Barriers to the Global LGBTQ Progress (and How They May be Crossed)

Comprising 57 member states, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the United Nations. Its membership extends from Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East to Africa, Eurasia, the Balkans and South America.In 2005, OIC launched a reform program that culminated in adopting a revised Charter in 2008 replacing the Charter of 1972. The new Charter seemed to reflect an increased prominence for human rights within the OIC, and it paved the way for the establishment of the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC). In addition to the stipulation that IPHRC will be one of the eleven primary organs of the OIC, the new Charter expresses the OIC’s determination to “promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, good governance, rule of law, democracy and accountability”, and “safeguard and promote the rights of women and their participation in all spheres of life” in member States in accordance with domestic legislation. In addition to these transformations, OIC appear to be more willing to engage with civil society organizations on human rights. It is in this context, and the increasing need to understand the OIC, particularly its human rights mechanisms and discourse, this paper tries to have a general analysis on subject.It should be noted that for some researchers (Mayer.2015) the OIC’s record is shown to be full of confusing and even self-contradictory statements on Islam and human rights. For them, OIC is not a competent organization for promoting the Human Rights as a universal value.As our major question, the paper seeks to evaluate the index growth of human rights and their criteria in OIC. Which are the main instruments for protection of Human Rights in OIC? Has OIC been successful in promotion of Human rights in the Member States and in the world?To carry out the research, a descriptive and analytical method is selected and based on OIC documents, it will be a documented analysis.

Equality and Nondiscrimination Through the Eyes of an International Religious Organization: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Response to Women's Rights and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second biggest international organization after the United Nations. It comprises fifty-seven full member states, representing one-quarter of the global population, and it is the only international organization whose unifying feature is its religious and Islamic identity. As such, it represents an anomaly in international relations and largely explains why the organization has not figured in the majority of mainstream publications on international law until relatively recently. Established in the wake of universal Muslim outrage following the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, the OIC has provided a political platform for predominantly Muslim states to promote “Islamic solidarity.” But it has also provided a forum to develop consensual positions on many international matters—from international trade and the development of Islamic banking and halal food networks to peace and security, hate speech, and the protection of Muslim minorities. The OIC now forms a considerable bloc of countries at the UN and, with the presence of both Russia and China as observers, it has capacity to wield considerable influence on the world stage and to co-sponsor common agendas. For much of its existence, however, the OIC has been a peripheral grouping and a marginal player. Although it has forty-eight subsidiary and specialized organs, the organization itself is often dismissed as a talking shop and is without any enforcement legal machinery. No committee is endowed with powers to mirror the UN’s Security Council nor has the OIC established any legal body to issue binding legal rulings on member states. The International Islamic Court of Justice, the intended Islamic World Court, seated in Jerusalem, has never operated and even its statute is yet to be ratified by the required two-thirds of OIC members. In spite of its known weaknesses and historical failures, under the leadership of its current and previous secretary-general, the OIC has sprung to life. Since arming itself with a new “fit for purpose” Charter in 2008, the OIC has shown a greater willingness to engage in key areas of international law, including humanitarian law, peace-making, human rights, international terrorism, and, more recently, environmental protection and climate change. If concerns were formerly expressed at the OIC’s apparent ambivalence toward international law, the recent case brought against the government of Myanmar for committing genocide against the Rohingyas by the Gambia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with the full backing of the OIC, and the ICJ order in January 2020 against Myanmar for preliminary relief provides evidence of increasing engagement with international law and of success when doing so.

This article critically analyses the role of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in assisting women in conflict and displacement, focusing on its political commitments and institutional capacities. Moving away from Eurocentric models of refugee governance, it centres on a Global South actor—the OIC, a cross-regional institution bringing together 57 countries. The study uses multi-methods, including interdisciplinary semi-structured literature reviews on gender, displacement, and the OIC, alongside policy analysis of OIC humanitarian, cultural, and social resolutions from the Council of Foreign Ministers’ annual sessions (1979–2022) and the OIC Ministerial Conferences on Women (2006–2021). Findings indicate that although the OIC has articulated political commitments and introduced institutional measures in collaboration with international organisations such as the UN, its contribution remains largely symbolic due to the absence of a coordinated refugee support mechanism within its ecosystem. Nonetheless, the OIC’s soft, non-binding commitments offer ethical and moral value, rooted in Islamic principles, to enhance support for displaced women. These values may influence member states’ responses to displacement. To strengthen regional protection systems, the OIC might consider developing a complementary framework and an entity responsible for refugee support. International actors, in turn, could engage more substantively with the OIC around its faith-informed principles to advance humanitarian diplomacy and protection.

The effectiveness of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was challenged after the suspension of Syria's membership in 2012. There were already indications of Iranian–Saudi rivalry on the issue of Syria's membership, but the 2016 summit held in Turkey became the stage for a very public dispute between the two states. This was not the first time that the OIC had been undermined by interstate rivalry. Formed in 1969 to project an image of political unity among Muslim states, it has often been challenged by the identity politics and geopolitical competition of its member states. This paper studies the factors that contribute to interstate tensions within the OIC and its approaches to addressing it. By examining a series of OIC events during the period 2012–18 through the lens of critical discourse analysis, it argues that identity politics in the form of sectarianism have been employed, more overtly since the Arab Spring, by both Iran and Saudi Arabia to promote their geopolitical agendas with direct implications for the coherence of OIC. The rivalry not only threatens to fracture the OIC but also makes the notion of Muslim unity nothing more than a mirage.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Human Rights: Problems and Prospects

This objective of this study paper is to examine the Identity Politics and Regional Dynamics of OIC and its impact on the nexus of Muslim unity and Diversity. This research is qualitative in nature. Since its inception, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has encountered substantial criticism regarding its perceived inability to effectively address the challenges facing Muslim nations and unite the Ummah under a common platform. This paper aims to analyze the OIC's past performance, emphasizing its weaknesses and shortcomings, and proposes viable measures to enhance its efficacy as a global entity The research technique employed is through Qualitative Research Approach through Interpretive Research Technique with Content Thematic Analysis covering Historical and Contextual Synthesis and Interpretation. This research can further be analyzed by applying different theories of political philosophers according to the Demands of Muslim States from OIC in geo politics. The detailed data has been analyzed.The paper is structured to comprehensively explore the subject matter. Beginning with an examination of the genesis of the OIC, it proceeds to dissect the OIC Charter before delving into the identification of future challenges confronting the organization. Through meticulous analysis, the paper elucidates major weaknesses observed over time and offers succinct recommendations aimed at addressing these issues. The recommendations put forth are intended to bolster the OIC's institutional framework and equip it to confront the evolving needs of the next half-century. By providing a strategic roadmap for reform and renewal, we believe that the OIC can emerge as a stronger, more responsive organization capable of safeguarding the interests and promoting the well-being of Muslim nations worldwide.

This article examines the potential of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to contribute to mediation of conflicts in the Muslim world. Based on interviews with OIC senior officials and government officials from Iraq and the Philippines, as well as research involving other primary and secondary sources, the author analyzes four cases in which the OIC participated in mediation efforts: the Philippines, Thailand, Iraq, and Somalia. The article concludes with an assessment of the advantages and challenges of including the OIC in such mediation efforts, as well as recommendations related to capacity-building and inter-organizational partnerships that might enhance the potential for the OIC to play a constructive role in conflicts involving the Muslim community.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was formally established, as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, at the first conference of Muslim heads of state convened in Rabat, Morocco, in September 1969. OIC’s Directorate of Culture, Social and Family Affairs comprises two separate departments, the Cultural Affairs Department, which focuses on Islamic cultural issues, the protection of Islamic sites and interfaith dialogue, and the Social and Family Affairs Department. An OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women in Member States was adopted in November 2016 by the sixth session of the Ministerial Conference on Women. OIC’s Department of Humanitarian Affairs works to co-ordinate the delivery of emergency relief and rehabilitation assistance to Muslim communities affected by conflict or natural disasters. The OIC supports education in Muslim communities, and was instrumental in the establishment of Islamic universities in Niger and Uganda, the American Islamic College of Chicago, and the Islamic Solidarity Centre in Guinea-Bissau.

The events of the 2016 summit of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Turkey demonstrate how Saudi Arabia’s role within the organization has been transformed from leadership into a hegemonic one, a process that has been unfolding over five decades. As a strong voice in the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia has employed a range of diplomatic strategies, in accordance with its national interests, to influence the OIC and its member states. Based on the analysis, this paper argues that Saudi Arabia has been able to exert hegemonic control over the OIC due to the organization’s structural make-up, its reliance on Saudi funding, as well as dominance in bilateral affairs with majority of the OIC members.

This article examines the crucial role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in protecting the rights of Muslim minorities worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia. The OIC’s efficacy in safeguarding minority Muslims in non-member states has been a topic of both commendation and critique, despite its extensive authority. The examination commences by scrutinizing the fundamental aims of the OIC and the legal frameworks it utilizes to interfere in matters that impact Muslims globally. The article evaluates the OIC’s reactions to instances of discrimination and violence against Muslims in Europe, including the ongoing difficulties faced by Muslim communities in France and Germany, as well as the legal and social barriers encountered by Muslims in Myanmar and China in Asia. This assessment is based on in-depth case studies. These incidents demonstrate the intricate nature of the OIC’s engagement, encompassing diplomatic conversations, issuing condemnations, and initiating and supporting legal measures on international forums. Moreover, the article rigorously assesses the influence of OIC’s actions in these locations, examining the results and the wider geopolitical consequences. The text explores the limitations encountered by the OIC, such as the political dynamics inside its member states and the impact of major global powers. The conclusion consolidates these observations to assert that although the OIC has achieved noteworthy progress in promoting the rights of Muslim minorities, there are still substantial obstacles that need to be addressed.

This article is first of a two part series that draws on women‘s rights and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) to explore how Organization of Cooperation (OIC) represents, interprets and seeks to impact right to equality and protection against discrimination as enshrined under international human rights law. The study is a novel one inasmuch as OIC is neither a state nor a religious group per se. Rather, OIC stands out as only contemporary intergovernmental organization unifying its member states around commonality of a single religion. In this capacity, organization maintains no direct obligations or rights under key instruments such as Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) or International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).Nevertheless, as part of its mandate representing 57 predominantly Muslim states, OIC has increasingly asserted a role for itself on international stage as the collective voice of Muslim world. This new assertiveness is particularly evident in context of debates surrounding content of human rights norms in international fora such as United Nations, where OIC has sought to develop common policy positions and encourage its members to vote as a bloc on issues of concern. Against this backdrop, article concludes that supporters of universal human rights norms need to better understand how OIC‘s mission to protect and defend true image of Islam may impact international debates over substance of equality and nondiscrimination norms, and develop appropriate responses to these efforts as a means to ensure that universality is not undermined.This article begins with a brief introduction to OIC, and proceeds to explore its relationship with principles of equality and nondiscrimination by examining its founding document and other relevant primary sources. With this understanding in place, paper turns to examine OIC‘s contemporary handling of these principles as manifested in debates surrounding women‘s rights as well as relevance and impact of Islamic values on scope of those rights. This article‘s exploration of family values also serves as a pivot point to begin framing rights issues related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals and related SOGI issues. Throughout this examination, role of OIC‘s newly established Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) is considered as a means of appraising whether a shift in OIC‘s position may be forthcoming.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation: Politics, Problems, and Potential, offers a comprehensive and critical examination of a prominent yet undervalued international organization.The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has evolved from a tiny alliance established in reaction to the 1969 Al-Aqsa Mosque fire into an entity including 57 Muslim-majority states, rendering it the second-largest international organization following the United Nations.Nonetheless, the OIC has frequently faced criticism for its ineffectiveness, lack of unity, and internal discord, prompting inquiries on its capacity to effectuate significant change in global governance and the Muslim community.Kayaoglu, an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Washington, Tacoma, offers a comprehensive analysis of the OIC's history, its function in international diplomacy, its internal framework, and the obstacles it encounters in achieving its objectives.This review will examine the principal themes of the book, evaluate its merits and shortcomings, and discuss its wider implications for comprehending the OIC's role in world politics.Kayaoglu initiates his examination of the OIC by presenting a comprehensive historical overview of its establishment.The 1969 fire at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem catalyzed the establishment of the OIC, uniting Muslim-majority nations to tackle the political, religious, and social issues facing the Muslim world.Kayaoglu delineates the organization's formative years, characterized by elevated expectations with very modest progress in practical accomplishments.Since its establishment, the OIC has sought to enhance Islamic solidarity, safeguard the interests of Muslims worldwide, and cultivate peace, security, and

This study examines the efforts of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in addressing the conflict involving Malay Muslims in Southern Thailand. As the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations, the OIC plays a critical role in safeguarding Muslim interests globally, including minority Muslim communities. Focusing on the Pattani conflict, this study analyzes the application of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah in the OIC's conflict resolution strategies, which include peaceful dialogue, humanitarian aid, and cultural recognition. The study employs a qualitative approach, using library research and document analysis to explore the OIC’s interventions since the conflict's escalation in 2004. Findings reveal that the OIC's diplomatic efforts have significantly contributed to peace-building initiatives in Southern Thailand, particularly through its collaboration with Malaysia as a facilitator between the Thai Government and Malay Muslim groups. Despite ongoing challenges, the OIC continues to push for dialogue and reconciliation, underscoring its commitment to protecting the cultural and human rights of the Muslim minority while respecting Thailand's sovereignty. These efforts illustrate the OIC's broader role in promoting international peace and stability.

The Fourth Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at 1984 in Casablanca Morocco had issued Resolution 2/4-P(IS) which puts attention to the City of al-Quds. The resolution condemned Israeli government who destroyed religious sites in al-Aqsa Mosque complex, asked for reversion of the Palestinian sovereignty over al-Aqsa Mosque, and commanded the OIC members to make all necessary actions to impose sanctions against Israeli government politi¬cally, economically and culturally. Ineffectiveness of this resolu¬tion has been mainly caused by a number of factors, are: firstly, the level of colla¬¬bo¬ra¬tion and collectivity among the members of the OIC is low. Secondly, the resolution is highly vulnerable.Thirdly, there is no such rule in the OIC which ensures the implementation of the OIC’s resolu¬tions for its members.There is no a dominant state which becomes the leader of the OIC. This condition has been worsened by the lack of epistemic community roles in the drafting process of the OIC resolutions