Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 06/05/2018
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, called on the OIC Member States to channel part of their humanitarian assistance through the OIC General Secretariat, in line with the resolutions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. He also called on Member States, their charitable institutions and civil society organizations to assist the OIC Secretariat in its humanitarian efforts.
Al-Othaimeen expressed gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and all Member States for their generous efforts in alleviating the suffering of the Islamic Ummah.
The Secretary-General addressed the brainstorming session on the humanitarian challenges faced by OIC countries, including the Rohingya plight, organized by the Department of Cultural, Family and Humanitarian Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh on the sidelines of the 45th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States (CFM) held in Dhaka.
He urged the Myanmar Government to cooperate with Bangladesh to allow the safe and dignified return of the Rohingya refugees and to grant them the full citizenship rights they had been stripped of since 1982.
The Secretary-General said that the situation on the ground requires the Member States to address the consequences of humanitarian crises on the one hand and to address their root causes on the other. He also stressed the importance of paying more attention to the OIC Development and Humanitarian Assistance Office in Niger, transformed into a regional office following the resolution adopted by the CFM in Abidjan in 2017, to meet the needs Lake Chad countries and the region Sahel countries in general.
The Secretary-General appealed for supporting Bangladesh in its humanitarian efforts to overcome the critical stage of this unprecedented tragedy unfolding on its borders.
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bangladesh, Abulhassan Mahmoud Ali, had opened the meeting, stressing his country's keen interest to follow up the humanitarian situation of the Rohingya minority, amid the immense suffering endured by the minority.
The OIC Information Department has broadcast a documentary about the situation of displaced Rohingya refugees in camps along the Bangladeshi-Myanmar border and near Cox's Bazaar. The film included clips of statements by the Secretary-General and the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister and first hand testimonies.
