OIC Press Release

The acute crises the Islamic world is going through and the grave challenges it faces are the inevitable results of a long historical process of accumulation, parts of which we contributed ourselves, while others are due to external manipulations. This situation now imposes on us the need for self-examination in order to identify the negative aspects of our attitude, the causes of our political weakness and the factors that have made us lag behind the contemporary world in terms of economic and scientific progress.

These were the opening remarks in the speech delivered by Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, at the beginning of the proceedings of the 30th Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers this morning, (Wednesday 27 Rabiul Awwal 1424H (28 May 2003) in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran under the motto of "Unity and Honour". The Conference was declared open by President Syed Muhammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a speech adopted by the participants as an important working document of the Conference.

The Secretary General went on to say that the factors of recovery from this setback were available if the Islamic world muster the political will and achieve the consensus to maintain a minimum of unity and to set realistic goals for its revival. He stressed that the Islamic Ummah was capable of playing an effective role in international forums by initiating wide-ranging action to influence the course of world political events in every area and defend its interests and causes.

Dr. Belkeziz also reviewed the means of securing peace for Islam and Muslims, explaining that at the top of priorities there is the new strategic situation in the Middle East region which resulted from the events in Iraq and their repercussions on the countries of the region, so that we may support these countries, prevent recurrence of such events and reject explicit and implicit threats directed against some Member States.

In this regard, the Secretary General said that we must staunchly support our brothers in Palestine to help them achieve their national rights as affirmed by resolutions of international legality. He also said that we should closely monitor the Road Map drawn by the Quartet as a solution to the Palestinian issue, making sure that it is not distorted, altered, or obstructed by preconditions to its implementation.

Dr. Belkeziz also pointed out the need to defend the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination in line with resolutions of international legality, expressing his optimism about the improvement in relations between Pakistan and India. He expressed the hope that the rapprochement would be a new beginning towards the settlement of the long-standing differences between the two countries and that other similar causes in Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Myanmar and among Muslim Minorities should be accorded equal importance.

The Secretary General also reviewed other issues of no less importance such as the questions of Afghanistan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Chechnya and other key questions.

Regarding terrorism, the Secretary General explained that may parts of the Islamic world have been, and continue to be, victims of the scourge of terror, a situation that is truly disturbing. He stressed that the bomb attacks recently carried out in Bali, Riyadh and Casablanca, condemned by the Organization as soon as they were perpetrated, impair and distort, the image of Islam and Muslims across the globe. This situation he added, required initiatives for more effective measures to avoid them as well as new approaches within the UN framework. This framework, he said, we must defend and strongly uphold its main role in preserving international peace and security as well as clinging to the principles of international law and the "peace culture declaration" adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

In his speech, the Secretary General laid stress on two basic issues which are of utmost significance for joint Islamic Action. The first relates to ways and means of creating an Islamic community which would spare Member States the risks of marginalization and market-access problems. The second issue pertains to the question of bridging the technological gap between most Member States and countries of the developed world. Science and technology, he added, are the pillars of tomorrow's progress and economy which are based on knowledge.

Dealing with the issue of culture and its role in the development and progress of peoples, in view of its being a basic stage in the development process, the Secretary General referred to the task entrusted to ISESCO to implement the Islamic World's Cultural Strategy, besides the effort it is exerting to strengthen and consolidate the structures of Islamic Universities so as to keep the Islamic torch burning bright.

As for the strategic position held by the media in forming the public opinion and refuting the false allegations levelled against Islam by Western media, in particular, the Secretary General said that we had to intensify efforts and mobilize the necessary resources to develop the Information and Communication Technology in our Member States so as to bridge the digital divide and the technological gap which has ever gone on widening.

The floor was successively taken at the Opening Session by the Secretary General of the Arab League, the Representative of the African Union and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Session will resume its proceedings this afternoon with the setting up of four committees, namely, the Political Affairs Committee, the Economic Affairs, Science and Technology Committee, the Cultural and Social Affairs Committee and the Administrative and Financial Affairs Committee, to consider the main relevant items on the agenda of the Conference.

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