Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 02/12/2007
Address of H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary general to the 36th session of the permanent finance committee (PFC) Jeddah: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 22 – 24 Dhul-Qa’dah 1428 H , 2-4 December 2007 Bismillahir Rahman Arrahim Distinguished delegates, Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to welcome you all at the start of your deliberations in this 36th Session of the Permanent Finance Committee. The present session, as you are aware, bears particular interest, since it has been mandated by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers at its 34th Session, on an exceptional basis, to adopt the 2008 budget to overcome the issue of adjusting the dates for the OIC fiscal year’s beginning and ending, which will in future, be aligned on the Gregorian Calendar. Given this special mandate, and given its importance in facilitating the OIC functions and management of its financial and administrative affairs, I felt it appropriate for me to be with you as you embark on this special task so as to connect with you and appraise you of certain issues and matters that we are undertaking in the OIC in order to raise its level and respond to the resolutions adopted from time to time by the various summits and ministerial conferences, and to achieve the noble objectives that stand behind the establishment of our Organization, in an ever-changing world with multiple new challenges which require swift action on our part, and to face up to a number of fresh developments. Allow me at the outset to express my deep satisfaction and profound appreciation for the excellent working relation that exists between the Organization and the Permanent Finance Committee and for the positive cooperation between them, such as to have enabled us, hand in hand, to cover substantial ground in the area of administrative and financial reforms. And this, of course, has positively impacted the OIC’s performance in diverse areas, and its reputation, which has greatly benefited the Joint Islamic Action and served well the interests of the Islamic Ummah. Such an atmosphere of mutual understanding and cooperation has made it possible for us to better manage the OIC General Secretariat’s business, in terms of sound utilisation of the available financial resources in beneficial expenditure channels, in terms of their proper, integral, effective, and transparent use, and in terms of financing the new programmes adopted by the summit and ministerial meetings. Given the noticeable improvement in the General Secretariat’s performance at all levels, the number of states that have honoured their financial commitments has risen since I took office to 48 states, whereas formerly these hardly reached 35 states. As for the states that have failed in the past to deliver on their financial commitments, their number has dropped from 21 to 8 only. The incentives offered by the Islamic Summit Resolution No. 1/10-AF (IS) have undoubtedly contributed substantially to this drop. Out of the 34 defaulting Member States, 12 States took advantage of the incentives offered by this resolution to settle their arrears. This resolution was originally meant to extend for four years ending on 30th June 2007. However, to give the member states extra time to benefit from such incentives, the resolution has, for one ultimate time which is not to be repeated, been extended for another six months. There is no question that the OIC General Secretariat’s implementation of the advanced standard accounting system since 2005-2006 aimed at the enhancement of its accounting activities’ efficiency and transparency, along with the generalization of this system to include all OIC subsidiary organs- excepting the Islamic University of Technology in Dhaka which will also implement it next year- has made your esteemed committee’s task easier, laid the foundations of the required transparency and responsibility for sound operating, and helped achieve maximal benefit from the available financial resources. This new reality has had a clear impact on two pivotal matters: 1. The member states’ increased confidence in the Organization’s usefulness and the importance of its multiple activities. This has been reflected in the tangible improvement in the collection of mandatory contributions and arrears in a way that warrants satisfaction as acknowledged in the latest FCO report which paid tribute to the General Secretariat’s approach in this respect and recommended that it be kept up. On this occasion and on behalf of the General Secretariat of the OIC, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Islamic Republic of Iran for donating US$1,000,000; to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for donating US$500,000 and to the Republic of Turkey for donating US$1,500,000. 2. The emergence of the OIC as an impactful Organization at the international level, enjoying respect, credibility and parity with major well established organizations. This has earned the OIC due respect from the world and the international political, information and intellectual institutions which have come to see in the Organization an actor that has its own weight, presence and standing. None of this would have been possible had it not been for the multiple and diverse activities undertaken by the Organization at both the international and institutional levels over the past three years. Yet, our aspirations in terms of quality performance, distinguished presence in the international arena and dedicated service for the Ummah’s causes, is not confined to what has been achieved thus far, but rather extend far beyond, to other expansive horizons, particularly those that have been opened up by the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit which convened in Makkah Al-Mukarramah at the gracious initiative and sponsoring of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the Ten-year Action Programme which entrusted the OIC General Secretariat with the duty of implementing it, in full cooperation with the member states. This programme, as everyone knows, is a grand program in direct proportion to the size of the Islamic Ummah proceeding from a modest starting point. From this equation one can have a feel of the momentous responsibility which demands therefore even greater activity and further mutuality, along with enhanced contributions of all kinds in order to overcome the hurdles and pave the way for those aspirations to materialize. For it to assume these increasing responsibilities, the General Secretariat finds itself in a dire need for adequate and highly skilled human resources, with specialised and high quality techniques, to undertake a new set of competencies and specialities not known before. However, we - quite regrettably – find ourselves unable to attract such qualified human capacities, on account of the inadequate salaries offered by the General Secretariat and the absence of a proper pension scheme that would provide the staff members with continued living resources after retirement, in addition to the fact that the term of office offered to the category of Directors does not exceed seven years after which they are left to their own means. When candidates for employment at the OIC compare the salaries and conditions offered by the OIC to those offered by other similar organizations or institutions, they find that the OIC’s terms are disadvantageous. And, based on this painful reality we have therefore requested that a 15% increase in basic salaries be applied. What makes such an increase even more justifiable is the ever rising inflation in the Headquarter State over the past years, which has resulted in a substantially higher cost of living that echoes the increasing cost of living worldwide. Also this situation is linked to the rise in the cost of energy which systematically affects the price of other goods and services. And, as the Headquarter State’s currency is fully tied to the US Dollar, the sharp decline in the dollar’s rate of exchange which has exceeded the 30% mark over the past years has adversely affected the purchasing power of the OIC personnel and the value of the salaries they are offered in Saudi Riyals or in US Dollars. Honourable Participants, Possibly one of the key factors behind the increasing need for additional budgetary resources is the rise in responsibilities and activities entrusted to the Organization through the resolutions issued by the Ministers and Heads of State, particularly subsequent to the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit of Makkah and the establishment of the Ten-year Action Programme whose implementation would require considerable efforts and expenses, as you know. Add to this the increasing phenomenon of Islamophobia and hostility towards Islam in the West in the form of a campaign which needs to be faced up to and which calls upon us all to rally our efforts in the defence of the principles of our noble faith and in support of the causes of Muslims which have been adversely affected by this phenomenon. These call for additional efforts and a wide range of political and intellectual activities which in turn require additional expenses and outlays without which our action cannot make headway. This is well reflected through the multiple workshops, symposia, conferences and meetings organised by the OIC in many parts of the world, such as the symposium on “Islamophobia” held in Istanbul last February, as well as a train of other symposia held in the leading studies and research forums in the city of Washington, such as George Town University, the Foreign Relations Council, the Strategic Studies Institute and the Islamic Community in Washington. To this, one may also add a string of intellectual and political seminars held in New York in such institutions as the UN World Peace Academy, the Carnegie Institution and intercultural dialogue fora. To all these unprecedented activities one has to add other activities undertaken in different parts of the world such as the convening of the Second Conference of Muslim Minorities and Communities in Africa which was held in the city of Maputo (Mozambique), the meeting of the Tripartite Committee to resolve the problem of the Muslim Communities in Southern Philippines, the General Secretariat’s activities to end the sectarian fights in Iraq, pursuant to the Iraqi reconciliation conference between the Sunni and Shiite sects, and in preparation for the opening of an OIC office in Baghdad. To this, one must also add the fresh and innovative activities with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at building the OIC General Secretariat staff’s skills and competencies. These expenses are further increased by the need for the OIC General Secretariat’s officials to participate in dozens of international conferences and symposia which address issues of interest to the Islamic world and in which Islam’s opinion must be voiced, with of course attendant expenses that cannot be avoided. Among the fundamental and inevitable needs of the OIC, there is also the setting up of a library in the General Secretariat, which did not use to have one, as a source of reference that would serve to draw information that is of great help in the fulfilment of several tasks. This is also linked to the need to set up an electronic archiving system for the OIC. Also, the humanitarian aspect of the Organization’s activities calls for greater humanitarian efforts and material expenditures. This has been reflected in the convening of an international Donor Conference in Doha to provide food security for the Republic of Niger, in the wake of the famine that swept through the country, and to assist the Children Victims of Tsunami in Indonesia, both of which to name but a few required substantial humanitarian and administrative efforts. Excellencies, The monumental work placed upon our shoulders is vast and diverse and cannot be summed up in such a brief review. And from what I have just described, you can see for yourself part of the activities we are assuming in discharging our responsibilities towards the Islamic world. There remains a lot we aspire to in terms of necessary and indispensable activities for the coming months. The work momentum that we have just projected in this brief review, represents the minimal level of performance that we need, and this of course, commands a commensurate increase in cost and expenditure. You will note that the figures in the 2008 budget proposal which we have meticulously kept within the limits of the lowest possible expenditure levels, will rise to 22 million US Dollars, an amount which hardly measures to half the budget of a small international organisation. This amount carries a 25% increase compared to the budget of 2006/2007. And, without this increase which we urge your august assembly to kindly approve, we shall not be able to keep up the momentum of the diligent work required of us to meet the responsibilities we have been assigned. I have great confidence that you will appreciate the objective and pressing reasons for this increase, and that you do realise the great expectations and hopes pinned upon us under the current difficult circumstances by the Islamic Ummah which so urgently needs to regain a worthy and honourable standing that should place it at the level of other world nations. I am confident that such a modest request will meet your support and positive response. Before I conclude my intervention I would like to bring to the kind attention of this august assembly that, the 21st Thul Qida 1428H, which is to say yesterday, witnessed the definitive delivery of the plot of land so graciously donated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God grant him long life, as property on which the new OIC headquarters will be erected. Also today, the signing ceremony will take place between the Saudi Ministry of Finance and National Economy and the Austrian Contractors Group that has prepared the selected design for the new building, thus clearing the ground for the launch of the construction work. On this occasion, I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, for his sustained support to the OIC, and more particularly for his generous act in donating the plot of land and the required funds for the establishment of the new headquarters. Our thanks are also extended to H.R.H Prince Saud Al Faysal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and all his assistants in the Ministry, for their consistent cooperation which has facilitated our task, as well as to H.E Dr. Ibrahim Al Assaf, Minister of Finance and National Economy and all his assistants for their well appreciated support and understanding. In conclusion, I shall not fail to extend similar heartfelt thanks and gratitude to H.E Engineer Adel Faqueeh, Governor of the Province of Jeddah and all his staff for having stood by us since the start of this project, so vital for the Organization. May you be guided in your deliberations towards full success. Wassalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
