Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong addressed a United Nations Security Council briefing on July 24, called on the initiative of Pakistan, to discuss cooperation with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC is a major international body grouping 57 states. Ambassador Fu described it as “a symbol of unity and autonomy of Islamic countries” and said that China supports the UN in further deepening its cooperation with the OIC.
He added that: “With its religious, historical and cultural advantages when tackling issues that arise in the Islamic world, the OIC has a unique role to play in conflict prevention and mediation… The Palestinian issue lies at the heart of the broader situation in the Middle East and is of the greatest concern to the Islamic world. A pressing priority is to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, to ease the desperate humanitarian plight there.”
Fu Cong also directly responded to an earlier intervention from the United States, stating:
“China firmly opposes and categorically rejects the groundless accusations made by the US Representative regarding China’s Xinjiang region. Currently, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, [and] economic prosperity, where people live in peace and contentment…. If the US truly cared about the human rights of Muslims, why does it turn a blind eye to the living hell in Gaza? Why has it ignored the historical injustices suffered by the Palestinian people? The United States overlooks its own chronic problems at home, such as gun violence, racial discrimination, the trampling of its citizens’ rights and dignity.”
Speaking on behalf of the OIC, Yousef Al-Dubaie, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, called on the council to pressure Israel to comply with relevant UN resolutions, including for an immediate and complete cessation of the acts of genocide, massacres, starvation, and displacement of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the occupied city of Al Quds [Jerusalem]. He also recalled the Organisation’s positions and efforts regarding Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, the Sahel countries, Lake Chad, and the issue of the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar, and commended the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia.
The following articles were originally published on the websites of China’s Permanent Mission to the UN and of the OIC.
Remarks on Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional and Sub-regional Organizations (OIC) by Ambassador Fu Cong at the UN Security Council Briefing
President,
I thank the Pakistani presidency to initiate and convene this meeting. Welcome Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar presiding over this meeting. And thank ASG Khalid Khiari and ASG Yousef M. Al Dobeay for their briefings.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is a symbol of unity and autonomy of Islamic countries. Since becoming an observer at the UN General Assembly, the OIC has actively cooperated with the UN in, inter alia, addressing hotspot issues, combating terrorism and providing humanitarian assistance, earning recognition from the broader international community. China supports the UN in further deepening its cooperation with the OIC in the spirit of Chapter Eight of the UN Charter, so they can safeguard international peace and security together. I wish to highlight 4 points.
First, a joint commitment to the purposes and the principles of the UN Charter. The charter, as a cornerstone of multilateralism, establishes the basic norms governing international relations. However, its purposes and principles are repeatedly violated with frequent abuse of force, putting the world at risk of descending back into the law of the jungle. The escalation of tensions in the Middle East over the past months, once again, reminds us that adventurism in violation of the charter, begets nothing but turmoil and instability. We must firmly defend the purposes and principles of the charter, respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, persevere in the quest for peaceful settlement of disputes and safeguard international equity and justice.
Second, a joint commitment to the political settlement of hotspot issues. Force can not bring peace, nor can violence bring security. Political settlement is the only viable path. With its religious, historical and cultural advantages when tackling issues that arise in the Islamic world, the OIC has a unique role to play in conflict prevention and mediation. The Security Council should strengthen engagement and coordination with the OIC so they can form synergy by leveraging their respective strengths. The Palestinian issue lies at the heart of the broader situation in the Middle East, and is of the greatest concern to the Islamic world. A pressing priority is to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, to ease the desperate humanitarian plight there. The international community should ramp up efforts towards the implementation of the two-State solution
Third, a joint commitment to combat terrorism. Terrorism is the common enemy of humanity, and the international community is facing complex and serious terrorist threats. We must uphold the policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, reject double standards and the selective approach and oppose linking terrorism with any particular ethnicity or religion. International counter terrorism cooperation must be strengthened without let up. Syria has recently been rocked by multiple incidents of violent terrorism. The Syrian interim authorities must fulfill their counter terrorism obligations in earnest and combat all terrorist organizations designated by the Security Council, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The international community should urge and support the Afghan interim government to take stronger measures to prevent the country from backsliding into a hub of terrorist groups.
Fourth, a joint commitment to dialogue and exchange among civilizations. Inter-civilizational dialogue is the bond of peace, engine for development and a bridge of friendship. It can inject positive energy into a world in the state of flux and breakdown of order. In 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution tabled by China and 82 other countries to establish the International Day for Dialogue Among Civilizations, aiming to maximize the contributions of inter-civilizational dialogue to eliminating discrimination and prejudice, enhancing mutual understanding and trust and strengthening solidarity and cooperation. The international community should hold fast to the principle of peaceful coexistence among civilizations, advocate inclusive dialogue on equal footing and let cooperation triumph over confrontation, win-win outcomes over zero-sum thinking.
President,
China and Islamic countries are good friends and good partners, with a friendship that goes back centuries. More recently, practical cooperation between China and Islamic countries across various demands, has been fruitful, and their friendly relations have continued to improve in quality and depth, setting a positive example for South-South cooperation. China remains committed to working with Islamic countries in practice through multilateralism and making greater contributions to world peace and development and to building a community of a shared future for humanity.
President,
I wish to respond briefly to the US statement we heard earlier. China firmly opposes and categorically rejects the groundless accusations made by the US Representative regarding China’s Xinjiang region. Currently, Xinjiang enjoys social stability, economic prosperity, where people live in peace and contentment. It is in the best ever period of development. The US has gone to great lengths to hype up the so-called Xinjiang issue in a vain attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs and curb China’s development, only to lay bare their true colors, which are hegemonic and based on double standards. Over the past six years, over 100 countries, including many Islamic countries, have voiced their support for China’s just position in various forms at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, they unequivocally oppose politicizing human rights issues and exploiting human rights as a pretext to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. This is a message loud and clear that the US’s scheme to contain China with Xinjiang is very much bankrupt, and its sinister intention to provoke block confrontation by discrediting and suppressing China, has failed miserably.
If the US truly cared about the human rights of Muslims, why does it turn a blind eye to the living hell in Gaza? Why has it ignored the historical injustices suffered by the Palestinian people? The United States overlooks its own chronic problems at home, such as gun violence, racial discrimination, the trampling of its citizens’ rights and dignity. Yet under the guise of human rights, it wantonly interferes in other countries’ internal affairs and violates the human rights of unnumbered people in developing nations. We urge the US to reflect on its own ills and wrongdoings, change course and put more effort into practical, positive actions for international peace and security.
I thank you, President.
The UN Security Council Holds a Special Session on Cooperation between the UN and the OIC, Underscoring the Importance it Attaches to its Role in Strengthening the Foundations of Peace, Security, and Stability in the Region and the World
The United Nations’ (UN) Security Council held a special session on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on “cooperation between the United Nations and Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations” at the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, presiding over the Security Council for the month of July. This session echoes the importance given by the Security Council to reinforcing cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
In an address to the Council on behalf of H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, H.E. Ambassador Yousef Al-Dubaie, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, expressed the OIC’s satisfaction with the outstanding level of cooperation achieved between the two organizations in the political, economic, social, humanitarian, cultural and scientific areas. He extolled the two organizations’ joint attachment to carving out creative and sustainable solutions to the issues encountered by the world, especially in the area of international peace and security, and to reinforcing the culture of peace and dialogue among civilizations, fundamental human rights, economic and social development, and world counterterrorism.
In this regard, he stressed that the various efforts made by the International Security Council regarding the safeguarding of world security and peace are fully in step with the OIC’s diligent endeavors on peaceful conflict resolution, including mediation and combating terrorism and violent extremism.
In this respect, he reviewed the key issues on the OIC’s and the International Security Council’s agendas, foremost the Palestinian issue. He reiterated the OIC’s call to the Council to pressure Israel, the occupation authority, to comply with the UN resolutions, including an immediate and complete cessation of the acts of genocide, massacres, starvation, and displacement of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the occupied city of Al Quds. He pointed out that the OIC and UN partnership is strategically geared toward reinforcing the two-state solution, ending the long-term illegal Israeli occupation and colonial settlement, achieving a fair, comprehensive and permanent solution and enabling the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights, including the right to self-determination and to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and geographically interconnected Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Al Quds as its capital.
He also recalled the Organization’s positions and efforts regarding Afghanistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, the Sahel countries, Lake Chad, and the issue of the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar. He emphasized the importance of promoting international support to combating terrorism and extremism, stimulating development efforts, ensuring security and stability, addressing the root causes of crises, and endorsing national governments’ efforts for achieving peace, security, and sustainable development.
He commended the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, expressing the OIC’s preparedness to fully cooperate with him to discharge his duty.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs reviewed the close cooperation between the OIC and the United Nations, as well as with its specialized agencies in the humanitarian, economic, social, health, science and technology fields, and capacity-building in mediation, conflict prevention, and election monitoring.
The Assistant Secretary-General called for stepping up the partnership between the two organizations in the areas of conflict prevention, mediation, sustainable development, humanitarian action, dialogue and tolerance, and combating hate speech.
He expressed the OIC’s aspiration to strengthen regular consultations with the Security Council in a way that would enable them to work together to deepen and broaden their joint efforts to promote international peace and security in accordance with the UN and OIC charters.
Moreover, it is noteworthy that the address delivered by UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari highlighted the OIC’s importance and role in conflict resolution. He stressed that the United Nations values its partnership with the OIC not only at the institutional level, but also as an important partner in international efforts to promote the foundations of lasting peace, inclusive governance, and respect for international law and human rights. He reviewed several issues and conflicts of mutual interest.
For his part, H.E. Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, recalled the pivotal role played by the OIC in resolving conflicts and promoting peace and stability in the region and the world. He lauded the level of cooperation between the OIC and the United Nations.
