With a million miles and 46 trips around the Earth under his belt, Professor Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu has pushed for the advancement of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, like no secretary-general before.
“It seems that I have traveled a million miles since I took office. According to my office, the total mileage of my travels between June 2005 and June 2010 is 992,537 miles – the same as circling the earth 46 times.”
İhsanoğlu is the secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, and probably its most active administrator since its founding in 1969. He has long been intimately connected with it as its representative in Turkey. He heads an Islamic organization that has 57 member countries spread over four continents. It serves as the collective voice of the Muslim world and ensures the safeguard and protection of its interests in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people in the world.
Asked what challenges the OIC faces in the future aside from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and how it will confront them, İhsanoğlu said, “There is no doubt that the OIC is facing many challenges in the 21st century. The OIC has come a long way since I took office. The OIC celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. And as we look back, we take satisfaction that we could successfully build the 57-member intergovernmental organization into a viable and proactive partner in international affairs, pursuing policies geared to promoting and consolidating global peace, stability, harmony and development.
“The OIC is guided by the principles of moderation and modernization and these are entrenched in two historical documents, known as the OIC 10-Year Program of Action and the New OIC Charter. The first provides a visionary road map for the OIC to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The latter provides the legal framework in modernizing the OIC. The two documents have focused on areas that touch individual lives in member states, as well the global community as a whole.
“The targets set in the 10-Year Program [adopted in 2005] encompass issues that include, inter-alia, combating terrorism and extremism; seeking a just and lasting solution to the Palestine question through the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine; upholding respect for human rights and good governance; conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post conflict peace building; economic development; addressing environmental issues including climate change and global warming; and social issues including education, and development of women, youth and children. The 10-year program has also set ‘dialogue among civilizations’ as a major priority target to combat incitement and intolerance of religious diversity, including combating Islamophobia.
“As a modern organization in the contemporary Muslim world, the OIC serves as an engine for progress and prosperity. The OIC is considered the rallying assembly of Muslims, where their leadership meets to discuss their affairs, and make common decisions to better serve their interests and concerns. One of the duties of the OIC nowadays is to project the true enlightened message of Islam to the world, based on Islam’s compassionate image through presenting its noble values and supreme principles.”
Alliance of Civilizations
İhsanoğlu attended the recent Alliance of Civilizations, or AoC, meeting in Brazil. He pointed out that the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was established by an initiative sponsored by Turkey and Spain in 2005 with a view to bridging the divides along cultural and religious lines. The OIC, however, had pioneered the cause for dialogue among civilizations in 1998 and enjoyed backing from the international community by declaring 2001 as the International Year for Dialogue among Civilizations.
“So there is a commonality of interests and we draw satisfaction from sustained engagement with the AoC since its inception. This relationship was institutionalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, between the OIC and the AoC during its second forum in Istanbul last year, which provides a strong foundation for concrete cooperation.
“We participated actively in the recently held Rio forum with particular reference to sponsoring a round table on Islamophobia on the sidelines. This forum produced concrete outcomes including an action plan signed between OIC and AoC to implement the MOU. Its importance is actually evidenced by the offers by Qatar and Turkey to host the next two AoC forums that were accepted in Rio.
“I am of the view that the most important advantage of the AoC lies in the latent acknowledgment of the need to make sustained efforts to bridge existing divides under a positive rubric while moving away from the negativity contained in and professed by notions like the ‘clash of civilizations.’ We hope that given the vast activities of these alliances, concrete results in favor of bridging the gap between civilizations and cultures will emerge.”
OIC and human rights
In 2005, there was a proposal that was to lead to the establishment of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights, or IPCHR. According to İhsanoğlu, the IPCHR is entrusted with the mission of promoting civil, political, social and economic rights as stipulated in OIC covenants and declarations and in universally agreed human rights instruments, in conformity with Islamic values.
“The Council of Foreign Ministers [CFM] reached a consensus on the entire draft, except for one procedural article in May 2010 at its meeting in Dushanbe. The commission is independent and permanent, composed of 18 experts elected by the CFM for a three-year term. The commission shall submit its recommendations to the CFM.
“The draft statutes of the IPCHR attempted to strike a delicate balance between the Islamic reference in the field of human rights, of which we are proud, and the stipulations of international instruments on human rights at the international level. The IPCHR will proceed with its work aimed at promoting human rights in the member states consistent with international covenants on the matter.
“The establishment of the IPCHR will have a very positive impact on the OIC and on the commitment of its member states to uphold the principles of human rights.”
Global economic crisis and OIC member states
The OIC member states range from some of the poorest countries in the world and some of the richest. “Like in other developing countries, the impact of the global economic crisis has also been increasingly felt in OIC member countries. They have been affected both directly and indirectly. Some OIC member countries were affected by the high food and fuel prices and the global financial and economic recession has added to economic strains seriously affecting their socio-economic development. Consequently, they have been affected by slower economic growth, deteriorating current account balances, shrinking remittances and development assistance, and rising unemployment and poverty. The human cost of the economic crisis has also imperiled the social and future economic emancipation of the people in OIC member countries,” İhsanoğlu said.
“The impact of global economic crisis has spurred our collective action in promoting cooperation among member countries. In particular, the OIC’s 10-year program appears to suffer a setback as the five-year gains achieved by member countries are under stress. For example, the progressive increase in intra-OIC trade, from 14.5 percent in 2004 to 16.64 percent in 2007, stood at 16.6 percent in 2008 and 2009, due to the impact of the global financial, energy and food crises.
“On the other hand, the global economic crisis preceded by a food crisis has disrupted the agricultural economy and food security and cotton programs in OIC member states. Therefore there is also a strong need for the adoption of an appropriate agricultural policy among the member states to enhance agricultural production and supply to avoid a recurrence of such a crisis in the future.
“This state of affairs necessitates strengthening and further enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among member states more than ever before. Efforts should be made to move toward more integrated and concerted policy action to recover from the crisis and improve the economic situation of OIC countries. Accordingly, there is a need for more comprehensive multilateral initiative at the OIC level through joint projects, plans and programs at the regional and sub-regional levels.”
OIC and unresolved issues
The Mavi Marmara debacle, in which a flotilla of ships from Turkey attempted to deliver aid to the Palestinians of Gaza was stopped by Israeli boats and nine people died, sparked outrage around the world and not least in the OIC member states.
Asked what the OIC did, İhsanoğlu said: “Since the first moments of Israel’s attack, we have condemned this action. I invited OIC ambassadorial groups in both New York and Geneva to act in concert in favor of the adoption by the U.N. of an international stand condemning this crime and lifting the lawless blockade on the Gaza Strip.
“As a matter of fact, the OIC in New York has followed a diligent action in order to achieve a U.N. common stand on this transgression, though the Security Council’s presidential statement fell rather short of our expectations. Also, the OIC ambassadorial group in New York held a meeting to look into this grave offense and issued a declaration that called on the U.N. secretary-general to promptly launch a credible, independent, transparent, impartial and comprehensive investigation into the Israeli military aggression with its various aspects and considerations.
“On another front, the OIC ambassadorial group in Geneva responded to the invitation I addressed to them to exert joint efforts at the U.N. Human Rights Council. Accordingly, the council adopted the draft resolution sponsored by the OIC and condemned this abominable affair, demanding Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. In addition, the council decided to set up an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the transgression. I wish to renew here my call for a prompt implementation of the council’s decision, and for a prompt credible, integral, international investigation to be undertaken in conformity with international standards to bring to justice all those who planned this crime or partook in it.
“The OIC executive committee held an emergency ministerial meeting on June 6. The meeting provided an opportunity to express strong solidarity of OIC members with Turkey and Palestine. There was an overall condemnation of the Israeli aggression and a strong call for an independent international investigation on the incident and the lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza. The meeting called for the convening of the U.N. General Assembly meeting for the purpose of generating pressure to lift the blockade. There was also a call for OIC member states to take measures individually and collectively, in accordance with international law, to deter Israel from engaging in any assault or use of force against civilian ships.
“The OIC continues to follow closely the issue in New York as well as in Geneva.”
Asked about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s outspoken stance on the Israeli action, İhsanoğlu said: “Being the head of an elected democratic government, Prime Minister Erdoğan is expressing the stance and positions of the Turkish people. No responsible government will sit and watch its citizens be massacred while on a noble and spontaneous humanitarian mission in support of the needy population in Gaza. It is clear that Turkey is not standing alone and is enjoying the full support and backing of the entire Islamic “Ummah” (community of believers). Turkey needs to be commended for its active foreign policy, which has raised awareness and brought support to the cause of the oppressed Palestinians. Of course with the mounting international pressure, Israel is now forced to alleviate the existing intolerable conditions of the people in Gaza.”
Looking back at İhsanoğlu’s million miles reminds one of Robert Frost’s poem that ends, “And miles to go before I sleep / and miles to go before I sleep.” How many more million does he have in front of him?
