Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 20/02/2014
JEDDAH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 20th February 2014. An Emergency Opened-ended Meeting at Ministerial level of the Executive Committee on the situation in the Central African Republic was convened on 20th February 2014 at the General Secretariat in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to discuss the continuing escalating violence, the cleansing of Muslims, the destruction of mosques and the mass exodus of Muslims out of the Central African Republic (CAR) , an Observer State in the OIC. The meeting recalled the OIC Charter and the Ten Year Program of Action relating to conflict resolution, peace and security, moderation and tolerance, human rights, the various statements of the Secretary General as well as relevant international instruments and resolved to : 1- Reaffirm its full commitment for the respect of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Central African Republic and expressed support with the new authorities in the country in their endeavors to return stability and peaceful coexistence between the various ethnic and religious communities in the Central African Republic, 2- Reiterate the principled position of the OIC for a durable peaceful settlement of crisis in the Central African Republic and urge the government to pursue an all inclusive dialogue in order to achieve national reconciliation and restore national unity, 3- Condemn in strong terms the sustained and escalating violence since the tragic events of 5th December 2013 against Muslims in Bangui and other parts of the country which has led the mass murder of thousands of civilians including women and children, the displacement of hundreds of thousands, the mass exodus of tens of thousands out the country, the destruction of mosques, the looting of their property . 4- Express grave concern at the insufficient international response to protect Muslim civilians, the grievous violations of their human rights and the inhuman exactions and genocide committed against them by the Anti-Balaka militia with the objective of cleansing Islam and Muslims from the Central African society. 5- Call on the new authorities in the Central African Republic led by the Transitional President Mrs Catherine Samba-Panza, the UN Security Council, the French and African-led Support Mission for Central Africa (MISCA) operating in the country to assume their full responsibility to protect life and livelihood of all civilians, stem the continuing mass flight of innocent citizens and end the tragic bloodshed. In this context, the meeting calls upon the UNSC to act urgently with a view to establishing a multi-dimensional UN peace keeping operation in the CAR in order to restore security and stability in the country. It also welcomes the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2134 (2014) which mandates the EU to deploy 1000 troops in the CAR and also launches a strong appeal to OIC Member States in Africa which are yet to contribute troops in order to beef up the troop level of MISCA and the UN peace keeping efforts to do so. 6- Request all Member States, the OIC financial institutions as well as all Islamic humanitarian NGOs to extend an emergency humanitarian aid to the Central African Republic and to neighbouring countries such as Chad, Cameroon and the Sudan which are still receiving a massive influx of returnees and refugees from CAR. It commends the OIC General Secretariat for its humanitarian efforts towards Chad and calls for a continuous support to its humanitarian activities in the region for the sake of the needy and most vulnerable people. 7- Urge the new Government to take all necessary measures to end impunity. In this context, it appeals to the relevant international and regional bodies to investigate the reports of gross violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and abuses of human rights in the Central African Republic with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice. It requests the UN Security Council to expedite the deployment of the international commission of enquiry as decided in its Resolution 2127 (2013) to look into the violations and abuses by all parties. The meeting calls on the UN Secretary General to urge member states to enforce sanctions on the export of weapons to parties in the conflict in CAR in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 2127 (2013) and 2134 (2014) adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. 8- Call on the OIC Independent Permanent Human rights Commission to examine the human rights situation in the Central African Republic and present concrete recommendations to the Council of Foreign Ministers towards addressing the issue in an effective manner. 9- Decide to dispatch urgently an OIC high level Mission led by the Chair of the CFM on a solidarity and assessment visit to Bangui. 10- Mandate the Secretary General to appoint a Special Representative to coordinate OIC actions and follow-up closely the situation in the Central African Republic.
