Turkey Calls for Collaborative Mediation Efforts to Advance Peace and Counter Xenophobia

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s First Member States Conference on Mediation in Istanbul, Turkey - (Agencies)
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s First Member States Conference on Mediation in Istanbul, Turkey - (Agencies)

اضافة اعلان

ISTANBUL —AlGhad— Turkish Ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz inaugurated the First Member States Conference on Mediation in Istanbul yesterday, Tuesday, calling for more collaborative efforts on mediation to counter xenophobia and advance peace in the region and around the world.

In this regard, Mr Yildiz uncovered that the Organisation has already set in motion the establishment of a mediation support unit, similar to that of the UN’s.

He underlined that the OIC is the world second largest international organisation, after the UN, in terms of geographic reach. This particular advantage, Mr Yildiz highlighted, enables the OIC to launch an all-encompassing effort to advance peaceful solutions to struggles around the world. Including the situation in Syria and Iraq.

More so, according to a study he cited in his speech, Islamic countries account for more than 60 per cent of the world’s displaced population. They also house some 71 per cent of the people in need of humanitarian assistance, placing the OIC in the centre of the world’s most troubled regions, he stressed.

“Mediation is a particular methodology,” Mr Yildiz said. “It is listed in the Article 33 of the UN Charter as one of the methods of peaceful settlement of disputes.”

Notably, Turkey co-chairs two distinct Groups of Friends of Mediation at the UN and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“Promoting more effective and wider use of mediation has been one of the principal objectives of Turkey’s enterprising and humanitarian foreign policy, not just within this organization, but in international arena,” according to Yildiz.

He also called for the members of the OIC to work together with Turkey for the purpose of advance peace and mediating conflicts, stressing that the world has a real chance at peace and prosperity through mediation.

Mediation can help prevent the suffering of Muslims around the world, like in the cases of Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya, Abdallah Alim told Anadoly, Assistant Secretary General of the OIC for Political Affairs said.

The Conference, entitled “Surge in Mediation: The Role of the OIC”, was organised in collaboration with the OIC and attended by representatives from 40 member states and international organisations.