CHAIRMAN’S SUMMARY REPORT
OF THE MEETING OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
ON THE ROHINGYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN MYANMAR
HELD ON THE SIDELINES OF THE
1ST OIC SUMMIT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
10 SEPTEMBER 2017
ASTANA, REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
1. The Heads of State and government of the member states of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a meeting to discuss the
current developments of the situation of the Muslim Rohingya community in
Myanmar, on the sidelines of the 1st OIC Summit of Science and
Technology in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, on 10th September
2017, under the chairmanship of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the
Republic of Turkey, current chair of the OIC Summit.
2. The Meeting expressed grave concern over the recent systematic brutal
acts perpetrated by security forces against the Rohingya Muslim Community
in Myanmar, which constitute a serious and blatant violation of
international law, and which have affected, since October 2016, over
270,000 Muslims who have been forcibly displaced to Bangladesh, in addition
to the burning of their houses and places of worship;
3. The Meeting called upon the Government of Myanmar to accept the UN Human
Rights Council’s fact finding mission to conduct a thorough and independent
investigation into all alleged violations of international human rights law
and to bring the perpetrators to justice
4. The Meeting urged the Government of Myanmar to honour its obligations
under international law and human rights covenants, and to take all
measures to immediately halt acts of dispersion and discriminatory
practices against Rohingya Muslims, as well as the continuous attempts to
obliterate their Islamic culture and identity, including delisting them
from household lists and demolition of places of worship, institutions and
houses of Muslim minorities;
5. The Meeting urged the Government of Myanmar to eliminate the root
causes, including the denial of citizenship based on the 1982 Citizenship
Act which has led to statelessness and deprival of the rights of the
Rohingya Muslim Minority, and to continued dispossession and discrimination
against them, and urged it to work towards a just and sustainable solution
to this issue.
6. The Meeting urged the Government of Myanmar to take urgent measures for
a sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally and externally
displaced Rohingya Muslims to their homeland, Rakhine State, in safety,
security, dignity and with ensured livelihood
7. The Meeting reiterated its call to the Government of Myanmar to revive
the agreement to open an OIC Office for humanitarian affairs in Yangon
after signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the OIC to that effect. The
purpose of the OIC office was to provide pure humanitarian assistance
without distinction between the victims of violence.
8. The Meeting called upon the Government of Myanmar to take all necessary
measures to restore peace and inter-communal harmony through dialogue and a
comprehensive reconciliation process concerning all segments of the Myanmar
society community. This includes tackling the rise of hate speech and the
spread of propaganda by right wing extremists against the Rohingya
population.
9. The Meeting urged the authorities of Myanmar to take concrete steps to
prevent the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine
State and to ensure the right of each individual to live and move without
fear and persecution based on their religion or ethnicity.
10. The Meeting welcomed the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory
Commission headed by Mr. Kofi Annan, and urged the Government of Myanmar to
take concrete steps towards their earliest implementation. The Meeting
called on Member States to provide support for the implementation of these
recommendations with a view to finding a comprehensive and inclusive
solution to the challenges in Rakhine State.
11. The Meeting invited OIC Member States to join the efforts of the
international community towards lifting all restrictions on freedom of
movement in Rakhine State and ensuring an inclusive and transparent
citizenship verification process that leaves no individual unregistered nor
hinders their access to essential social services, including education and
health care.
12. The Meeting expressed concerns over the huge Rohingya influx towards
Bangladesh and its humanitarian and security consequences for the
Government of Bangladesh. The meeting expressed appreciation to those
member states who have taken immadiate action and delivered humaniterian
aid to the camps in Bangladesh.
The meeting further called upon all other member states to deliver further
aid and support to Bangladesh for providing necessary emergency facilities
and services in the camps to enable it to face the flow of refugees into
its territories.
13. The Meeting acknowledged the efforts by Member States which had
provided humanitarian and development assistance for the Rohingya people
and encouraged all States to formulate development projects that will
provide education, health services and vocational training that will
benefit all persons in Rakhine State, regardless of ethnicity or religion.
14. The Meeting called upon OIC Member States and the international
community to continue their efforts in conjunction with those of the United
Nations to ensure the return of all Myanmar refugees displaced from their
homes in Rakhine (Arakan). States should intensify their efforts in
international fora with a view to realizing restoration of the nationality
and citizenship rights of Rohingya of Myanmar.
15. The Meeting called upon the international community to continue working
with the Government of Myanmar to protect Muslim minorities in its
territories.
16. The Meeting supported expansive interfaith dialogue efforts and
encouraged the Myanmar government to support ground-up initiatives to
promote inter-ethnic and communal harmony
17. The Meeting noted that infrastructure development assistance and
community engagement would be more effective in bringing peace in the
affected areas. In this regard, IDB and ISF should take a more active role
in this area.
18. In that regard, the Meeting agreed to continue efforts to coordinate
and dispatch humanitarian life-saving aid especially medical and nutrition
supply to the affected areas in Myanmar. In addition, the Meeting urged all
States to continue to extend all possible forms of humanitarian aid and
assistance to Muslims in Myanmar, and particularly to IDPs and the refugees
living outside their homeland. This includes raising funds for humanitarian
relief.
19. The Meeting expressed profound appreciation and thanks to H.E. Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, for taking the
initiative of convening this timely gathering, as well as to H.E. Nursultan
Nazarbayev, President of Republic of Kazakhstan for his gracious hosting
and support.