Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 12/09/2022
The meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts to examine the Draft Convention against Corruption within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has started at the headquarters of the OIC in Jeddah, and will continue its proceedings until 14 September 2022.
In the opening session of the meeting, H.E. the OIC Secretary-General, Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, addressed the audience in a speech delivered on his behalf by Ambassador Yousef bin Mohammed Al-Dubaie, OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.
The Secretary-General said that in order to cope with the international effort in the fight against corruption, OIC is required to adopt a framework to fight against corruption and that framework should fit with its own peculiarities, respond to the aspirations of its Member States and be guided by the principles of Islamic Sharia.
The Secretary-General referred to the adoption of the resolution by the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) during its 48th session, in Islamabad last March, on strengthening cooperation within the framework of the OIC in the field of fighting against corruption calling on its Member States to strengthen cooperation in combating corruption in a way that serves common interests and limits safe havens for the corrupt.
The Secretary-General noted that the resolution had also welcomed the initiative taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as the Chair of the 14th Islamic Summit, to call for holding a ministerial meeting of anti-corruption law enforcement authorities in Member States under the umbrella of the OIC during the current year.
The Secretary-General added that the crime of corruption has become a global phenomenon with a cross-border character, so that its proceeds are smuggled and laundered abroad, while the perpetrators and participants in its crimes seek refuge in other countries, stressing that this pushes towards international cooperation in the fight against corruption through the development of an international legal framework that defines aspects of cooperation and coordination between states while preserving their sovereignty and protecting the fundamental freedoms of their citizens.
The meeting will study the draft anti-corruption convention that was prepared in coordination between the OIC General Secretariat and the competent authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to finalize it and develop its formulation in line with the aspirations of the OIC Member States.
