Member States

OIC Organs

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is an inter-governmental organization grouping fifty-seven States. These States decided to pool their resources together, combine their efforts and speak with one voice to safeguard the interest and ensure the progress and well-being of their peoples and those of other Muslims in the world over.

The Organization was established in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, on 12 Rajab 1389H (25 September 1969) when the First meeting of the leaders of the Islamic world was held in this city in the wake of the criminal arson perpetrated on 21 August 1969 by Zionist elements against Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem. It was indeed in order to defend the honour, dignity and faith of the Muslims, to face this bitter challenge launched in the holy city of Al-Quds so dear to them and against the Mosque of Al-Aqsa, the first Qibla and third holiest Shrine of Islam, that the leaders of the Muslim world, at their Summit in Rabat, seized that event - which brought about unanimous worldwide condemnation and reprobation - to think together of their common cause and muster the force required to overcome their differences, unite and lay the foundations of this large grouping of States, that is, the Organization of the Islamic Conference which they entrusted, in absolute priority, with liberating Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa from Zionist occupation.

Six months after that historical meeting, i.e. in Muharram 1390H (March 1970), the First Islamic Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Jeddah set up a permanent General Secretariat, to ensure a liaison among Member States and charged it to coordinate their action. The Conference appointed its Secretary General and chose Jeddah as the Headquarters of the Organization, pending the liberation of Jerusalem, which would be the permanent Headquarters.

Two and a half years after Rabat, in Muharram 1392H (February 1972), the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, meeting in its Third Session, adopted the Charter of the Organization, whose purpose is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among Islamic States in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and social fields.

Under the Charter, the Organization aims to:

1.  Strengthen:

a)         Islamic solidarity among Member States;

b)         Cooperation in the political, economic, social, cultural and scientific fields:

c)         The struggle of all Muslim people to safeguard their dignity, independence and national rights.

 

2.  Coordinate action to:

a)         Safeguard the Holy Places;

b)         Support the struggle of the Palestinian people and assist them in recovering their rights and liberating their occupied territories.

 

3.  Work to:

a)         Eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of colonialism;

b)         Create a favorable atmosphere for the promotion of cooperation and understanding between Member States and other countries.

The Charter also enumerates principles which OIC Member States undertake to inspire themselves from, in order to achieve the objectives of the Organization.

The Charter also enumerates the principles governing OIC activities, namely:

·    Full equality among Member States 

·    Observation of the right to self determination and non-interference in the internal affairs of Member States

·    Observation of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each State

·    The settlement of any dispute that might arise among Member States by peaceful means such as negotiations, mediation, conciliation and arbitration

·    A pledge to refrain, in relations among Member States, from resorting to force or threatening to resort to the use of force against the unity and territorial integrity or the political independence of any one of them

 In order to achieve its objectives, the Organization has main bodies, secondary organs, institutions and specialized committees.

The Islamic Conference is composed of the following main bodies:

 

·    The Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government, also known as the Islamic Summit Conference, is the supreme authority of the Organization which meets once every three years to lay down the Organization’s policy and elects Chairman of the Organization who holds office until next session. Malaysia is the current Chairman of the Islamic Summit Conference.

·    The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), which meets once a year to examine progress on the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the policy defined by the Islamic Summit. Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the current Chairman of the ICFM.

·    The General Secretariat, which is the executive organ of the Organization, entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies

So far ten Islamic Summit Conferences and thirty-four Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) have been held. The Tenth Islamic Summit elected Malaysia as the current Chairman of the Organization. Since assuming the Chairmanship of the Organisation, it has hosted and/or actively participated in various Meetings under the OIC umbrella and constantly contributed to the OIC. In particular, it has initiated the Capacity Building Programme for poverty alleviation in the least developed and low-income OIC Member States. The objective of this Programme is to assist in formulating appropriate projects to strengthen capacity building to enhance human resources development, institutional, organizational, management skills, including the development of infrastructures.

In order to coordinate and boost its action, align its view points and stands, and be credited with concrete results in the various fields of cooperation: political, economic, cultural, social, spiritual and scientific, among Member States, the Organization has created different committees, nearly all, at ministerial level, a number of which are chaired by Heads of State. The Al-Quds Committee, the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC), the Standing Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation (COMCEC), the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technical Cooperation (COMSTECH) and the Islamic Peace Committee are the ones Chaired by Heads of State. Fourteen Committees which have been thus established, deal with other important issues such as Palestine, the Sahel, Afghanistan, Kashmir etc.

The number and types of secondary organs and institutions, working toward the achievement of the OIC objectives, have been steadily increasing, and cover various areas of cultural, scientific, economic, legal, financial, sports, technological, educational, media, as well as vocational, social and humanitarian. Depending on their degree of autonomy vis-a-vis the parent organization, they are classified as subsidiary and specialized organs, or affiliated institutions.

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that by the 3rd year of the World Decade for Cultural Development launched by the United Nations in 1988 under the auspices of UNESCO - the Organization of the Islamic Conference had built Islamic Colleges, and Cultural Institutes and Centres to spread Islamic culture and dispense the Teaching of Arabic, the language of the Holy Qur’an, as well as other languages.