Statement by Bacre Waly Ndiaye at the 36th Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference

Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, 24 May 2009


Asalamu alaykum.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to thank you for the opportunity to address and participate in the 36th ministerial session of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

I congratulate the Government of Syria for hosting this important event. I would also like to pay tribute to the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, for his leadership.

Your meeting is taking place at a critical stage, one month after the Durban Review Conference that was held in Geneva from 20 to 26 April 2009.

The successful result of the Durban Review Conference illustrated by the adoption by consensus of the landmark outcome document would not have been possible without the collaboration of all governments. In this regard, the positive engagement and constructive role played by the members of the OIC and its Secretary-General were publicly and specifically acknowledged.

With this positive outcome, we have reaffirmed the importance of tolerance and dignity for all, regardless of race, colour or religion and the vital need to defeat racism and intolerance in all their manifestations, since they persist in all countries.

Excellencies,
Together with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Outcome Document is a veritable roadmap for the demanding tasks that lie ahead of us. It includes specific measures to address multiple forms of discrimination against vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons, children, women and girls, persons with disabilities, victims of slavery, exploitation and trafficking and people living with HIV/AIDS. It also urges all governments to promote greater participation and opportunities for people of African and Asian descent, indigenous peoples and individuals belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities.
Further, this document unequivocally reaffirms the positive role of freedom of expression in the fight against racism, while also deploring derogatory stereotyping and stigmatization of people based on their religion or belief, as manifested in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and anti-Arabism. Included in the Outcome Document is a call for a thorough assessment regarding the implementation of the prohibition of incitement to ethnic, racial or religious hatred, a well-established legal concept which is reflected in Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Following up on last year’s work, OHCHR is planning to organize a series of expert workshops on the legislative patterns, judicial practices and national policies in the different regions of the world. We believe that the combined efforts of governments, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions and the civil society are necessary in fighting the formidable battle against racism and hate speech.
Distinguished Delegates,
As demonstrated during the Durban Review Conference, partnership is critical if we want to make meaningful progress on the basis of mutual respect and in a spirit of full cooperation. We should therefore continue to enhance ties between the OHCHR and the OIC and our collaboration should be even more effective and mutually reinforcing. Only a strong and strategic partnership will enable us to deliver on the human rights aspirations of the peoples across the world.

Our Office has noted with satisfaction the increased involvement of the OIC in the field of human rights, as illustrated by the provision in the Charter of the OIC for the establishment of an Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights mandated “to promote the civil, political, social and economic rights enshrined in the organisation’s covenants and declarations and universally agreed human rights instruments, in conformity with Islamic values”.

While such an important initiative could have benefited the OIC enormously if adopted during this session, the decision to postpone the discussions on the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission to the next annual ministerial meeting will however allow additional time for broader consultations that could only strengthen this original cross regional human rights body. In this connection, our Office considers it very important to involve in the process of consultations already established independent national human rights institutions from OIC member States and to consider ways and means in which they could support the work of this independent permanent commission. Equally important for OHCHR would be consultations with civil society organizations so that the Commission, once established, would enjoy strong legitimacy and support from within the Islamic Umma and all OIC members States.

Let me emphasize that OHCHR stands ready to assist in the setting up of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission. It is in the interest of the OIC that such innovative human rights body is in line with the internationally recognized human rights standards, basically expertise and independence, as already stipulated in the OIC Charter. As you are aware, OHCHR has provided expert advice to an increasing number of institutions for the promotion and the protection of human rights, including human rights mechanism established at the national and regional levels.

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
By pooling our resources and reinforcing our efforts, we can advance in ways that would not be possible on our own. Together, we can take on the human rights great challenge so as to improve their universality, their indivisibility and the rights of all the peoples without distinction, especially in these times of natural and human-made turmoil.
In that spirit, I wish you success in your proceedings.
Shukran gazeelan. Thank you very much. Wa Salam.