OIC Seeks Seat In UN Security Council

RTT News

February 5, 2013

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Muslim organization representing 56 countries, has called for a seat for the OIC in the U.N. Security Council, Arab media reported.

"One of the important objectives for which I have been exerting a lot of efforts was to have a seat for OIC in the Security Council to represent 1.5 billion Muslims in the world," OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told reporters in Cairo on Monday.

Poverty, lack of economic integration, Jewish settlement in occupied Arab territories, and "Judaization" of Jerusalem were some of the problems the Islamic community was facing now, he said and added that the OIC had set out a plan to develop Jerusalem in cooperation with the Palestine Authority and the Islamic Development Bank.

Ihsanoglu said more diplomatic efforts were needed to mobilize international support for recognition of Palestine as a State by the United Nations. "UNESCO has recognized Palestine as a full member. This is a big achievement," he added.

OIC Foreign Ministers, meanwhile, held a meeting in Cairo to finalize the agenda for the February 6-7 Islamic Summit called by the OIC.

In an interview with the Saudi newspaper 'Arab News,' Ihsanoglu said the summit would shed light on the emerging challenges facing the Muslim nations and the expanding opportunities, particularly the Palestinian cause and the troubling issue of Israeli settlements.

There will be a special session on the settlement issue. The summit will also discuss the unfolding developments in the Muslim world, notably the situation in Syria and Mali, and take important decisions on them.

On the Problems faced by the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Ihsanoglu said the OIC was seeking a political solution to the Rohingya problem. "We are in the process of building bridges between the Myanmar government and the OIC, which must be based on confidence and trust," he said.