Saudi Arabia calls for OIC extraordinary meeting to discuss humanitarian situation in Afghanistan

Saudi Arabia calls for OIC extraordinary meeting to discuss humanitarian situation in Afghanistan

Riyadh (UNA-OIC) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chair of the current Islamic Summit, called for holding an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

The people of Afghanistan are facing a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis this winter, as millions of Afghan women, children, and elderly people are in need of immediate assistance, including access to food, medicine, and shelter, the Kingdom said in a statement on Monday.

Impending economic collapse and further deterioration of living conditions will lead to more instability within Afghanistan, which will adversely affect regional and international peace and security.

Guided by principles of Islamic solidarity with the Afghan people, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as Chair of the Islamic Summit, and in line with relevant OIC decisions on Afghanistan, calls upon the OIC to, urgently, convene an Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting to discuss the humanitarian situation in the country and pathways for an urgent humanitarian response, the statement added.

Saudi Arabia has said it looks forward to convening this urgent meeting, which Pakistan has offered to host in Islamabad on 17 December 2021. The Kingdom also expressed the hope that the proposed meeting would result in finding appropriate means and mechanisms to deliver aid to Afghanistan, and coordinate procedures with relevant UN agencies, international financial institutions, and the international community to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Afghan people.

The Kingdom hopes the meeting will also serve as an opportunity to demonstrate a collective stance on key principles, including the importance of taking steps to ensure security and stability in Afghanistan and preserving its sovereignty and territorial integrity, while countering external interference, rejecting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and ensuring that Afghan territory is not used as a refuge or safe haven for terrorist and extremist groups.

The Kingdom went on to say that this meeting should also urge the interim government in Afghanistan to be more inclusive, abide by international norms and conventions, and respect human rights and women’s rights to work and education guaranteed under Islamic law.

Saudi Arabia also urged the OIC member states as well as the invited non-member states and international organizations to actively participate in the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting to crystallize and mobilize a joint Islamic humanitarian action to help the Afghan people.

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