OIC Virtual Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee at Foreign Ministers level on COVID-19 Effects Issues Final Communique

Jeddah, April 22, 2020, SPA -- The Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states hailed the efforts made by the member states and religious leaders to prevent the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and their support in this regard for the special measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Two Holy Mosques, the decision to suspend Umrah and visits to the Prophet’s Mosque and all the additional measures that should be taken in the event of a pandemic, as an absolute necessity required by Islamic principles and teachings. They also welcomed the announcement by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen of a two-week ceasefire in Yemen starting April 9, 2020, and called on all parties to respect this initiative and engage in talks for a comprehensive and lasting peace agreed upon by all Yemenis. This came in the final communique issued by the OIC Virtual Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee at Foreign Ministers level on COVID-19 Effects which reads as follows: The Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, proceeding from the principles and objectives enshrined in the OIC Charter, guided by the noble Islamic values of unity and fraternity and affirming the necessity of promoting and consolidating the unity and solidarity among Member States in securing their common interests at the international arena. Recognizing the centrality of the OIC as a platform to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between its Member States in the political, security, economic, social, cultural, educational, environmental, humanitarian, and other vital areas. Recalling the rich historical contributions of the noble and peaceful Islam and its values to modern civilization especially in the fields of education, moderation, science, culture, and others. Gravely concerned over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has so far affected almost all countries and regions of the world and has had devastating global impacts and posed unprecedented challenges and profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of lives and the suffering faced by the peoples around the world. And having carefully reviewed the ongoing alarming global situation, in particular the OIC Member States due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the efforts exerted to address it, has agreed as follows: 1. The Meeting recognizes that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge for the OIC Member States and the world at large, which requires immediate and decisive actions at the OIC, national, regional, and international levels to protect lives. 2. The Meeting asserts that contributing to efforts to address the pandemic and its intertwined health, humanitarian, social, and economic impacts is an absolute priority for the OIC and reiterates the OIC’s commitment to forming a united front against this common threat. 3. The Meeting considers that a transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale, and scientifically oriented global response in the spirit of solidarity is necessary to contain the pandemic. 4. The Meeting notes the status of preparedness of Member States in addressing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and urges them to solidify their respective National Preparedness and Response Plans to strengthen prevention, impact mitigation, and other interventions. 5. The Meeting commends the OIC Member States for their proactive and timely actions to prevent the spread of the pandemic and their initiatives in the health, economic, financial, social, and humanitarian fields to respond to the situation and address the effects of the crisis. It also expresses its deep gratitude and support to all frontline health workers and others striving to render essential services to the people and to save lives in this trying time. 6. The Meeting further recognizes that no single country alone can tackle the devastation and multifaceted challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It expresses in this connection its full support to the World Health Organization (WHO) and its commitment to strengthen its mandate in coordinating the international fight against the pandemic, including the protection of frontline health workers, delivery of medical supplies, especially testing kits, treatments, medicines, and vaccines. It acknowledges the need for urgent short-term actions to step up the global efforts to fight the crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 7. The Meeting commends the efforts made by the OIC on several levels since the beginning of the crisis to contribute to combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, notably: - The call of the OIC General Secretariat on the peoples of Member States to abide by the necessary preventive measures to curb the spread of the disease. It has launched awareness campaigns in three languages through its various social media platforms and has highlighted the efforts of Member States through designing and production of video clips to raise awareness of the seriousness of the pandemic; - The Rapid Response Initiative of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to allocate financial resources to support Member States in their efforts to contain the negative effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; - The initiative of the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) to allocate an account to assist Member States, especially the least developed countries (LDCs), to strengthen their capabilities in response to the pandemic, particularly in the health sector; - The meeting of the OIC Steering Committee on Health held on April 9, 2020 and expresses its support for its important recommendations on the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; - The Second Fiqh Medical Symposium of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) to review the various Fiqh aspects to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 8. The Meeting acknowledges the important role of the religious and community leaders, Islamic scholars, and prominent figures in raising public awareness about personal hygiene, safe practices, and appropriate social behaviors as important tools to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and protect lives in Member States. It also emphasizes the importance of following the recommended precautions drawn from the objectives of the noble Islamic principles and teachings to ward off risks and protect lives. In this regard, it appreciates the efforts made by Member States and their religious leaders to prevent the spread of the pandemic and protect lives, including the temporary closure of mosques and places of worship. In the same context, it supports the measures taken regarding the Two Holy Mosques and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and all additional measures Member States would adopt as a top priority necessitated by principles and teachings. It stresses the importance of the timely decision taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to suspend Umrah and visits to the Prophet’s Mosque. 9. The Meeting stresses the importance of strengthening the coordination of national and regional efforts to draw up containment strategies to stem the spread of the disease in Member States and to enhance the capacity of health and medical personnel to prevent and control infectious diseases, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19). 10. The Meeting encourages Member States to contribute to the efforts aimed at meeting the shortage of essential medical supplies, especially testing kits and personal protective equipment for health workers in Member States, especially in the vulnerable ones. It encourages them to scale up timely and transparent sharing of information on the issues of global public health concern on the prevention, detection, and treatment of the coronavirus (COVID-19). 11. The Meeting calls upon the General Secretariat and its organs to connect the research organizations in the field of medical sciences and medical equipment and also to incorporate the business bodies of the Member States to facilitate bulk production of the required medical items. 12. The Meeting appreciates the actions taken by the OIC and its relevant organs and institutions especially the IsDB, which has launched a US$ 2.3 billion Strategic Preparedness and Response Program to counter the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through supporting the efforts to prevent, contain, mitigate, and recover from its impacts. It also notes with appreciation the OIC-ISF Urgent Initiative to Assist Member States and the ISF's donation of $1 million to the contingency account. It encourages Member States to contribute generously to the fund established by the OIC General Secretariat to mitigate the urgent needs in Member States. The Meeting calls for giving priority to the least developed Member States and particularly those whose fragility is exacerbated and response to the pandemic are hindered with the ongoing conflicts and terrorism, as well as the Muslim communities in non-Member States. 13. The Meeting calls upon all Member States and the OIC institutions to display their solidarity with the African OIC countries against the COVID-19 pandemic, which are in a vulnerable and disadvantaged situation due to their scarce means in healthcare sector, in order to answer their urgent needs such as medical and good supplies, and economic and financial assistance, 14. The Meeting recognizes that managing the crisis and mitigating its impact requires an emphasis on retaining jobs, supporting the most vulnerable ones including the self-employed, ensuring liquidity, promoting skill development, introducing favorable tax policies, lifting travel restrictions as soon as the health emergency allows, and boosting marketing and consumer confidence to recover economic growth and sustain financial stability. It appreciates in this regard the invitation by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the current Presidency of the G20, to hold an Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit of to unite international efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. G20 Members have already injected more than US$ 5 trillion into the world economy and supported a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries. They agreed on a common term sheet which was also agreed by the Paris Club. 15. The Meeting notes the need to pay special attention to the situation in Palestine and calls upon the international community to put pressure on the Occupying power to lift any restrictions on the entry of medical and food items to enable the Palestinians to face this pandemic, also calls upon the Member States to extend support to the people of Palestine with a view to enhancing their capacity to deal with this pandemic. 16. The Meeting recalls the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan that the UNRWA has launched in order to better address the needs of the Palestine refugees and calls upon OIC Member States and the international community to channel further support to the Plan. 17. The Meeting urges the parties in conflict areas to declare a ceasefire, end the violence, and allow medical and food assistance to reach the affected. It appeals to the humanitarian actors and donors to provide food aid and identify safe pathways for helping the countries concerned. In this context, it strongly supports the UN Secretary-General's appeal for a global ceasefire to focus on fighting coronavirus pandemic. It also welcomes the announcement by the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen of a two-week ceasefire in Yemen starting April 9, 2020, and calls on all parties to respect this initiative and engage in talks for a comprehensive and lasting peace agreed upon by all Yemenis. 18. The Meeting appreciates the efforts of the UN Secretary General to address the pandemic related needs of the most vulnerable groups and the countries, therefore expresses its support for the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan for the migrants, refugees, displaced persons and the host communities as well as the UN Respond and Recovery Fund for the least developed and the low and middle income countries. 19. The Meeting calls for collective actions of Members States to look after the wellbeing of Muslim refugees around the globe through resource allocation amidst this humanitarian crisis. 20. The Meeting makes an urgent appeal to the international financial institutions and the bilateral, regional, and international partners, especially the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, to consider intensify their efforts in easing debt burden of LDCs and provide all the possible options including financial assistance, rescheduling of the payments of current debts, concessional loans, and basic support accessible to the OIC Member States to combat the COVID-19 consequences. 21. The Meeting requests the OIC Member States to continue their coordination to ensure the uninterrupted flow of resources and logistical services across borders, particularly food and medical supplies, to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and principles. 22. The Committee acknowledges that the scope and the severity of the pandemic requires frequent, systematic and regular contacts and consultations at the intergovernmental level so as to respond the pandemic in a joint and effective way. It emphasizes the establishment of a coordination mechanism within the General Secretariat. Accordingly, the Meeting requests the convening of the Committee of the Permanent Representatives (CPR), at intervals it deems necessary, with the participation of the relevant OIC institutions including IsDB, ISF, COMCEC and SESRIC, in order to follow up the efforts and initiatives towards assisting Member States in their respective response and recovery efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, including the provision of the essential medical products and equipment, enhancing the capacities of health medical personnel, improving health services, to effectively share information and experience in this regard and to address the social, economic, and financial implications of this pandemic on Member States. The Meeting requests the General Secretariat to ensure necessary arrangements for the meetings of CPR. 23. The Meeting highly appreciates the engagement of the OIC Secretary-General and requests him to continue his initiatives and coordination with the international actors, organizations, and institutions to raise global awareness about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the need to address its health, humanitarian, social, economic, and financial repercussions. 24. The Meeting acknowledges the important central role that the UN plays in strengthening international cooperation and coordination in fighting against the global pandemic and in this regard, calls upon the United Nations to convene an extraordinary session during the 75th UN General Assembly to examine and determine appropriate actions to improve combating pandemics similar to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 25. The Meeting requests the OIC Secretary-General to follow up on the implementation of this Communiqué, notify the United Nations and regional organizations thereof, and submit a report thereon to the next session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). --SPA