OIC holds meeting, issues communiqué

Jeddah, August 06, SPA -- An emergency Ministerial meeting of the
Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)
was convened at the OIC headquarters, Jeddah, on August 4, 2008 to
discuss the situation in Sudan following the attempt of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to seek indictment of
several members of the Government of the Sudan, including the
President of the country.

The meeting was chaired by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
of Senegal H. E. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, whose country is holding the
current rotating chairmanship of the Islamic Summit. In his opening
statement, the Minister warned all concerned against the serious
possible consequences of the ICC action and called for an initiative
by the OIC Secretary General to work along with his counterparts in
the AL, AU and NAM towards finding a peaceful solution to the crisis
in Sudan.

The Vice-chairman of the Meeting, Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs of Uganda, Hon. Isaac Musumba, whose country heads the OIC
Council of Foreign Ministers, also called the OIC Member States for
cooperating with Sudan and said that the issue represents a daunting
challenge for the OIC and its Member States.

The OIC Secretary General H. E. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was
represented at the meeting by Assistant Secretary General Ambassador
Tori Limangana. In his statement delivered by Ambassador Limangana,
the Secretary General stressed the importance of finding a peaceful
solution to the crisis respecting the principles of sovereignty,
unity, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs
of Sudan.

Referring to the Resolution adopted by the 35th Session of the
Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC Member States held recently in
Kampala, Uganda, the OIC Secretary General urged the non-signatories
of the Abuja Agreement to join the peace process for a peaceful
settlement of the Darfur dispute.