The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu emphasized that the endorsement of the draft rules for granting consultative statues to Non Governmental Organizations at the OIC will open wider doors for the OIC General Secretariat to establish institutional and fruitful partnerships with different civil society organizations in the Muslim world. Ihsanoglu noted in the opening of the Intergovernmental Group of Legal Experts (IGLE) on rules for granting consultative status to NGOs at the OIC, held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on 9 and 10 January 2012, that out of the awareness of the leaders of the Muslim Ummah of the important role of civil society organizations, the third extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Makkah pursuant to a generous initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, resolved that it is necessary to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the General Secretariat and civil society organizations that are an essential partner in development. He pointed out that this important decision requires extensive efforts to devise an optimal mechanism to embody the meanings of integration and coordination with civil society under the umbrella of the OIC, and stressed that adoption of the rules provides an added value to the OIC endeavor at the international level. The Secretary General underlined that humanitarian action at the General Secretariat has steadily improved and the OIC Department of Humanitarian Affairs has managed to implement a large number of humanitarian programs and projects in a number of Islamic countries and its efforts were highly appreciated by the Member States, civil society organizations, and international organizations, particularly the United Nations (UN). These humanitarian efforts have clearly contributed to consolidating cooperation between the OIC and NGOs at the Member States. This encourages us to go ahead in this fruitful cooperation, particularly in the cases of humanitarian crises and catastrophes in our countries. Ihsanoglu also added that roles of civil society organizations have expanded into other important fields and penetrates all walks of life such as environment preservation, human rights, active dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions, issues of women and children, and combating organized crimes.
