An emergency Ministerial meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was convened at the OIC headquarters, Jeddah, on August 4, 2008 to discuss the situation in Sudan following the attempt of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to seek indictment of several members of the Government of the Sudan, including the President of the country. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Senegal H. E. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, whose country is holding the current rotating chairmanship of the Islamic Summit. In his opening statement, the Minister warned all concerned against the serious possible consequences of the ICC action and called for an initiative by the OIC Secretary General to work along with his counterparts in the AL, AU and NAM towards finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Sudan. The Vice-chairman of the Meeting, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, Hon. Isaac Musumba, whose country heads the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, also called the OIC Member States for cooperating with Sudan and said that the issue represents a daunting challenge for the OIC and its Member States. The OIC Secretary General H. E. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was represented at the meeting by Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Tori Limangana. In his statement delivered by Ambassador Limangana, the Secretary General stressed the importance of finding a peaceful solution to the crisis respecting the principles of sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of Sudan. Referring to the Resolution adopted by the 35th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC Member States held recently in Kampala, Uganda, the OIC Secretary General urged the non-signatories of the Abuja Agreement to join the peace process for a peaceful settlement of the Darfur dispute. --more
