Statement of HE Secretary General at the UN General Assembly High Level Event on Strengthening Cooperation between the UN and Regional and Sub-regional Organizations
Date: 05/05/2015
His Excellency Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly
Honorable President Yoweri Museveni
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me begin by thanking President Sam Kutesa for organizing this high level thematic debate on strengthening cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and Regional and Sub-regional organizations and for the opportunity to address this august gathering.
The preamble of the OIC Charter reaffirms the commitment of its Member States to the Charter of the UN, thus establishing a natural bond of cooperation between these two inter-governmental organizations; and through an established biennial consultation mechanism, the OIC and the UN are working closely on wide range of issues. The UN resolution on UN-OIC cooperation provides the mandate and framework for this joint collaboration.
Excellencies
Today's challenges of economic development, of facing up to poverty and deprivation, of reaching out for the least fortunate and most marginalized, of the threats to our collective peace and security, of the road, some of us have yet to travel, to attain fundamental national and human rights, of protecting the freedom of the individual from the apparatus of the state, of saving one's own privacy from invading technologies, of regaining the retreating tolerance and mutual a acceptance in many societies, are indeed complex and unavoidable.
And when these challenges erupt like volcanoes, no one, no country, no region is immune. We are all affected and pay the cost. The magnitude of our demanding time, the inter connectivity of our global village tell us that no single entity, be it a country or an organization, can on its own provide all the answers or offer an only vision or solution to make our world a better place. There is no alternative to working together, to enlarging the network of cooperation and deepening the spirit of joint endeavor among the community of nations. A community that has organized itself in the form of international, regional, sub regional, local organizations and civil society groups and networks of activists.
In this web of organizations and structures, the United Nations, with all its entities, organs, agencies and structures is the most extensive grouping and the lead organization. It is where the world meets. But the world is in a paradoxical state of an ever-increasing interconnectivity, yet too complex, too diversified to be limited within just one structure. Hence, we have witnessed over the years, the growth of interregional, regional and sub regional organizations. All manifesting the texture, the layers and the multifaceted nature of our reality; and highlighting the comparative advantage of local knowledge, physical proximity and specific leverage each organization embodies.
If these various organizational ex
pressions are to work together, to pool resources, to build capacities, to share outlooks, to benefit from the comparative advantage of each, we need to strengthen the way these organizations relate, to widen the networking, the sharing and the common roadmaping. Not in a vertical manner, not in a pyramid like set up, but more in the manner of a horizontal, spacious and interrelated complementarity. We need not to look at the UN as some sort of a star, around which others rotate like planets, but rather as the main thread that has to join other threads to weave together and create the carpet that is our world community.
For this to happen though, that main thread, that major arena, the United Nations can no longer continue to have a privileged class of chosen countries, a blue blooded few. No one can ignore the realities of power, the weight of affluence and influence, but the world community should not be tied up to the interests, the outlook, the value scale of one nation, no matter how powerful and no matter how rich. There should be an override mechanism where collective will overcome a unilateral position.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me focus for a minute on how such modality can work in dealing with the challenge of peace, security and conflict resolution; and the manner the OIC has approached that challenge, and the tools it has used and what networking and context it tried to work within.
The OIC General Secretariat has made sustained efforts to create the apparatus and build up capacity, so that it can contribute more to the maintenance of peace and security, conflict prevention and conflict resolution. A peace, security and mediation unit; a center for the development of women; an independent human rights commission and an international cooperation and humanitarian affairs department were established. All underlining the OIC's conviction of the importance of economic opportunities, of socio-economic development, human rights and humanitarian assistance in promoting peace and security; and with the firm belief that no conflict can be resolved by military means. There is an inevitable need for mediation, negotiation and dialogue, which are the tools for peaceful settlement of disputes.
Also, stressing the need to analyze and understand the context of each conflict. Its economic roots, its political environment, its social fabric, its ideological discourse; and identifying those elements and power centers that may exploit and encourage conflict that serves a political agenda. And always working with others.
This is how the OIC has made significant contributions to the work of the United Nations and the relevant regional and sub regional organizations in the fields of conflict prevention, crisis management, mediation, humanitarian assistance, promotion of human rights, the rule of law and sustainable development through the many political, economic and social instruments available to it. The OIC is actively contributing in finding peaceful and durable solutions’ to a number of conflicts such as in Mali, Central Africa and Somalia; as well as conflicts related to Muslim Communities and Minorities in Non OIC Member States as in the Philippines and Myanmar. This growing number of cases on which the UN and OIC continue to cooperate in order to prevent and resolve conflicts, as well as build peace, indicates that the UN-OIC cooperation in conflict prevention, mediation and resolution cannot be confined to one or two specific regions.
The OIC is keenly and painfully aware though that conflict resolution does not start with mediation. No amount of mediation would produce substantive results until and unless that approach is supported by the major powers having stakes in the conflict. For instance, in the case of Palestine, negotiations and mediation efforts have been going on for more than twenty years with no clear progress. Similarly in the Syrian situation, the absence of strong common political commitment of major powers has allowed the crisis to continue.
We should wholeheartedly seek substantive guidelines that would enable the United Nations and the regional, sub-regional and other international organizations to be able to deal with, and perhaps overcome, the issue of dominance that can obstruct and marginalize the efforts of preventing mediating and resolving conflicts.
Ladies and Gentlemen
One of the most daunting challenges of today is the spread of terrorism and violent extremism. We emphasize again that the OIC believes that countering violent extremism takes much more than law enforcement, a military or a security approach, and underlines the importance of addressing the root causes, developing counter narratives and examining the possibility of penetration of external actors.
The OIC welcomes the emphasis which the 'political declaration' to be adopted puts on enhancing partnership between the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations to combat terrorism and counter violent extremism. We appreciate that the declaration also reflects the principled position of the OIC against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.
We further appreciate the initiative of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to gather religious leaders at the UN and his intention to develop a comprehensive Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, which will be presented to the 70th Session of the General Assembly later this year. To this end, I assure this august gathering that as a natural partner of the UN in countering violent extremism, the OIC is ready and willing to make meaningful contributions to the Plan of Action.
The OIC General Secretariat and the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), will be holding at the UN in June, a day-long conference on “National Practices in Countering Incitement and Violent Extremism Pursuant to Security Council Resolutions 1624 (2005) and 2178 (2014)”. The OIC has recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Union towards implementing projects in countering terrorism and extremism by using the fund of US$ 10 million provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to achieve this objective.
A related challenge that we are facing increasingly is religious and inter-communal hatred. The OIC is vigilant in exposing the agenda of extremist elements and raising global awareness to combat religious intolerance, stigmatization and negative stereotyping through the "Istanbul Process", which was launched by the adoption of the Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 16/18 in March 2011. The OIC is going to host the 5th meeting of this process on June 3-4, 2015 in Jeddah at its Headquarters.
We believe that the HRC resolution 16/18 and its revised versions adopted in Geneva and New York provide concrete guidelines on how to tackle and diminish some of the root causes of radicalization and extremism, such as alienation and the sense of exclusion from one’s own society.
Mr. President, Distinguished participants
In the area of humanitarian affairs, we are pleased to acknowledge our partnership with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other UN humanitarian organizations. Since 2011, the OIC and OCHA have worked closely on the assessment and execution of projects as well as joint missions in many countries, including Syria, Chad, Yemen, Somalia, Mauritania, Iraq and others. We are also pleased to be actively engaged in the preparations of the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit scheduled to be held in Turkey, an OIC Member State, in 2016. The OIC has served as chair of the online consultation for the MENA Region last February and as co-chair of the regional consultation held in Amman, the Dead Sea in Jordan from 3-5 March 2015. We will participate in the forthcoming regional consultations of Central and Southern Asia and remain actively engaged in the preparation and execution of for the Summit and in the implementation of its outcome.
Economic development is another priority area where the OIC, represented by the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Solidarity Fund have netted partnerships with the relevant organs in the United Nations and with regional and sub regional organizations to confront poverty, build durable infrastructure, increase economic opportunity, promote social and family welfare, preserve human rights and protect the environment. In the OIC context, economic initiatives and partnerships are not limited to capital improvements, but encompasses the empowerment of women, the protection of children, the creation of windows of hope for the youth, ensuring access to quality education, the collaborating with civil society and faith-based organizations and engaging in dialogue on the rule of law and good governance.
"The OIC 2025" as the next phase of its Ten Year Program of Action (2005-2015) is closely following the ongoing efforts of the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals; and we are looking forward to participating in the High Level Summit for the adoption of the Post 2015 Development Agenda in coming September; and looking ahead to network with regional, sub regional and civil society organizations as an integral part of its 2025 vision.
In conclusion, we believe that we have made significant progress in strengthening our cooperation. We should continue our dialogue towards deepening further the strategic partnership and should strive together to work from this foundation of progress to build a better world for all.
Thank you.
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