OIC (ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE)

About OIC-

It was formed in 1971 by powerful Islamic nations.

The commercial capital of Saudi Arabia JEDDA was made it’s headquarter.

Organization of the Islamic Conference) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents.

Out of 57 member states, 48 being Muslim-majority countries.

Non Muslim Majority members of OIC -

Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Suriname, Togo and Uganda are not Muslim-majority nations but are members of OIC.

The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English and French.

Objectives

To promote fraternity in Islamic nations.
International Peace.
No interference in the domestic affairs of the member nation.
To promote economy and trade among the member nations.

Members-

Currently, it has 57 member nations.

HQ-

Jeddha

Observer-

The following has the status of ..observer.

-Bosnia-Herzegovina,…… Russia, UNO, …..NAM .

Structure of OIC-

OIC has the following main bodies.

Islamic Summit

It consists of the king, the Queen, head of the state of the member nation. Its meeting is held every third year.

The council of minister

-The Council of Foreign Ministers, formerly known as the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, is the main decision-making body of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation consisting one representative from each member state of the OIC.

D-8 (Developing -8)-

It is a forum of OIC, which debates on economic problems, and bilateral Trade of the member nations.

Importance of OIC –

OIC is the largest inter-governmental organization after UNO.

Apart from Increasing cooperation, it can control on Islamic terrorism.

Economy

The OIC members have a combined GDP (at PPP) of USD 10,140,000,000,000.

Turkey had the highest GDP in 2010 among OIC members at $729 billion at nominal exchange rates.

The richest country on the basis of GDP per capita is Qatar at USD 103,204 per capita.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The OIC supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

The OIC has called for a boycott of Israeli products in an effort to pressure Israel into ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories

Shortcomings

Democracy

Most OIC member countries are non-democratic. There are no OIC countries that are rated as a "Full Democracy" under the Democracy Index guidelines, and only 3 of the 57 members are rated as high as a "Flawed Democracy." The rest are rated either an "Authoritarian Regime" or a "Hybrid Regime."

Freedom

Only 3 OIC member states were rated as Free in the Freedom in the World report in 2010 based on Political Rights and Civil Liberties in the member countries.

Reporters Without Borders in its 2011 Press Freedom Index rated only Mali and Suriname among the OIC members as having a Satisfactory Situation.

All other members had worse ratings ranging from Noticeable

Problems to Very Serious Situation.

Freedom of religion is severely restricted in most OIC member states. In 2009, the US Department of State cited OIC members Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as being Countries of Particular Concern, where religious freedom is severely violated.

Literacy and scholarship

OIC members on average are countries with lower literacy rates. Though some members such as the former CIS states, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have over 99% literacy, literacy rates are as low as 54% in Pakistan and Bangladesh and under 30% in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, etc.

Also, while some Islamic countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran exhibited a high scientific publication growth rate in 2009-10, this is still only a fraction of scientific papers published by any OECD nation. Some OIC countries have tried to kick-start scientific research.

Dispute with India

-India has also criticised the OIC for referring to parts of Kashmir as "occupied by India" Although India has about 12% (roughly 183 million) of the world's Muslim population, it has been blocked by Pakistan from joining the OIC.

-The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a nation home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), and India (10.9%).

-The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticized the Government of India over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the Babri Masjid verdict of the Supreme Court.

- On 18 April 2020, the OIC had issued a statement, urging the Modi administration of India to take urgent steps to "stop the growing tide of Islamophobia", citing attacks by Hindu nationalists against Indian Muslims and the allegation against Muslims of spreading COVID-19 in the country'

India’s relationship with OIC members:

-Individually, India has good relations with most of the OIC member nations.

-Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have improved significantly in recent years.

-The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (UAE) was a special chief guest at the 68^th Republic Day celebrations in 2017.

-The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.

-Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit that they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir.

Why not India

-India is making rapid progress in terms of its influence in the international arena, not just as a trillion-dollar economic powerhouse, but also as a military and technological giant, all combining to make it a political heavyweight.

-India’s formal association with the OIC could help forge mutually beneficial economic deals.

-India is host to the second /3 rd largest community of Muslims in the world.

-46^th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in 2019. 2019 is the 50^th anniversary of OIC. India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting, as a “guest of honor.

-The 47^th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, held at Niamey (Niger), had made a reference to India over its policies on Jammu and Kashmir.

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