THE OIC SECRETARY GENERAL PARTICIPATES IN GENEVA CONFERENCE ON SYRIA

The OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani leading a three-member delegation, attended the Geneva Conference on Syria commonly known as Geneva II on 22 January 2014 at Montreux, Switzerland. In his intervention at the conference, the Secretary General termed the meeting as the beginning of a promising process that witnesses for the first time the attendance of representatives of both the Syrian government and the Opposition. Madani also reiterated the basis of the OIC policy on the Syrian crisis as outlined in the OIC Summit resolutions, namely, to preserve Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity; to abide by the Islamic values of peace, justice and equality; to adhere to human rights, and to do all that is possible to prevent the conflict from becoming a full-fledged civil war. Madani stressed the Syrian Government's responsibility for the tragic deterioration of the situation in Syria. He also underlined the prime role of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as the countries of the region in ending the crisis. Madani also urged the meeting not to lose sight of the fact that the case of Syria is one of a people struggling for freedom from oppression. The OIC Secretary General cautioned that the situation in Syrian should not be exploited as a way to gain influence, but rather as a reason to reach a new paradigm in the region, which would lead to a stable, prosperous region that is able to live at peace with itself and with the world at large. On the sidelines of the Conference, the Secretary General had bilateral meetings with different dignitaries attending the Conference to discuss the Syrian crisis as well as issues related to the OIC. Madani met with Mr. Didier Burkhalter, President of the Swiss Confederation, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN-LAS Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary General of the Arab League and Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Indonesia and Iraq. Ambassador Slimane Chikh, the OIC Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva and Ambassador Habib Kabachi, Director in the Department of Political Affairs also attended the Geneva II Conference as a part of the OIC delegation.