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