The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has left today to Geneva to participate tomorrow in the third meeting of international experts on the implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 on combating intolerance and incitement to hatred on religious grounds. The OIC is hosting this three-day meeting, which is being held in the framework of the Istanbul Process launched by the OIC Secretary General and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July 2011. The two expert events in the framework of the Istanbul Process were held earlier in Washington D.C., in December 2011 and in London in December 2012. The third meeting in Geneva will discuss concrete steps in implementing point 5, 6 and 8 of Resolution 16/18, namely, "Speaking out against intolerance, including advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence"; "Adopting measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence based on religion or belief"; and "Recognizing that the open, constructive and respectful debate of ideas, as well as interfaith and intercultural dialogue at the local, national and international levels, can play a positive role in combating religious hatred, incitement and violence".
