Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 31/05/2012
Istanbul, 31 May 2012 Your Excellency Prime Minister Erdoğan, Your Excellency Secretary General of the UN, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to begin by expressing my deep appreciation for the convening of the AoC Partners Forum in Istanbul. I think this venue is most appropriate for the Alliance to come together. In bridging Asia and Europe this beautiful city represents a confluence of cultures and civilizations. I would also like to thank the Turkish Government for their hospitality and for all the arrangements kindly provided. The presence of Prime Minister Erdogan and Mr. Ban Ki-moon in our midst is indeed a source of inspiration. It lends the confidence that this gathering will mark a turning point in our collective endeavours. Six years after the establishment of Alliance, we must take this opportunity to walk the talk and make good on our political commitments. It is indeed important to the credibility and sustainability of the Alliance. Combating intolerance and discrimination, protecting and promoting human rights, providing adequate education, furthering activities directed to youth and media are the fields of action for the strategies in that direction. The concept of UN Alliance of Civilizations was motivated by a global objective and resolve. The Alliance has indeed earned credibility as evident from its ever growing number of the Group of Friends. The challenge, however, remains as formidable as ever. We continue to be beleaguered by the protagonists of intolerance and hatred. Recent incidents, including the Norway massacre and the burning of copies of the Holy Qur’an, bear testimony to this hard fact. In a globalized world issues of religio-cultural identity have entered the realm of high politics. Our societies face the challenge of good governance of cultural diversity. This is not only about integration. This is all about preparing the hearts and minds for the fact that we are permanently confronted with identity dilemmas and diversity issues. Globalisation compels us to live together and interfaith harmony rooted in multicultural solutions would underwrite peace, security and stability. This is also about learning how to live together in a world where clashes anywhere are clashes everywhere and where cultural and religious fault lines divide our societies. It is essential to counter stereotypes and misconceptions, which deepen patterns of hostility and mistrust within and among societies. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been focussed on combating religious and faith based intolerance. It is devoted to development of a culture of tolerance and peaceful cohabitation among diverse civilizations and cultures. In my address to the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council in September 2010, I spelled out eight points that I believed would contribute positively in bringing nations and governments together in combating intolerance, and stigmatizations based on religion and belief. I felt gratified that my proposal made an impact on the global community. A breakthrough was achieved when UN Member States unanimously adopted the historic resolution 16/18 at the 16th Session of the HRC in Geneva. This Resolution was subsequently adopted by consensus at the 66th UNGA and again the by the 19th HRC last March. I was encouraged to see that international community was not short in recognizing the vision and relevance of Resolution 16/18 when they responded spontaneously to the joint initiative taken by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and I, in this historic city of Istanbul last year, in launching the Istanbul Process with the resolve to implement the provisions of the same Resolution. The Istanbul Process is now well underway and will also serve to complement the goals set in the Alliance of Civilizations. In a world faced with the menace of terrorism, the implications of not evolving a normative framework to discourage hate speech and other forms of incitement to hatred, discrimination, and violence, cannot and must not be ignored. The Resolution 16/18 provides with a good basis for concerted action by states, at both the national and the international levels. It must be utilized accordingly. In addition to reflecting the requisite political will towards implementation of the resolution, it should put in place an integrated framework for coordinated discourse and sustained and structured engagement. An engagement that is geared towards evolving and implementing a common understanding on the whole set of interrelated issues. AoC, I believe, would be an important pillar in such a framework. We cannot leave space and run the unaffordable risk of the agenda hijacked and set by radicals and non-state actors. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Allow me to take this opportunity to make three points: Firstly on the scope and principles of our strategy; secondly on our objectives and priorities; and thirdly on the way forward. As we all are aware, some quarters wish to omit any reference to “West-Islam divide”, whereas others ask to stress them. Everybody knows that the expression as it is coined raises a lot of intellectual controversies. But everybody also knows what it stands for. In that respect, I will simply recall the High Level Report on the Alliance of Civilizations, which aims “to build bridges between societies, to promote dialogue and understanding and to forge the collective political will to address the world’s imbalances - this urgent task constitutes the raison d’être of the Alliance”. Secondly, as a framework for action, we must focus on a positive approach stressing concrete action aimed at overcoming current shortcomings. This is why some prefer to propose stressing the bridges to be built rather than the divides to be overcome. This approach may give ground for future well-identified actions to be proposed. On the way forward, it seems to me that time is a commodity that we cannot afford to squander. I submit that the more time we take, the more will we miss the opportunities towards building a common future. In that vein, a small step forward is better than getting stuck. Being stuck in face of the pressing challenges ahead will always mean lagging behind. As you know, as an international organization, the OIC does not have a National Plan for the AoC per se, but we are encouraging our Member Countries to prepare National Plans, and not only prepare, but also to implement them. We are also encouraging our Member States to joın the Group of Friends (GoF) if they are not yet member, and I am happy to note that now 33 OIC Member States are part of the GoF. On the part of the General Secretariat, we have initiated the Meeting of the AoC Focal Points of the OIC Member States, and so far, two meetings were held in Jeddah and Rabat. The third is expected to take place in Kuwait later this year. We are also keen in supporting the AoC programs. In this respect, I am pleased to inform you that the OIC General Secretariat sponsored 12 AoC Fellows for a three day working visit to Jeddah last April, which proved to be very fruitful. We intend to continue such activities. I would like to conclude by underscoring the continued interest of the OIC to further strengthen its cooperation with the AoC. Addressing issues related to combating intolerance and discrimination as well as furthering intercultural dialogue and interaction is an important area for concerted and concrete action. By way of illustration, I may mention the initiative of the OIC to achieve a historic reconciliation between Islam and Christianity, or if you will, between the Muslim World and the West. I am confident that it is in line with the objectives of the Alliance. If realized, such reconciliation will constitute a great leap forward. I thank you for your attention.
