JEDDAH – Respect for human rights is an indispensable condition for peace, security, political stability and socioeconomic and cultural development, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has stressed. In a press statement on Wednesday, on the anniversary of the Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day, the pan-Islamic body's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) called upon all member states to evaluate the contemporary human rights challenges faced by Muslim societies and accordingly recalibrate their strategies to deal with them in a comprehensive manner.
It reaffirmed that the Islamic ideals of peace, freedom, justice and equality of mankind remain the everlasting guiding principles to reinforce OIC's adherence to its commitment to existing human rights laws and covenants. With the recent rise in violence, discrimination and human rights violations based on religious intolerance in the world, including the killing of Muslims and non-Muslims by terrorist organizations, the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and the desecration of holy scriptures and sites in different parts of the world, a culture of discrimination and violence has emerged. This has led to loss of many innocent lives and creating a wider sense of alienation, isolation, rejection, polarization and exclusion among affected communities, the IPHRC said. It reiterated its strong rejection of radicalism, intolerance and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The IPHRC further stressed the need to consolidate regional and international efforts to address and put an end to these phenomena. It believes that it is the collective duty of the international community to consolidate universal values of humanity, to combat intolerance, discrimination and hatred and promote inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue for better understanding and peaceful coexistence; while observing respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The IPHRC also resolved to work toward creating a yardstick on Islamic human rights against which member states could measure their relevant policies and progress with a view to harmonizing their national laws with the universally agreed covenants and human rights laws. In the same spirit, IPHRC urged the member states to accord political will and resources for the realization of Islamic human rights based and driven statutes that are in line with their international human rights obligations. OIC is a major stakeholder in a UN conference later this year in Malaysia on women's advancement. The IPHRC also plans to hold an international workshop in Jakarta next October, inviting all member states to create a strategy for human rights education for different segments of society such as policymakers, judiciary, religious scholars and the media. This also includes forming a common education curriculum in schools.
