ISLAMIC SUMMIT: TOP PRIORITIES INCLUDE SUDAN-CHAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000149 SIPDIS SIPDIS RIYADH PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN, DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, HERRO MUSTAFA IN P, ANNELIESE REINEMEYER AND REBECCA GOLDENBERG IN IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2018 TAGS: PGOV KISL OIC SA SUBJECT: ISLAMIC SUMMIT: TOP PRIORITIES INCLUDE SUDAN-CHAD AGREEMENT, ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT, AND ISLAMOPHOBIA REF: JEDDAH 0010 Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for Reasons 1.4(b) an d (d). ¶1. (C) BEGIN SUMMARY: In post-Summit meetings with OIC Assistant Secretary General for Jerusalem Affairs Ambassador Samir Bakr and OIC Directors for Political Affairs Yahaya Lawal and Tariq Ali Bakheet, they cited the new Charter revision (to enter into force within six months),the Dakar Agreement between Sudan and Chad, and the Organization's first report on Islamophobia among the Organization's top accomplishments and policy priorities. On the Arab Israeli conflict, the Dakar Declaration (the Summit Communique) confirmed the OIC's commitment to resolve it, and privately, OIC officials shared with Post their support for Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's Summit opening remarks agreeing to work with Israeli President Shimon Peres, per his personal request. ¶2. (C) In a separate meeting, Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mecca Region Director General Ambassador Ahmed Tayeb again commended the U.S. appointment of an envoy to the OIC, cited much-needed dialogue between the West and the Muslim community (also a major priority mentioned in the Summit Communique as part of the OIC's efforts to combat Islamophobia),and inquired whether the U.S. would pursue OIC observership. While the new OIC Charter requires consensus at the Ministerial level to approve states' application for observership -- which would be difficult for the U.S. to obtain -- Ambassador Tayeb's remark indicates he may be unaware of this new requirement. END SUMMARY TOP OIC POLICY PRIORITIES ¶3. (C) Concerning the top policy priorities for the OIC, OIC Assistant Secretary General for Jerusalem Affairs Ambassador Samir Bakr and OIC Directors for Political Affairs Yahaya Lawal and Tariq Ali Bakheet highlighted implementation of the new Charter, continued efforts to resolve the Arab Israeli conflict, monitoring implementation of the Dakar Agreement between Sudan and Chad, as well as combating OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu's favored issued of Islamophobia. THE NEW CHARTER ¶4. (C) During the Summit, the 57 member states unanimously adopted the new Charter, which OIC officials informed Pol Chief would enter into force within six months. Significant changes concern OIC membership. A country wishing to seek membership must possess a Muslim majority population as well as United Nations membership. Additionally, any state wishing to become a member or observer must be approved by consensus at the ministerial level. Regarding the term of the Secretary General, the member state agreed to extend it from four to five years, and in the case of current Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, granted him unanimous support for his second (and final) term. ¶5. (C) In response to Pol Chief pointing out that the recently adopted membership rules - in particular prior UN membership as a requirement - would preclude Kosovo from joining, OIC officials replied as they have in the past that there was not enough momentum among OIC member states to support Kosovo independence. SUDAN-CHAD AGREEMENT ¶6. (C) Another issue OIC officials cited as most important was the Dakar Agreement between Sudan and Chad. OIC officials shared with Post that OIC member states negotiated a last-minute March 13 agreement between Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir and Chadian President Idriss Deby. According to the Agreement, Presidents Bashir and Deby have agreed to the following: "To End our differences, to normalize relations between our countries, and to take the necessary measures to help achieve peace and stability in our countries and in the region." ¶7. (C) President Bashir and President Deby also reaffirmed their commitment to past agreements and agreed "to ban any activity of the armed groups and prevent the use of the territories of any of the two countries to destabilize the other." Finally, a contact group under the joint chairmanship of Libya, Eritrea, and Congo, will facilitate monthly meetings to monitor the agreement's implementation. JEDDAH 00000149 002 OF 002 This contact group will also include the foreign ministers (or any representative the member state deems appropriate) of Senegal and Gabon. ARAB ISRAELI CONFLICT ¶8. (C) The Islamic Summit's final communique, the Dakar Declaration, re-confirmed the OIC's commitment to address the Arab Israeli conflict. They reiterated their support for the relevant UN resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the Road Map of the Quartet. OIC officials also cited as significant Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's mention in his Summit Opening remarks his conversation with Israeli President Shimon Peres. OIC officials said they were surprised by this but welcomed President Wade's gesture to agree to work with the Israeli government. ¶9. (C) OIC officials provided Post a copy of President Abdoulaye Wade's remarks, highlighting the following portion of his speech: "...my priority will be the Palestinian issue with the establishment of an internationally recognized Palestinian State within safe borders...." He continued: "This is my response to the numerous questions addressed to me on this issue and to President Shimon Peres who, several years ago...had urged me to accept mediation between Israel and Palestine and who, as Head of Israel oday, has officially asked me to intervene in support of peace between the two countries." ISLAOPHOBIA ¶10. (C) On the Summit's most notable acomplishment's, OIC officials pointed to the Orgaization's first-ever report on Islamophobia (avalable on the OIC's web site). The repor comprises an analysis of Islamophobia, initiatives the OIC has undertaken to address it, discussion of the legal dimension of the issue (from the U.S. perspective this would include measures restricting Freedom of Speech),and recommendations for further action. ¶11. (C) OIC Director General for Cultural Affairs Hemayet Uddin (Reftel) during a roundtable with guest U.S. speaker Doctor Shibley Telhami praised the OIC's report on Islamophobia and reiterated earlier claims that negative portrayals of Islam are leading to a larger divide between the Muslim and non-Muslim world communities. ¶12. (C) Mr. Uddin also stated that while the OIC supports Freedom of Speech it does not support its abuse. He cited the upcoming 15-minute Dutch MP-produced film as one example, arguing that it would inevitably incite hatred toward Muslims. He highlighted as an OIC goal the desire of legislation prohibiting religious defamation, reiterating legal measures called for in the Islamophobia report. SAUDI MFA MECCA REGION REACTION ¶13. (C) In a March 17 meeting with Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mecca Region Director General Ambassador Ahmed Tayeb, he again commended the U.S. for appointing a U.S. Envoy to the OIC, stating that it sent the Muslim World a strong message. He said that the U.S. needed to have a dialogue with the Muslim World. He added that he believed that the U.S. image had suffered a great deal. ¶14. (C) In response to whether he thought the U.S. image in the Middle East had improved; he stated that he did not believe that that was true. He said that from his conversations with other Middle Easterners and in his experience the U.S. image is very bad. When asked why, he said that it was due to U.S. policy in the Arab Israeli conflict. ¶15. (C) Returning to the topic of the OIC, Ambassador Tayeb inquired whether the U.S. would ever seek OIC observer status. Pol Chief demurred but pointed out that the United States has a sizeable and growing Muslim population. (COMMENT: His asking such a question indicates that he was unaware of the recent change in the OIC Charter stating that states seeking observership require consensus approval at the Ministerial level from all 57 OIC Member States. END COMMENT.) GFOELLER