In this respect, the meeting applauded the statement issued by the Secretary General on 22 February 2011 which condemned the excessive use of force against civilians in Libya, considering that the repression and intimidation used in Libya amount today to humanitarian tragedy which contravenes Islamic values, human rights and international humanitarian law. The meeting also commended the Secretary General’s genuine endeavours in harmonizing the OIC’s position as well as the coordination with regional and international organizations vis-à-vis the alarming situation in Libya and requested him to continue his efforts in this regard. The meeting recalled the importance attached by the Charter of the OIC and its Ten-Year Programme of Action for Member States to consolidate the principles of good governance, promote human rights, fight corruption, expand political participation and inclusive development, and address the growing challenges in the political, social and economic domains which cannot be tackled effectively except through the implementation of comprehensive reforms in various sectors. The participants at the meeting extended their condolences to the families of martyrs of the peaceful demonstrations and their sympathies to the wounded and expressed their regrets over the heavy loss of lives of the Libyan people along with the colossal damage suffered by public and private properties in the country. The meeting called upon the Libyan authorities to immediately end the military operations targeting civilians and empathized the importance of dialogue to address all their demands through peaceful means and stop bloodshed in order to restore Libya’s unity, security and stability. The meeting urged OIC Member States, international organizations, along with Islamic and international civil society organizations to move promptly and provide necessary and urgent humanitarian assistance to the Libyan people and to assist them in surmounting this grave crisis, in line with the statement issued by the OIC Secretary General in which he appealed to OIC Member States and humanitarian international organizations. The meeting requested the General Secretariat to provide Member States with necessary information on the humanitarian needs of displaced persons particularly at the Libyan borders. It also called Member States to coordinate their humanitarian efforts with the OIC General Secretariat as well as providing regular information in this regard. The meeting appealed to Member States and the international community to extend urgent and tangible assistance to evacuate citizens of Member States, displaced in Libya, in particular at the Tunisian, Algerian and Niger borders with Libya and to provide immediate bilateral support to them to mitigate the additional burden of this humanitarian crisis. The meeting took note of the call by the Libyan authorities to send an OIC Fact-Finding Mission in order to get more acquainted with the situation on the ground. The meeting emphasized the imperative of respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity of Libya and non-interference in its internal affairs stressing the principled and firm position of the OIC against any form of military intervention to Libya. The meeting called for the convening of an emergency open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee at the Ministerial Level and requested the Secretary General to coordinate with the Member States in this regard. The Emergency Meeting will further review the latest developments in Libya and to take decisions, as necessary, on various recommendations including the support for the international calls to establish no-fly zone over Libya under UN supervision to be implemented based on a Resolution by the UN Security Council aiming at protecting civilians. The meeting requested the OIC Secretary General to intensify contacts and efforts with all parties with a view to stopping bloodshed in Libya and resolving the conflict by peaceful means while strengthening the OIC’s efforts in the humanitarian aspect.
