OIC calls for full Iraqi sovereignty
Ministers from the world’s Muslim countries have insisted on the need for full sovereignty and political independence in Iraq.
Wednesday’s statement from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting in Istanbul comes just two weeks before US-led occupation forces are due to hand over some power to an interim government.
“The conference reaffirms its deep conviction about the need to preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Iraq,” a draft final statement said.
The 57-member OIC also underscored the need for Iraq “to be governed by its own people through a broad-based government based on full representation in line with a constitution accepted by the people”.
Israeli-Palestine conflict
The draft statement also said the meeting “vigorously condemned the brutal acts of torture inflicted on Iraqi prisoners by the occupation forces”.
It said the abuse was a violation of the Geneva conventions and international law and called for those responsible to be punished.
Despite its size and high profile in the Muslim world, the OIC lacks the means and the institutional framework to put its resolutions into effect.
The three day Istanbul conference, which ends on Wednesday, has focused on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestine conflict as well as efforts to bring greater democracy to the Islamic world.