The crises rocking parts of the Muslim world look set to dominate the summit of leaders of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which takes place in the Gambian capital Banjul on May 4th and 5th.
A pre summit session of member countries council of ministers in Banjul from Tuesday through to Thursday served as a preparatory meeting for the two-day summit of heads of state and government happening on 4th and 5th May during which the agenda of the next few days has been set out.
The confab of senior officials took stock of Saudi Arabian initiatives undertaken at the behest of the OIC during its chairmanship of the 14th summit in 2019.
During its tenure Saudi Arabia made efforts in promoting joint Islamic action on issues affecting the world especially OIC member countries chief among them the response to the coronavirus pandemic and the Palestinian cause.
The kingdom had contributed an estimated $5,3million to support OIC’s provision of vaccination for health workers and old aged people in less developed member states and also assumed leadership in attempts to resolve the ongoing crisis between Israel and the Palestinians.
It even convened an extraordinary Arab-Islamic Joint Summit in Riyadh last November to emerge with a common response against Israeli aggression.
The Banjul summit takes place against the backdrop of the raging conflict in Gaza where the Palestinians have been locked in a ruthless cycle of violence with Israeli forces since October last year.
Israeli forces have stepped up their aggression since the deadly October 7 incursion into Israel blamed on Hamas which left scores dead and over one thousands Israelis abducted.
Tens of thousands mostly civilians in Gaza including children and the elderly have been maimed or killed as Isreal bombed positions suspected to hold Hamas militants.
The disproportionate use of forces has been widely condemned in Muslim countries in tandem with the position of the OIC which has issued several statements decrying ‘the genocidal slaughter of innocent people in Gaza’.
The Banjul summit is expected to come up with a resolution calling for an end to hostilities and resolving the Palestine question.
Many OIC members are in favour of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and it is expected that this position will inform the intergovernmental organisation’s recommendation emerging from the summit.
Next in line is the ongoing crisis in Sudan where since April 2023, army regulars have fought to a stalemate elements of the Rapid Support Forces for control of Khartoum, nearby Omdurman and other Sudanese cities.
There had been several peace talks brokered by some members of the OIC with a view to ending hostilities without success. In addition to this ongoing politico-military impasse is an unfolding humanitarian crisis affecting over 2 million people.
Other issues which will exercise minds at the summit are the challenges faced by Muslim minorities in non member countries, economic and social development and climate change.
