OIC Palestine Six-Party Committee Holds a Ministerial Meeting on Sidelines of UNGA Session

The Six-Party Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a meeting regarding Palestine during the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 19, 2023. H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, the OIC Secretary-General, chaired the meeting.

During the meeting, the Secretary-General delivered a speech reaffirming the OIC's unwavering position on the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Sharif. He called for mobilizing political and legal efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue. This solution should be compliant with international law and relevant UN resolutions. The Secretary-General also called for a peace process to be relaunched under multilateral international sponsorship based on relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, and a specific timetable.

Furthermore, the Secretary-General emphasized the need to redouble efforts in the UN Security Council to approve the long-awaited full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations.

The meeting reaffirmed the centrality of the issue of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif to the Islamic Ummah. It emphasized the necessity of preserving its Arab-Islamic character and defending the sanctity of Islamic and Christian sanctities. The meeting also strongly condemned all attempts to harm its historical legal status or endanger it, stressing the illegality of Israeli measures in occupied Al-Quds.

Additionally, the meeting condemned the policy of Israel, the occupying power, and its illegal colonial settlement practices throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds Ash-Sharif. It expressed deep concern for escalating acts of violence, provocation, incitement, and terrorism committed by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, including children, and their property.

Finally, the meeting renewed its call on Member States to adhere to the resolutions of Islamic summits and Islamic ministerial conferences regarding the Palestinian issue and the Arab-Israeli conflict when voting in the United Nations and international forums.

September 20, 2023