In the Name Allah, Most Gracious, Merciful Merciful
1. At the kind invitation and under the chairmanship of H.E. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held the 15th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Banjul Summit: Strengthening Unity and Solidarity through Dialogue for Sustainable Development) in Banjul, Republic of The Gambia.
2. The Conference expressed its profound gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its exemplary chairmanship of the 14th Islamic Summit Conference. The wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was also recognized and appreciated. The Conference highly commended the initiatives and efforts made by Saudi Arabia to promote joint Islamic action and serve Islamic causes.
3. The Conference offered condolences to the leadership, government and people of the State of Kuwait on the great loss of the death of His Highness the late Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may Allah have mercy upon him, and extending congratulations to His Highness the Emir of the country Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may Allah protect and preserve him, upon assuming power succeeding the late Emir.
4. The Conference reaffirmed its commitment to the principles and goals outlined in the OIC Charter. It emphasized the importance of unifying the ranks of the Islamic world and strengthening solidarity and cooperation to tackle the various challenges faced by both the Islamic world and the world as a whole. The Conference also underscored the need to advance joint Islamic action in a way that serves common interests and achieves the aspirations of the Member States and their peoples.
Political Affairs:
5. The Conference re-emphasized the centrality of the cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the Muslim Ummah, reaffirming its principled and continued all-level support to the Palestinian people to regain their inalienable legitimate national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of the independent and sovereign State of Palestine along the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. It also reaffirmed the need to protect the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in accordance with Resolution 194 and to roundly counter any denial of these rights.
6. The Conference affirmed State of Palestine’s full sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its eternal capital, its rejection and standing against any Israeli decisions or measures aimed at Judaizing it and establishing its colonial occupation on it, being null and void and illegal under International Law and the relevant UN Resolutions; calls for strengthening efforts to preserve the Arab identity of Al-Qud Al-Sharif, and protect the Islamic and Christian holy sites therein; condemns any party that acknowledges Al-Quds as an alleged capital of Israel, the occupying power, considering it as an illegal and irresponsible step and as an assault on the historical, legal and national rights of the Palestinian People and the Islamic Ummah.
7. The Conference condemned the Israeli occupation’s aggressions on the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Al-Quds and its illegal measures that violate the right to freedom of worship and the sanctity of the holy sites; affirmed the necessity of respecting the existing legal status of the holy sites, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque with its entire area of 144 acres, as an exclusive place of worship for Muslims only, and that the Jordanian Administration of the Endowments of Al-Quds and the Affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is the body having the exclusive authority to manage and maintain the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as regulate entry into it, as part of the historical Hashemite guardianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds.
8. The Conference affirmed its standing against the crime of genocide being committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and against Israel’s endeavors to forcibly displace them from their land, through killing, blockade, starvation and mass and systematic destruction of civilian properties and infrastructures, including health and education facilities, which claimed the lives of over 34500 Palestinian citizens, and injured over 77500 others, the majority of whom are women and children, in addition to the displacement of over 1.7 million Palestinians from their homes; called for an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire, the cessation of the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the immediate implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2728 (2024), as well as for providing humanitarian and medical aid and relief, providing water, electricity and shelter, and opening humanitarian corridors through all possible means for the unhindered and adequate delivery of urgent assistance to the Gaza Strip; and called for compliance with UNSC Resolution 2720 (2023) demanding immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
9. The Conference stressed the responsibility of all States to fully comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in the case filed by the Republic of South Africa relating to the violation by Israel, the occupying power, of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; called for refraining from any measures contributing to the continuation of this heinous crime, and supported all international efforts aimed at prosecuting and holding the Israeli occupation accountable for its crimes.
10. The Conference called on all States to take the needed measures to prevent Israel, the occupying power, from continuing its crimes against the Palestinian people, and to take practical steps to stop its flagrant violations of international law, including the continuation of colonial settlement, the expansion and annexation policies, and other racial discrimination policies; called for imposing sanctions on Israel, the occupying power, and halting the export of weapons and ammunition used by its army to perpetrate the crime of genocide in Gaza, along with the crimes committed by the terrorist settlers and the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank including the Al-Quds Al-Sharif city; Called for the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2334 of 2016, and for providing the Palestinian people with the necessary protection against the Israeli occupation’s brutality; Stressed that it fully and absolutely rejects and stands collectively against any attempts at individual or collective forced transfer, displacement, exile, or deportation of the Palestinian people, whether inside the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, or outside their territories to any other destination, whatever it is, as this amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity.
11. The Conference emphasized that peace, security and stability in the region can only be achieved by ending the Israeli colonial occupation along with all the Israeli illegal policies and criminal practices against the Palestinian people; called on the States and international institutions to take practical steps that would enable the Palestinian people to gain their inalienable rights, particularly their right to self-determination, independence and return, based
on international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy, as well as to counter all the steps that undermine these rights and act diligently to stop them, starting with holding the occupation accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people, and to put into effect the two-State solution with meaningful and irreversible steps; and called, in this regard, for convening an international peace conference that would lay the ground for ending the occupation, implementing the relevant United Nations Resolutions, and achieving peace based on justice and law.
12. The Conference affirmed the unwavering support of Member States to the struggle of the Palestinian people to realize their inalienable rights, the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations and all the resolutions related to the Palestinian Cause in international fora, and calls on the Member States to be committed to that; reaffirmed that any position to the contrary would be considered a departure from the Charter and Resolutions of the Organization; Called on all the States that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine, declared in 1988 in Algeria, to take such a step as an embodiment of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, being a prerequisite for supporting the solution based on the resolutions of international legitimacy; and called on the Islamic Group at international organizations and all capitals to mobilize the necessary international support for that.
13. The Conference affirmed its support for the Palestinian government’s program for humanitarian aid and immediate relief for the Palestinian People in the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, recovery, and the stabilization of the financial and economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; condemned the colonial occupation authorities’ piracy of the Palestinian tax money; and called for enforcing all the relevant resolutions, including those regarding support and expansion of economic empowerment program for the Palestinian people, as well as providing urgent support for UNRWA so that it can continue carrying out its mandated tasks.
14. The Conference affirmed its respect for the legitimacy of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, headed by H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas, and commended his efforts for Palestinian national reconciliation; called on Palestinian factions and forces to expedite the completion of national reconciliation; and appreciated the role of Egypt and all efforts exerted in this regard.
15. The Conference affirmed its support for the UNRWA, rejected any impingement on to its role, denounced all the pressures and blackmail to which the Agency is exposed in view of the tragic conditions in the Gaza Strip and the scarcity of resources and aid, including the ongoing incitement campaign practiced by the Israeli occupation government against UNRWA and its desire to terminate its existence; condemned the suspension by some countries of their financial support to the Agency and demanded that they immediately abandon this position and increase their financial support; and stressed the ongoing support for the Agency’s role until the plight of the Palestinian refugees ends according to a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees their right to return to the homes from which they were displaced, and to restore their property in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, and as stipulated in UNGA Resolution 194 of December 11, 1948. In this regard, the Conference emphasizes the responsibility of the United Nations towards the Palestinian Cause in all its aspects, including the Palestinian refugee issue, and the centrality of the continued work of the UNRWA in alleviating the plight of the Palestinian refugees, helping to provide regional stability, and providing vital services to nearly 5.5 million Palestinian refugees. It also urgently called on Member States to provide sustainable financial contributions and resources, and appreciated, in this regard, the efforts of member states that mobilized resources to support the UNRWA so that it can continue carrying out its tasks and responsibilities and maintain the role played by Arab countries hosting Palestinian refugees.
To be continued.
