Abu Dhabi: A UAE-proposed anti-terrorism charter to eliminate international terrorism was unanimously passed yesterday (Monday) by a parliamentary panel of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The members of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUOICM) have unanimously approved a proposal submitted by the Parliamentary Division of the UAE’s Federal National Council (FNC) for drafting the union’s draft Islamic parliamentary charter on combating terrorism and extremism.
The draft ‘Islamic Parliamentary Charter on Action against Terrorism and Extremism’ will be submitted to the next meeting of the OIC for final approval.
The UAE’s proposal reiterated the need to make a distinction between terrorism and the exercise of the legitimate right of peoples to resist foreign occupation.
The draft charter also calls for promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue between the OIC Parliamentary Union, on the one hand, and the European Union, the Parliament of Latin America and the US Congress, on the other.
It calls on individual states to refrain from inciting hatred against any religious and cultural systems, calling special attention to provocative acts that have been taken against Islam. It also urges defining terrorism and distinguishing it from the right of people to self-determination. Further, technical assistance should be given to countries to combat terrorism, and international plans should strengthen assistance to victims of terrorism.
It emphasises that freedoms must be exercised responsibly with due respect for the fundamental rights of others, and enhanced understanding and dialogue between civilisations and cultures of the world according to the laws and instruments of international humanitarian law and human rights.
The draft charter calls for strengthening the role of education in spreading the values of tolerance, and positive participation in order to provide the true image of Islam, and the development of educational methods and curricula to prevent the spread of misconceptions and to promote a correct understanding of the noble humanitarian values, principles and ethics of Islam, which prohibit the practice of terrorism.
The UAE’s proposal also calls for setting up a strategy to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and build capacity to prevent and combat terrorism.
These efforts should include a comprehensive process of reforms. Muslims countries should endeavour to improve their image in the world to appear as nations of culture and civilisation. Effective initiatives must also be undertaken to educate non-Muslims concerning correct Islamic concepts of peace and tolerance and to clarify the incorrect views of Islam held by some, the draft charter states.
