About Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC):
- It is the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations.
- It has a membership of 57 states spread over four continents.
- OIC aims to preserve Islamic values, safeguard and defend the national sovereignty and independence of member states, and contribute to international peace and security.
- The OIC considers itself as the “collective voice of the Muslim world” and endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of its member states in economic, social, and political areas.
- Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- Its official languages are Arabic, English, and French.
- The OIC is composed of the following main bodies:
- Islamic Summit Conference (ISC): It is the supreme authority of the OIC, which meets every three years to lay down the Organization’s policy.
- Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM): It meets once a year to examine the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the policy defined by the ISC.
- General Secretariat: It is the executive organ of the OIC entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies.
- Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), established in 2011.
- Specialised and affiliated institutions include the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).
- The OIC partners with international mechanisms (including every specialized UN agency), governments, and civil society organizations (CSOs) to address issues of concern to its member states and Muslims worldwide.
- Core agenda items have historically centred on the Palestinian question and the status of Jerusalem, solidarity among Muslim states, countering Islamophobia, and economic and scientific cooperation.
- India and OIC:
- The 1969 Snub: India was invited to the inaugural OIC summit in Rabat, Morocco, in 1969, but was disinvited at the last minute due to pressure from Pakistan.
- Guest of Honour (2019): In 2019, India participated for the first time in an OIC CFM meeting.
- India has strategically bypassed the OIC as a collective bloc, instead building massive economic and security ties directly with the Gulf and Arab nations.
- Kashmir Issue: India consistently rejects the OIC's locus standi on its internal affairs, stating that the organisation has no mandate to comment on matters regarding sovereign Indian territories.
