OIC, Arab League Demand UNSC Adopt a Stern Resolution on Israel-Palestine Conflict

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League have demanded the UN Security Council to adopt a stern resolution on the situation in Israel and Palestine that has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza.

"What we convey is certainly our hope to the UNSC, there have been resolutions but the resolution is not comprehensive and we express our hope to the P5 countries (permanent members of the UN Security Council) to do more as the situation worsens," she said to Antara in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday, November 20, 2023.

Retno made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the OIC and Arab League envoys. China is a member of the UN Security Council and in November 2023 gets the rotating presidency of the UN body.

Foreign Minister Retno attended as one of the envoys from the member states of the OIC and the Arab League along with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Deputy Prime Minister who is also Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha who came to Beijing.

“This meeting is part of the implementation of a resolution that came out of the summit of the OIC and the Arab League that gave a mandate to several foreign ministers to follow up or try to address the situation in Gaza,” Retno said.

After China, it is planned that OIC and Arab League envoys will also visit other countries. "To Moscow, the UK, and also to France, but the dynamics of the schedule are still being set," she said.

During the meeting, Retno said conditions in Gaza were getting worse.

“Earlier I also said that today I received information that the Indonesian Hospital was undergoing a bad bombardment. Therefore, if this continues, the impact will be unbearable,” Retno said.

Retno said China supported the resolutions of the OIC and Arab League countries.

The OIC Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh on November 11, adopted a resolution that mandated Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and Nigeria to help initiate a political process to achieve permanent peace.

In addition to denouncing Israel's atrocities in Gaza, OIC leaders including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also urged the UN Security Council to act to adopt a resolution to call for an immediate end to all violence, so humanitarian aid can continue to flow in, and the importance of complying with international law.

The OIC also condemned the forced displacement of 1.5 million Palestinians from northern to southern Gaza, which the Fourth Geneva Convention considers a war crime. Furthermore, the OIC urged the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Israel's destruction of hospitals in Gaza.

ANTARA

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