Addressing Islamic conference, Annan urges efforts to counter extremism

Affirming the importance of basic freedoms as well as the need for sensitivity towards other cultures, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today told a major Islamic diplomatic meeting that the crisis over the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed earlier this year reflected a trend toward extremism in both Islamic and Western societies.

“To counter it, we must all speak up for freedom of worship and for freedom of speech,” he told the meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul today in a message delivered by Mohamed Sahnoun, his special adviser on Africa, which also addressed sectarian rifts in Iraq, economic progress in Afghanistan and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The OIC, as the leading multilateral Islamic organization, has a key role to play in addressing these and other challenges,” Mr. Annan said.

To stop extremism and boost inter-cultural relations, he renewed his appeal for dialogue between civilizations and cultural sensitivity. “We must stress that rights carry with them an inherent responsibility, and should not be used to degrade, humiliate or insult any group or individual,” he said.

He called on the international community, including OIC members, to support the formation of a broad-based Government in Iraq to help stop ethnic violence in that war-torn country, and to join the Afghan Compact, an ambitious five-year agenda to meet “enormous challenges” in Afghanistan.

Turning to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Mr. Annan urged the OIC to “guide the two sides toward negotiation and compromise.”

He said the UN respects the democratic choice of the Palestinian people in electing a Hamas-led Government and he reiterated the hope that the party will move toward acceptance of non-violence, recognition of Israel's right to exist, and acceptance of previous agreements.

“The United Nations believes that acceptance of these principles will help the Palestinian people achieve their legitimate goal of an end to occupation and the creation of an independent and viable state, living in peace and security with its neighbours,” he said.

At the same time, he said that Israel has an obligation to take “meaningful steps” to alleviate Palestinian suffering. It must end blockades, stop house demolitions, end extra-judicial killings, curtail arbitrary arrests and halt all settlement activities, he told the OIC meeting, which runs through Friday.