New York, 22 November 2022 (TDI): The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution led by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It was adopted in the 39th plenary meeting of the 77th session.

The resolution is titled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation”. It was presented by Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN.

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Munir Akram, while introducing the resolution stated, “The draft is consistent with the spirit of the resolution which, in 1965, invited the Islamic Organization to participate in the work of the United Nations as an observer.”

The resolution contains technical changes, and invites all Member States to Combat Islamophobia in an appropriate manner, the Envoy highlighted.

While talking about the contents of the resolution, Ambassador said that the draft highlights the desire of OIC to work together on shared concerns. These include global security, self-determination, decolonization, and combating terrorism.

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In this vein, he added, “Resolution recognizes the continuing cooperation between OIC & UN entities, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It also acknowledges the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN‑Women).”

Expressing his concern about the global crisis, Munir Akram asserted, “Cooperation between the two has never been more important than in these challenging times.”

Addressing complex challenges together brings countries and international organizations together, and all countries should support the text, adopting it by consensus, he concluded.

77th Session of UNGA

The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is an ongoing session that opened on 13th September.

This provides an opportunity for the member states to voice the challenges about their countries along with international issues concerning them.

The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observer entities can speak at the end of the debate if they choose to.

It is pertinent to mention here that speakers are requested to provide 350 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation.

As the statements are only accepted in UN official languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish.