OIC Secretary General participates in the New York meeting of the International Syria Support Group

H. E. Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, participated in the meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which took place at the New York Palace Hotel on 18 December 2015. The meeting, which was a follow up to the Group’s 14 November meeting in Vienna brought together foreign ministers of sixteen member states, as well as heads of the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, European Union and League of Arab States to discuss the way forward with respect to launching of political dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition. The Group expressed deep sense of urgency to end the ongoing bloodshed in Syria, which over the past five years took lives of almost three hundred thousand Syrians and cost unbearable suffering of millions of Syrians both inside and outside the country. Moreover, it reiterated its commitment to finding a solution to the Syrian conflict through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process. HE OIC Secretary General’s participation in this round of the ISSG meeting in New York was highly welcomed. HE Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, stated that the OIC was a key partner in the International Syria Support Group, as it enjoyed moral authority and legitimacy all across the Muslim world, and brought together key regional actors that could influence the political process in Syria. Similarly, HE John Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States, welcomed the OIC’s participation, and underlined the value of the OIC’s potential contribution to finding solution to the Syrian conflict. In response, HE Secretary General Madani expressed that the OIC was well positioned to counter the hateful ideology of the terrorists groups in Syria, such as Daesh, and equipped to delegitimize the discourse it utilizes to promote nihilism and extremism, as well as to justify its violence and terrorism. Secretary General also stated that the OIC could mobilize a wide range participation of Syrian civil society in the political process, whose inclusivity was key to reaching a sustainable peace in Syria. On a different note, the OIC welcomes the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254 on Syria endorsing an international roadmap for a peace process in Syria. Adoption of the resolution shows the global unity on a conflict that has claimed almost 300,000 lives. OIC hopes that adoption of the resolution would contribute in restoring order in Syria.