JEDDAH, 15 September 2006 — The ministers of information of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference concluded their discussions yesterday at the Seventh Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers by adopting seven resolutions recommended by the preparatory meetings with some adjustments.
“We wanted this session to be different in having only few resolutions with specific timelines and mechanism for implementation,” said OIC Secretary-General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at a press conference after the session. “There is a real will for change and a new direction and view. We hope to achieve these goals during the next two years.”
The first resolution involves setting up an OIC committee within six months that would prepare a global media communications strategy using language the outside world understands and the concepts consonant with its logic and mental structures.
Another resolution involved agreeing to establish a code of ethics for media in the Islamic states, particularly with regard to satellite channels. The code would seek to promote diversity and pluralism while preserving Islamic values and interests. As opposed to setting up a specialized panel of experts to design the code, the ministers appointed the General Secretariat of the OIC to do that while the member states are to submit to it their suggestions and views. The code is to be completed within six months and presented to the current chair of the conference.
Kuwaiti minister Muhammad Al-Sanousi said that we need to admit our faults and improve ourselves first before reacting to outside media and complaining about their coverage.
Asked about whether some of the Arab media increased the divisions in the Muslim world, he said, “Yes there are some channels that do that for sensationalism and fame.
“Freedom of the press has ethics and guidelines,” he said “The media has a responsibility and should not work at creating conflicts.”
Jordanian minister Taleb Rifai also said that we need to be self critical and put all efforts at coming out with a clear strategy for joint media projects that serve the Muslim community and Islam and communicate with the outside world.
“Respecting our difference is needed but also focusing on the common things. There is an attack on Islam and we have to present the true image of Islam of tolerance. Transparency in the media is always wanted but at the same time there has to be a commitment to professionalism and ethics,” he said.
Being fully aware of the dire necessity of organizing television campaigns in the case of natural and human disasters, the conference decided in another resolution that Islamic media should commit to hold domestic campaigns in each member state to collect donations as it deems it appropriate. The donations would be sent directly to the affected countries. The conference called on the General Secretariat to organize the campaigns so that they are aired on the same day in all OIC countries.
Saudi Minister of Information and Culture Iyad Madani said that the issue of financing projects and country payments to the organization were key in the discussions and are important for the successful implementation of the resolutions.
“A solution was agreed on and that is forming a voluntary fund that would enable the organization to move forward,” said Madani.
The ministers agreed on the need to restructure the International Islamic News Agency and recommended setting up a board of trustees under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia. The board may invite other news agencies as observers and shall appoint whoever it sees fit to conduct a scientific study for upgrading IINA.
As for the Islamic States Boarding Organization (ISBO), the conference agreed to change it to Islamic Broadcasting Union and establish a board of trustees to prepare within six months a plan to achieve its goals and objectives. They also agreed to form a board of trustees for the union under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia to remain permanently in touch with regional and international counterpart unions. They also recommended using the Internet as well as traditional means to spread Islamic media messages.
The conference agreed on setting up a Ministerial Follow-up Committee composed of 15 named OIC member countries, including Saudi Arabia. The General Secretariat was asked to review the previous decisions and provide a report on it in the next session.
The final resolution called for developing the information department in the OIC by providing it with the necessary human and financial resources.
Lebanese minister Gazi Aridi who took the moment to commended the Arab and some international media organizations on their courage and support during the recent Israeli siege on his country, said he hoped for agreements on reasonable decisions that can be implemented.
“What is needed I knowing how to defend our issues. We have all the means — the money, the technology, the talent — but we need is a plan and vision. The media has to operate in wise way and a conscious way in addressing the other,” he said.
He said that he supported freedom of the press but added that there has to be guidelines based on ethical standards and a cover for all to operate under.
Asked about Hassan Nassrallah’s accusations of attacks by the media against Hezbollah, he said that he had hoped that such words were not said. “The Lebanese media played a vital role in strengthening the Lebanese people’s resilience and portraying the reality on the ground. We all saw how they were a symbol of dignity and resistance in the battlefield. If there were any comments they should have been said in another way,” he told Arab News.
A panel of experts would create a working plan for committee approval. The so-called Ministerial Supervisory Committee would consist of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Malaysia, Senegal, Syria and Morocco. The conference also agreed to set up a special fund fed by contributions from the OIC member states to finance the programs and projects contained in the plan.
Additional recommendations were also adopted during the full session, including one proposing that member states reduce travel restrictions of journalists from OIC member states when traveling to other OIC member states. Recommendations related to the right of citizens to have access to information as well as closing the digital gap between developed and developing countries were also adopted.
Foreign policy issues were also addressed, with OIC ministers agreeing on stances related to Israel’s occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights and the Shebaa Farms region. The OIC ministers also agreed to hold a united stance on the autonomy of Iraq in light of the US invasion and occupation and Sudan in light of discussion over the deployment of peacekeepers to the war-ravaged Darfur region bordering Chad.
The ministers also agreed to hold this session every two years in September; exceptional meetings could also be held if necessary. The next session of OIC information ministers is scheduled for Morocco in September 2008. The ministers also agree to keep these meetings public unless the chairman recommends otherwise. In order to save time at these sessions, the ministers also agreed to set a time limit on speeches and for these statements to be prepared in advanced.
