India strongly rejected the comments by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressing concern over the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the 2019 revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Key Points
- In the ruling, the Supreme Court supported the repeal of Article 370, pronouncing it a transitory measure.
- The court stated that the move to terminate the special status of Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 was lawful.
- It highlighted that Occupied Kashmir is an integral part of India because it could not achieve internal sovereignty after joining the Union.
- Furthermore, the Supreme Court mentioned that the State of Jammu and Kashmir no longer had any aspect of sovereignty following the execution of the IoA (Instrument of Accession) and the declaration issued on November 25, 1949, by which the Indian Constitution was adopted.
- Over time, India’s relationship with the OIC has deteriorated. The OIC generally backs Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, which is a sensitive subject for India.
- Except for Pakistan, India’s relations with several OIC members have improved tremendously in recent years.
- But the contradictory stance on Article 370 by the OIC may have an impact on bilateral relations between India and member countries of the Islamic organisation and also have consequences for the broader international world order.
India and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
- India’s association with the 57-nation grouping has not been easy.
- Even though the country has good relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, its membership and engagement has been constantly challenged by Pakistan.
- India was invited to attend the first summit of the OIC 50 years ago in 1969 in Morocco. But the Indian delegation had to return midway due to a withdrawal of the invitation after Pakistan’s objection.
- In 2002, it was Qatar that first proposed observer status for India at the OIC foreign ministers’ meet but Pakistan had consistently blocked the move.
- In 2018, Bangladesh along with Turkey proposed restructuring of the charter of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to pave way for the inclusion of non-Muslim countries like India as an ‘observer state’.
- For the first time in five decades, the United Arab Emirates invited foreign minister of India Sushma Swaraj to attend the inaugural plenary 46th meeting of OIC foreign ministers. (Pakistan boycotted the meet)
About the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
- It is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states.
- It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations.
- The organisation states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony “.
- The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
- Presently based in Jeddah, the organisation plans to permanently move its headquarters to East Jerusalem once the disputed city is ‘liberated’
OIC Objectives and Goals
- The OIC endeavours to establish solidarity among member states.
- To support restoration of complete sovereignty and territorial integrity of any member state under occupation.
- To protect, defend and combat defamation of Islam.
- To prevent growing dissention in Muslim societies and work to ensure that member states take a united stand at the U. N. General Assembly, Human Rights Council and other international
Member States of the OIC
- Republic of AZERBAIJAN
- Hashemite Kingdom of JORDAN
- Islamic Republic of AFGHANISTAN
- Republic of ALBANIA
- State of The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- Republic of INDONESIA
- Republic of UZBEKISTAN
- Republic of UGANDA
- Islamic Republic of IRAN
- Islamic Republic of PAKISTAN
- Kingdom of BAHRAIN
- BRUNEI-DARUSSALAM
- People’s Republic of BANGLADESH
- Republic of BENIN
- BURKINA-FASO (then Upper Volta)
- Republic of TAJIKISTAN
- Republic of TURKEY
- Turkmenistan
- Republic of CHAD
- Republic of TOGO
- Republic of TUNISIA
- People’s Democratic Republic of ALGERIA
- Republic of DJIBOUTI
- Kingdom of SAUDI ARABIA
- Republic of SENEGAL
- Republic of The SUDAN
- SYRIAN Arab Republic
- Republic of SURINAME
- Republic of SIERRA LEONE
- Republic of SOMALIA
- Republic of IRAQ
- Sultanate of OMAN
- Republic of GABON
- Republic of The Gambia
- Republic of GUYANA
- Republic of GUINEA
- Republic of GUINEA-BISSAU
- State of PALESTINE
- Union of The COMOROS
- KYRGYZ Republic
- State of QATAR
- Republic of KAZAKHSTAN
- Republic of CAMEROON
- Republic of COTE D’IVOIRE
- State of KUWAIT
- Republic of LEBANON
- Libya
- Republic of MALDIVES
- Republic of MALI
- MALAYSIA
- Arab Republic of EGYPT
- Kingdom of MOROCCO
- Islamic Republic of MAURITANIA
- Republic of MOZAMBIQUE
- Republic of NIGER
- Federal Republic of NIGERIA
- Republic of YEMEN
OIC Observer States
States
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994)
- Central African Republic (1996)
- Kingdom of Thailand (1998)
- The Russian Federation (2005)
- Turkish Cypriot State (1979)
International Organizations
- United Nations (UN) (1976)
- Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (1977)
- League of Arab States (LAS) (1975)
- African Union (AU) (1977)
- Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) (1995)
OIC Membership:
- N. members with a Muslim majority can join the organisation.
- The membership is to be ratified with full consensus at the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers.
- The same provisions apply for acquiring an observer status.
Decision Making:
- All decision-making in the forum requires a quorum defined by the presence of two-thirds of the member states and complete consensus.
- In case a consensus cannot be reached, decisions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
- The Council of Foreign Ministers is the chief decision-making body and meets annually to decide on how to implement the OIC’s general policies.
- They take decisions and resolutions on matters of common interest, review their progress, consider and approve programmes and their budgets, consider specific issues bothering member states and recommend establishing a new organ or committee.
Finance
- The OIC is financed by the member states proportionate to their national incomes.
- A member’s voting rights are suspended when their arrears equal or exceed the amount of contributions due from them for the preceding two years.
- The member is only allowed to vote if the Council of Foreign Ministers is satisfied that the failure is due to conditions beyond the member’s control.
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