Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 24/02/2024
H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), participated in the Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers, which was held in Istanbul, the Republic of Türkiye, on 24 February 2024, under the theme “Media disinformation and attacks committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against journalists and media outlets in the occupied Palestinian territory”, in the presence of H. E. Prof. Fahrettin ALTUN, Director of Communication Department of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye and Ministers of Information and Communication as well as delegates of the OIC Member States.
In his speech at the opening session, the Secretary-General affirmed that the horrific massacres witnessed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially the Gaza Strip, embody a model of organized terrorism, violence, and a crime of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation without political, religious, humanitarian, or legal deterrence, and call for strengthening efforts and positions to expose these crimes and prosecute the Israeli occupation legally and hold it accountable.
At the beginning of his speech, the Secretary-General expressed the OIC’s appreciation to the government and people of the Republic of Türkiye for holding this special session to discuss its theme, noting Türkiye’s pioneering role in supporting the Palestinian people and their legitimate national rights.
Hissein Brahim Taha noted the results of the Extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit to discuss the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, which was held on November 11, 2023, in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its resolution to establish a media monitoring unit in the General Secretariat, which the General Secretariat launched, to document and expose Israeli crimes and violations. He indicated that this confirms the special importance that the leaders of the Member States attach to the necessity of confronting the brutal Israeli occupation attacks on the Palestinian people and its continuing attacks against journalists and media institutions in the Palestinian territories, which led to the martyrdom of at least 126 journalists since the beginning of the genocide crime currently taking place in the Gaza Strip, in the context of its policy aimed at confiscating the truth, silencing mouths, covering up its daily crimes, and preventing their delivery to world public opinion.
The Secretary-General also called on all parties in charge of the media file in the Member States to enhance support and cooperation to develop the role of the media monitoring unit in the General Secretariat and to partner in sponsoring and organizing media activities to discuss document, and expose Israeli violations and crimes, and providing more necessary support to Palestinian media institutions in terms of infrastructure and equipment, producing and exchanging media programs and expertise with them, and allocating more media space in the media outlets of the Member States to cover all developments related to the Palestinian issue.
Hissein Brahim Taha reiterated his emphasis on the support and solidarity of the OIC with the Palestinian people in their quest to restore their inalienable national rights, including their right to return, self-determination, and the embodiment of establishing their independent state on the Palestinian land occupied since 1967, with its capital, Al-Quds Ash-Sharif.
The Senior Officials’ meeting preparatory for this extraordinary session was held earlier in the morning to discuss the Draft Agenda, Work Program, Report, and Final Communique to be submitted to the ministerial meeting of the session for approval.
