JEDDAH – The continued occupation of Palestine by Israel and the oppression and sufferings of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation were abhorrent instances of human rights violations, said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu here Sunday. In a statement issued on the occasion of the “Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day,” Ihsanoglu expressed grave concern at the violation of human rights of Muslim minorities outside the OIC, in particular the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who are being persecuted and their human rights violated by murder, rape and forced displacement from their homeland. He urged member states to take a unified stand to impress upon the international community for an immediate action to ensure the protection of human rights of the Palestinian people including their inalienable right to their own sovereign homeland, as well as those of other Muslim minorities including the Rohingyas, for their safety, security and dignity. – SG
