OIC and UN discussed the situation of Rohingya

P.K. Abdul Gafour

Arab News

February 14, 2013

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation intends to establish a secure financial network to support the Palestinians, OIC Secretary-General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said yesterday.

Ihsanoglu made this announcement during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. The two also discussed the developments in Syria and Mali as well as the situation of Rohingya in Myanmar. The OIC chief told the UN secretary-general the need to take necessary measures for protecting the Muslim minority in Myanmar and putting an end to the violence against them. Ihsanoglu met Ban to inform him about the resolutions taken by the recently concluded OIC summit in Cairo, which had instructed him to take necessary steps to solve the issues of Palestine, Syria, Mali and Myanmar with the support of the United Nations.

Speaking about the financial network, the OIC chief said it aims at meeting major needs of the Palestinian people in response to Israel’s scaling up of measures against them, imposing new taxes and making their life difficult.

Earlier addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council, the OIC chief said the powerful international body has a big responsibility in protecting civilians in Syria and finding a peaceful solution to the crisis. “The Security Council and the international community has so far failed in the test of protecting civilians in Syria,” the OIC chief said.

“The seizure of Palestinian lands and construction of more settlements in occupied territories by Israel have affected the council’s credibility,” Ihsanoglu said while reiterating the Palestinians right to have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.