violent conflict resolution in fostering a culture of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding and in diminishing misperceptions and intolerance among peoples of diverse religions, beliefs and cultural backgrounds. He emphasized that in the exercise of the fundamental right of freedom of expression, one should act with responsibility. He called for the development of an internationally accepted code of ethics within UNESCO, which would reflect a broad-based consensus and common understanding. The Secretary General stated that the OIC General Secretariat was guided in its efforts by the existing international human rights documents and particularly the provisions requesting all governments to take measures against incitement to religious hatred. He clarified that the OIC has no problem with freedom of expression; on the contrary, it regards this freedom as a fundamental value and advocates it in the Muslim world within the new vision of the Organization. He underlined that the main argument of the OIC was that the abuse of this right should not be allowed in a way to contradict and violate the international human rights provisions. The OIC Secretary General called on the EU (European Union) and OIC Member States to reach a consensus at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council in this regard.
