ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE 'VITAL PARTNER' FOR UNITED NATIONS SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEETING OF CONFERENCE FOREIGN MINISTERS

Press Release
SG/SM/7155

ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE 'VITAL PARTNER' FOR UNITED NATIONS SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEETING OF CONFERENCE FOREIGN MINISTERS

Following is the text of the statement of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, delivered on his behalf by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahima Fall, to the annual Coordination Meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Foreign Ministers in New York on 1 October.

Allow me to convey to you the Secretary-General's regrets for not being able to join you today, and his best wishes for a fruitful meeting. I will now deliver his statement:

I wish to begin by paying special tribute to the leadership of His Excellency Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran and Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Beginning with the summit, which took place in Iran in 1997, President Khatami has provided your Organization with wise and visionary leadership.

I have long considered the OIC a vital partner for the United Nations throughout the Islamic world, and beyond. The cooperation between our two organizations continues to deepen and broaden as we find growing areas of common interest. Even as we welcome progress in such places as the Maghreb, we witness with increasing concern the crises in other parts of the world. Indeed, it may sometimes appear that, for every challenge we overcome, a new one emerges to test our will and our wisdom.

In opening this year's General Assembly, I decided to make our common opposition to the slaughter of people a key focus of my address. I argued that as the world can no longer stand aside when gross and systematic violations of human rights take place, it must act effectively and legitimately to halt such violations. The OIC has a vital role to play in helping us achieve this aim -- through early warning, preventive diplomacy and action. It is my aspiration that together -- in your area of concern, as everywhere -- we can create a global environment where disputes are settled peacefully, and where no regime believes it can commit with impunity either aggression beyond its borders or vicious repression within them.

This year, as last year, Afghanistan represents one of the gravest challenges to our common efforts. Despite intensive mediation

- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/7155 1 October 1999

and diplomacy, I regret to say that the will to make peace appears very weak among the parties in Afghanistan and their sponsors beyond its borders.

Somalia continues to be a major common concern for both the OIC and the United Nations. The OIC has been a regular participant of the Ambassadorial Meeting of External Actors on Somalia, the aim of which is to let the international community speak with one voice to best assist the Somalis in their search for peace. In my recent report on Somalia to the Security Council, published in August, I called for an enhanced role for the United Nations in peace efforts in Somalia. I look forward to the continued cooperation with the OIC and OIC countries in translating your recommendation made in Ouagadougou for the convening of an international conference on peace and reconciliation in Somalia.

In the Balkans, we are emerging from a year of terror and conflict to witness the consolidation of peace in Bosnia, and the end of the reign of terror against the Kosovo Albanians. The United Nations is now deeply engaged in restoring peace to Kosovo and helping its people build a stable and democratic society.

The United Nations, in cooperation with several governments and non-governmental organizations under the umbrella of Operation Lifeline Sudan, continues to provide vitally important humanitarian aid to the affected population in southern Sudan. We hope that the Intergovernmental Authority for Development will be able to facilitate a political solution to one of the most intractable conflicts in Africa and we stand to continue to support these efforts.

In the Comoros, the United Nations will continue to work closely with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the OIC and the Arab League to ensure a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

We can be very pleased that our joint efforts resulted in the handing over of the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing case and the suspension of the sanctions on Libya. And it is heartening to note that, in the Middle East, we can speak of a new momentum for peace. We should take full advantage of this opportunity to ensure that there is lasting peace.

As this brief and partial account of our common challenges makes clear, our work is far from over. I look forward to cooperating even more closely with the OIC members, and to strengthening our relationship with His Excellency Dr. Azeddine Laraki, to whom I pay special hommage for his leadership of the OIC secretariat.

* *** *