Organization of Islamic Conference Creates New Human Rights Commission

Al Arabiya reports that The Organization of Islamic Conference met at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday to create a new OIC Human Rights Commission. The 57-member OIC will seek assistance from the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up its new independent Commission. OIC Secretary-General Eklemeddin İhsanoğlu said that the new Commission will: "promote tolerance, and fundamental freedoms, good governance, the rule of law, accountability, openness, dialogue with other religions and civilizations, the rejection of extremism and fanaticism, and the strengthening of the sense of pride in the Islamic identity." He also sid that this step would promote intellectual and political reform in OIC countries. OIC members also discussed "refining" the 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam.