**NEWS**

New York, UN Headquarters – 4 June 2012

OIC Permanent Observer Mission to the UN in New York and the UNITAR co-organized a workshop on “Discourse on Sustainable Development” within the framework of the UNITAR Rio Preparation Forum (RPF) at the UN Headquarters in New York. The workshop, which was intended to be a knowledge-building workshop, aimed enabling the participants to (1) understand the objectives of the Rio Conference, (2) have an enhanced knowledge of the difference stakeholders’ position and discourse, (3) identify the challenges and obstacles to be overcome to draft a strong outcome document and foster consensus, and (4) have a broader, holistic and culturally-sensitive understanding of the concept of sustainable development.

The UNITAR Rio Preparation Forum (RPF) provides a holistic and interdisciplinary examination of all three interconnected pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental in the context of the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20-22 June 2012. The RPF creates mechanisms for engagement between representatives of governments, private companies and civil society. Moreover, by bringing together experts from various disciplines, the RPF enhances awareness and knowledge of the complexities of sustainable development issues and provides them with the necessary tools to participate in the negotiation process.

Rather than a well-defined concept, sustainable development is a discursive field allowing for articulation of economic, environmental and political differences. Indeed, the sustainable development paradigm, by emphasizing the complex links between social, economic, political and environmental factors, introduces a new layer of dilemmas to the issues of equity, development and environment. This complexity invites discourse. In a broader sense, Rio +20 and the discourse on sustainable development can be envisaged as a rally point of public debate, knowledge building practices, political strategies and spiritual aspirations.

In this context, the New York Office of UNITAR in collaboration with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Permanent Observer Mission to the UN in New York organized a half-day workshop on the discourse of sustainable development.

Statement of HE Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen, OIC Permanent Observer to the UN

Thank you very much to Ms. Yvonne and UNITAR for your warm welcome and for approaching the OIC to co-sponsor this very important meeting on Sustainable Development. The OIC and the UN have had a very fruitful relationship and during the most recent OIC-UN Cooperation in Geneva held this past May, the two organizations have identified 125 programmes and projects in various fields of activity for the next two years, and in particular, 10 of those projects are to be executed between the OIC and The UN Special Unit for South-South Cooperation with projects ranging from humanitarian issues to expanding railway projects.  For the first panel this afternoon, we are grateful that Mr. Shahid Husain, Special Advisor for the South-South Cooperation Unit has joined this panel to discuss a bit more about this. 

Also for the first panel, we are particularly happy by the participation of Mr. Akan Rakhmetullin, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan as Kazakhstan is the present chair of the OIC Ministerial Council and we are pleased that Mr. Farrukh Khan, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Pakistan, one of the leading experts among the OIC Permanent Missions on the issues related to sustainable development are here to share their perspectives on how the Rio +20 Conference will shape the ongoing discourse on sustainable development which will be followed by a short question and answer period. I am sure that this panel will bring forward interesting and fruitful discussion and we look forward to continuing the discourse.

I am also looking forward to the second panel this afternoon, on the Ethics of Sustainable Development that will be moderated by Mr. Taj Hamad, Secretary General, Universal Peace Federation.

The OIC is cognizant of the fact that development issues are interpreted in different ways. In this regard, we hope that this panel enriches the discussion by introducing views of the OIC Member States.  

Certainly the relationship between development, culture and religion is one of the important aspects.

Personally, I believe that in general and for the most of the communities and believers, religion drives people’s behavior and actions in a more productive direction, therefore it is not possible to separate religion from development. After a meticulous review of theory and empirical literature, many scholarly studies conclude that the relationship between religion and development is likely to be complementary as long as religious beliefs and practices promote ‘moderation’ rather than ‘extremes’.

In one of those studies, titled “Religion and Development: Are they Complementary?” Habibullah Khan and Omar K. M. R. Bashar, argue that

a peaceful co-existence of various religious groups (or sects) within a country and nations with multiple religious affiliations within the global community at large remains the essential prerequisite for growth and prosperity in today’s highly interconnected world.

In the same vein, the experts of the field as well as the Islamic scholars   conclude that for its part, Islam doesn’t disagree with the development elements, besides, it can be claimed that Islam elaborate additional conducive elements for inducing development.

Dr Azza Karam, Senior technical Advisor at the UNFPA, and coordinator of the  UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Faith-Based Engagement  in her intervention at the UN General Assembly Special Event on the occasion of the World Interfaith Harmony Week, stated the following: 

“One of the many changes becoming increasingly difficult to ignore for long-standing secular organizations is the extent to which religion is surfacing as a critical broker of human and governmental existence. This appears at first sight to be in some ways contradictory to the secular ethos of the United Nations system and its human rights mandate, but that would be a shortsighted perspective.

It must not be forgotten that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights itself is predicated upon the very values common to every faith tradition, and as such it is not an instrument without faith but rather a product of the world’s common faiths.

I believe that interfaith harmony lies at the very foundation of human development, which in turn is part and parcel of the prevention of conflicts, resolution of conflict, and long-term sustainability of peacebuilding.

It is therefore timely and necessary that at this junction of our political, economic, and cultural interaction, we address the issue of religion and development in general, and the role of interfaith harmony in forging sustainable human development in particular.

But why should the UN engage in faith communities? A study published by the World Health Organization in the early part of this millennium provided an important reality check for all of us working on social development.

It told us that anywhere between 30 to 40 percent of basic health care is being provided through faith-based organizations – FBOs, Sometimes these kinds of services can extend to 75 percent in countries where there is armed conflict or humanitarian disaster situations.

In other words, we cannot work on social development and sustainable human development without engaging with and acknowledging the work of the faith-based community.”

One of the important aspect for the OIC is the role of women in the development of the societies.

 

Poverty is a major impediment to development. Its impact however is felt most by women, in particular, rural women. It is imperative for the international community to take a collective stand in creating opportunities for their empowerment and ending hunger. Our aim must be to bring the development process to the doorsteps of rural women through various programmes including micro credit.

 

There is no doubt that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms could not be achieved without active participation and progress of women.

 

The OIC remains committed to the cause of promotion of women in coordination with the Member States and other stakeholders in the international community. It gives special emphasis to gender equality, women participation in socio-economic activities and in decision-making, their access to education an economic opportunities, and elimination of violence against them. These are the essential ingredients to empower women.

 

The OIC's Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women (OPAAW) was adopted by the Second Ministerial Council on "Women's Role in the Development of OIC Member States". The OPAAW outlines the efforts to change the negative mindset against the participation of women in the social, political, economic, cultural and other fields in the OIC member states. The OPAAW discusses the measures that must and will be taken in order to ensure women enjoy equal status with their male counterparts through appropriate channels in the OIC member states, including legislative, judicial, and law enforcement institutions.

 

Here, I would like to briefly touch upon the views of the OIC member states expressed at the intergovernmental level with regard to the Rio+20 Conference.  

 

The Environment Ministers of the 57 OIC Member States participating in the fifth Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers, held in Astana, adopted a Declaration on Sustainable Development within the framework of the Islamic world’s participation in the Rio+20 Summit.

 

The Declaration welcomed the holding of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), 20 years after the first Earth Summit was held, and its outcomes, in particular, the relevant three conventions.

 

It also lauded its objective to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges; its focus on the theme of green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and also the institutional framework for sustainable development to advance the global sustainable development agenda.

 

The Declaration emphasized the need for a renewed political commitment by the international community, including the OIC member states, to the international development agenda for sustainable development, in accordance with the internationally agreed principles and instruments, channeling all national and international efforts into achieving sustainable development.

 

Besides, the Declaration called upon OIC Member States to consider developing strategies for enhancing the understanding of and capacities related to the concept of green economy, not as an alternative, but as a mechanism, for sustainable development, while assessing the opportunities and challenges related to this concept.

 

In addition, the Declaration stressed the imperative to adopt a holistic and integrated approach to sustainable development and strengthen the existing international framework in such a way as to ensure a balanced response to the existing gaps, and maintain and invest in the cultural, civilization and religious heritage that is unique to Islamic countries.

 

It also requested UN agencies and programmes as well as international and regional organizations to reform the relevant international institutions and mechanisms in order to enable countries, particularly poor ones and those under occupation, to rise to the pressing socioeconomic and ecological challenges of sustainable development.

 

The Declaration called for eradicating poverty to achieve the agenda of sustainable development, human capacities building and rehabilitation through education, training and strengthening of capacities, generalization of small income-generating environmental projects, particularly in rural areas, as well as civil society participation.

 

Moreover, the Declaration reaffirmed that food security is a real issue in most of the OIC Member States, particularly in those having faced famine and food-related problems in the past, while underscoring that the food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication, through localization of scientific research outputs and transfer of appropriate technology.

 

 

In 2005, the OIC adopted a 10 Year Programme of Action, it’s goal is to transform the OIC into an intergovernmental organization focused on socio-economic issues and this plan has placed special emphasis on issues of direct relevance to sustainable development.  Because of this initiative, the scope of OIC activities cover a broad spectrum of domains from economic development, trade enhancement, agriculture and rural development, health, basic infrastructure, micro-finance, environmental protection, climate change and water, food and energy security.

 

During the 2011 OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, OIC Member States adopted several resolutions on sustainable development, including creating a mechanism for OIC Member States to collaborate on pursuing solutions to climate change and reaffirmed the Bali Programme of the UN Conference on Climate Change.  In March of 2012, the OIC Conference of Water Ministers, held in Istanbul, Turkey adopted the OIC Water Vision 2025, which provides a framework of cooperation among OIC Member States to maximize productive use of water while minimizing its destructive impact.

 

The upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20 gives us all an opportunity to prepare ourselves to respond to the challenges and opportunities in pursuit of sustainable development goals including disaster risk reduction, economic growth, poverty alleviation, social equity and to avoid environmental degradation.  Many OIC Member States are dealing with the fall out of climate change, the changing economic landscape, pollution and the constant threat of a dwindling water supply as well as trying to mitigate the circumstances of disaster. 

 

The OIC General Secretariat has also been active in implementing programming related to sustainable development.  We are in the process of creating an OIC Green Technology Blue Print in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank and COMSTECH.  A task force on green technology is being established by COMSTECH including Malaysia and other interested OIC Member States.  The OIC Humanitarian Affairs department has worked tirelessly to carry out activities in a number of OIC Member States and has expanded its reach through partnerships in the area of disaster risk reduction. As the main sponsor of the OIC Resolution on Climate Change, Bangladesh has taken the lead in creating a mechanism for collaboration among OIC Member States to create synergy.

 

The OIC is in a position to play a critical regional role in promoting cooperation for sustainable development.  We have shown that the OIC can play a strong role in identifying and mobilizing local and international expertise that are consistent with the political, economic, social and cultural ethos of Member States.

 

The UN Conference on Sustainable Development will be an opportunity to reaffirm the continued validity of the sustainable development agenda agreed to in 1992.  It must result in not just a renewed commitment to the objectives of sustainable development, but offer concrete strategy to adopt a holistic approach to pursuing the necessary objectives. 

 

Thank you.   

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