OIC urges Obama to fulfil his obligations towards the Palestinians

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has sent a letter to the US President urging him to fulfil America’s obligations towards the Palestinians. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told Barack Obama that such a move is essential to boost the chances of peace and justice in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

The letter was handed to Obama’s envoy to the OIC, Rashad Hussain, during his meeting with the Director of the Secretary-General’s Office in Jeddah, Vivahan Ojack. Mr. Hussain has been reappointed to his role following Obama’s inauguration earlier this week. During his visit to the OIC headquarters, he expressed his country’s wish to strengthen cooperation and for him to attend the 12th Islamic Summit next month. Sensitive issues affecting the Islamic world, such as the situations in Mali and Syria were also on the agenda.

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Dr. Ihsanoglu referred in his letter to the programmes carried out by the OIC in cooperation with the United States, especially in maternal and child health, the elimination of polio in OIC member states and humanitarian aid. He also repeated his call for the US government to intervene in support of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, which he described as the group most vulnerable to persecution in the world today.

Moreover, he stressed on the need for continued OIC-US cooperation in the context of the Istanbul meetings initiated by outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Dr. Ihsanoglu which provided a political umbrella for joint efforts for the elimination of hatred and faith-based discrimination. These meetings were themselves evoking UN Human Rights Council resolution 18/16 which was an initiative of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.