DUSHANBE, May 25, 2009, Asia-Plus – OIC and the Global and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the 36th session of the OIC CFM that is concluding today. The sealed MoU stipulates cooperation to assist the OIC member states in combating these diseases. The Global Fund undertakes work in 46 OIC Member States through a number of programs and projects. The MoU seeks to enhance cooperation in all member states, especially in countries facing AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It also foresees that the OIC mobilizes additional donors from the OIC Member States to support the Global Fund”s programs.
On May 23, the OIC Observatory on Islamophobia released its Second Annual Report covering the period from June 2008 to April 2009 at the commencement of the 36th OIC foreign ministers’ session in Syria.
The Report has dwelt extensively on the worrying trend of Islamophobia as a clear and present danger to global peace and security.
The Report includes six chapters that have identified contemporary manifestations of Islamophobia acknowledging both the negative trends as well as the good practices monitored by the Observatory over the reporting period. The Report clearly lays out the sound legal basis in terms of the international law of the OIC’s case on defamation of religions, particularly Islam, as a form of racism. In elaborating on the human rights framework as a concrete basis of engagement in its third chapter, the Report highlights the imperative of sustaining this engagement with the West with a view to yielding positive outcomes in the interest of interfaith harmony that could underwrite peace, security and stability in the world.
The Report concludes that proliferation of Islamophobia runs contrary to the fundamental values of mankind that must be embedded in a firm commitment to human rights and the recognition of inherent dignity of all human beings regardless of faith, color or creed. It articulates the OIC’s proposal of a frank, sincere and result oriented dialogue geared to curbing Islamophobia through promoting better understanding of different cultures and religions as well as better integration of Muslims in the West. It further contends that the need for such a ‘Dialogue among Civilizations’ has never been as urgent and important, as at the present, and that the opportunity afforded by globalization must not be squandered. The Observatory Report offers a clear set of recommendations aimed at evolving a common strategy with a view to stemming the rising trend of Islamophobia through an inclusive approach with all stakeholders.
The Second Annual Report of the OIC Observatory on Islamophobia presents an authentic account of the unfortunate trend of Islamophobia, its causes, manifestations and the solutions based in a common understanding of the problem and the collective will on the part of the international community to address the issue in a comprehensive manner. It also provides an account of the various activities undertaken by the OIC General Secretariat with a view to highlighting the issue of Islamophobia on the international agenda and efforts aimed at engaging the Western partners against incitement to religious hatred and the intolerance in the West of Islam and Muslims. An annex to the Report catalogues selected incidents of Islamophobia monitored by the Observatory during the reporting period. A spokesman of the Observatory informed that the Report was submitted to the Council of Foreign Ministers in accordance with the OIC Ten-Year Program of Action and the relevant resolutions adopted by the subsequent Summit and the Council of Foreign Ministers.
