Final Communique Open-ended Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held at the level of Foreign Ministers in New York, United States of America

Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Final Communique Open-ended Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held at the level of Foreign Ministers in New York, United States of America

Date: 09/10/2018

Proceeding from the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the OIC and the historical, moral and legal responsibility of the Muslim Ummah to support the Palestinian people;

Reaffirming the centrality of the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Muslim Ummah and its determination to defend the Palestinian people from Israeli policies of colonialism, settlement, apartheid and ethnic cleansing;

Emphasizing that the core mission of the OIC is to protect the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its historic and legal status and its spiritual place, and affirming that al-Quds shall remain the eternal capital of Palestine as declared at the 6th OIC Extraordinary Islamic Summit, and rejecting any attempt to prejudice the right of Palestinian People to full sovereignty over Al-Quds Ash-Sharif.

Asserting the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif in the hearts and minds of the Muslim and Christian peoples throughout the world because it has the first of the two qiblas, the third holy mosque, where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, started his Mi'raj (Ascension to Heaven), and the birthplace of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him; and resolving to confront any step that would affect the historical, legal, religious or political status of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;

Reaffirming our commitment to the just and comprehensive peace based on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and consistent with internationally recognized parameters and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative endorsed by the Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference in Makkah al-Mukarramah in 2005;

Referring our adherence to all resolutions adopted by the regular and extraordinary sessions of the Islamic Summit on the Cause of Palestine and the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif,, in particular the Sixth Extraordinary Islamic Summit and the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers on Al-Quds Al-Sharif held in Istanbul, Turkey on 13 December 2017 in the wake of US’s recognition of Jerusalem as the so-called capital of Israel and the Seventh Extraordinary Islamic Summit convened in response to the grave developments in the State of Palestine, held in in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 May 2018;

Appreciating the initiative of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey in convening the Sixth and Seventh Extraordinary Islamic Summits;

Taking into account the decisions taken in the Seventh Extraordinary Islamic Summit, in particular (i) the establishment of an international independent committee of experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by the occupation forces against the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the occupied territory, including Gaza Strip, (ii)taking necessary measures to apply economic restrictions to countries, officials, parliaments, companies or individuals that recognize the illegal annexation of Al-Quds by Israel, the occupying power, and follow the decision of the US Administration to move its embassy to Al-Quds Al-Sharif or deal with any measures related to the consecration of Israeli colonization of the occupied Palestine and (iii) establishing a Developmental “Waqf” Fund to further support the Palestinian refugees and host countries, to enhance the collective support of the Member States and to ensure the consistent and sustainable funding of the UNRWA operations;

Recalling the Final Communique of the OIC Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee at the level of Foreign Ministers, hosted by the Republic of Turkey in Istanbul on 1 August 2017 convened in the wake of Israel’s provocative actions including the closing of al-Aqsa Mosque compound (Al-Haram Al-Sharif) and the use of lethal and excessive force against peaceful Palestinian worshippers;

Commending the resolutions on the cause of Palestine and its eternal capital Al-Quds Al-Sharif adopted by the 45th Session of Council of Foreign Ministers on 5-6 May 2018 in Dhaka;

Welcomes the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Resolution on Status of Jerusalem which was submitted by Turkey as the Chair of the OIC Summit and Yemen, as the Chair of the Arab League at the 10th extraordinary emergency session of the UN General Assembly held on 21 December 2017 and the Resolution on Protection of the Palestinian Civilian Population, which was submitted by Turkey, as the Chair of the OIC Summit and Algeria, as the Chair of the Arab League at the 10th extraordinary emergency session of the UN General Assembly held on 13 June 2018, appreciates the support of OIC Member States and all other UN Member States to these Resolutions;
Reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestine people in their pursuit to attain their inalienable national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the borders of 4 June 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital;
Condemns the restrictions and provocative actions of Israel, the occupying power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in particular in Al-Haram Al-Sharif, furthermore, we condemn the use of lethal, excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the occupation forces on the unarmed Palestinian civilians ,especially in Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Great March of Return which resulted in the massacre of more than 167 Palestinian civilian, and 16,000 injured
Also condemns the ongoing illegal policies and practices of the Israeli government, including illegal and inhuman blockade on Gaza and the construction of new settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is a blatant breach of international law and which destroys the prospects for a two-state solution on the basis of 1967 borders and the prospects of peace in the region;
Reiterates that any measure or legislation adopted by Israel, the occupying power in relation to Al Quds Al- Sharif is illegal, null and void under international law and UN Resolutions, in particular the “Jewish National State Law” adopted by the Knesset on 19 July 2018, which asserts that Jewish settlements are national value, and promises to encourage and advance settlement efforts, downgrades Arabic from an official language to a special status and limits the right to national self-determination to the Jewish people only, thereby legalizing the ongoing de facto apartheid regime against the Palestinian people;
Reaffirms its support to the Palestinian political initiative presented by H.E Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine to the UN Security Council on 20 February 2018;
Calls on the international community to take on a more active political role to end the conflict and to uphold its responsibilities to ensure respect for international human rights and international humanitarian law, including in regard to the protection of civilian population and to act, in line with its legal and moral obligation to ensure accountability of Israel for its persistent crimes and violations of the rights of the Palestinian people;
Also calls on the Member States to extend all forms of support ensuring that Israel, the occupying power, is held accountable for its crimes and to protect the Palestinian people, their territory and property;
Salutes the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in al-Quds, who protect the city on behalf of the Ummah, and reiterates its support and admiration to their strength and perseverance, calls on all Member States to provide urgent assistance to the Palestinian people in order to alleviate their suffering and support their steadfastness; especially after the US administration recent decision to cut off the financial contributions to East Jerusalem hospitals
Considers all unilateral decisions by any state to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the relocation of embassies thereto as null and void, and constitute flagrant violation of international law, in particular UN Security Council Resolution 478 (1980) which called upon "those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City".
Rejects once again the unilateral decision of the US Administration to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel, the occupying power, condemns the inauguration of the US Embassy in al-Quds on 14 May 2018, and considers it as withdrawal of the US Administration from its role as the sponsor of peace and as an act of provocation and hostility against the Muslim Ummah, which emboldens the Israeli government to continue its reckless policies on the occupied Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip, and demands that the US Administration adhere to the UN Security Council Resolutions and all other international resolutions on the city of Al-Quds;
Condemns the relocation by Guatemala of its embassy to Israel to Al-Quds on 16 May 2018, welcomes the decision of Paraguay to withdraw its embassy from the occupied city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif to Tel Aviv, and demands the Guatemala government to emulate Paraguay and rescind its decision and calls upon all States to refrain from establishing Embassies in Al-Quds Ash-Sharif;
Reaffirms its determination to take political, economic and other measures against countries which recognize Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel or relocate their embassies thereto;
Urges all OIC Member States to halt cardamom imports from Guatemala and not to conduct high level visits to this country or to organize joint cultural, sportive or artistic events, until and unless this country abides by Security Council Resolution 478(1980);
Requests the General Secretariat to finalize the establishment process of the international independent committee of experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli forces against the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip;
Also urges the General Secretariat to conclude its recommendations on appropriate measures to apply economic restrictions to parties that recognize the annexation of Al-Quds by Israel, follow the decision of the US Administration to move its embassy to Al-Quds Ash-Sharif or deal with any measures related to the consecration of Israeli colonization on the occupied Palestine;
Reiterates its call for the international protection of the Palestinian people including through deployment of an international protection force;
Notes in this context the report of the UN Secretary General submitted to the UN General Assembly pursuant to General Assembly resolution A/RES/ES-10/20, which examines the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and includes his proposals on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation, including recommendations for an international protection mechanism;
Calls upon all Member States to commit fully to supporting the Cause of Palestine in all international forums in light of its central importance for the Muslim Ummah and calls for necessary action to be taken against those failing to comply;
Appreciates the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) which provides vital services to 5.3 million Palestinian refugees;
Reiterates that protection and wellbeing of Palestinian refugees are the responsibilities of UN and international community until a just solution is found in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948)
Expresses its deep regret at the recent irresponsible decision of the US Administration to cut its contributions to UNRWA which will have serious humanitarian and development consequences;
Urges General Secretariat to finalize its efforts in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank to operationalize the Development Waqf Fund, in order to further support the Palestinian refugees and host countries, to enhance the collective support of the Member States and to ensure the consistent and sustainable funding of the UNRWA operations, pursuant to the Final Communique of the Seventh Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Istanbul, on 18 May 2018;
Encourages the Member States to make financial contributions to the Development Waqf Fund with a view to compensating the financial deficit of the UNRWA;
Strongly urges all Member States to continue their economic, social technical and material support and assistance to the Palestinian people, in particular, Palestinian refugees and the State of Palestine, aiming at promotion of trade building up of an independent Palestinian economy and strengthening the economic and social development of Palestine;
Tasks General Secretariat to prepare an action plan to define legal, political and legislative means aimed at confronting and stopping the Israeli colonial settlement regime and to formulate a multilateral and credible approach for the settlement of the conflict in line with the international law and relevant UN Resolutions;
Decides to stay seized of the matter and take necessary actions accordingly.

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