We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Heads of Delegation participating in the Thirty-Third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Harmony of Rights, Freedoms and Justice), held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, on 23 - 25 Jumada Al-Awwal 1427H (June 19 - 21, 2006), having discussed the main issues facing the Islamic Ummah declare the following:


1. We reiterate our adherence to the purposes, objectives and principles of the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and once again reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the OIC Summit and Ministerial Conferences.

2. We reiterate our devotion to the noble ideas of peace, humanism and tolerance to aptly respond to the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Recent defiances confronting Islam compel us to further unite around our values and display solidarity.

3. We support the continuation of reforms in the economic, social and cultural areas, as well as in the spheres of democratization, transparency and strengthening the role of civil society in the OIC Member States and consider it important to protect cultural, religious and racial diversity. This diversity must not be a source of conflict but rather a source of mutual enrichment and dialogue among religions and civilizations.

4. We express our deep concern over the growing tendency towards Islamophobia and call for concrete efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, cultures and religions by promoting tolerance, respect for and freedom of religion and belief. In this regard, we welcome the work of the OIC General Secretariat to establish the OIC Observatory aimed at monitoring manifestations of Islamophobia. Establishment of contacts between the relevant institutions of the OIC and the European Union in developing secondary school programmes on Islam has special relevance in this context. We invite all OIC Member States to organize programs such as announcing a year/month/week for commemoration of the prophet Mohammad (PBUH). We deem it also important to raise public awareness throughout the world on the tenets and values of Islam, including among the youth, and underline the crucial role of mass media in this regard. We therefore welcome the proposal of Azerbaijan to host an OIC Conference on the role of media in the development of tolerance and mutual understanding in 2007 in Baku.

5. Considering the importance of dialogue among civilizations and expansion of relations between the Islamic world and other cultures and civilizations, we address the international community and declare our commitment to broader contacts and exchanges and to the harmony of peace, freedom, rights and justice.

6. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, express deep sympathy with and support for the countries that fell victims to terrorist attacks, and denounce any attempts to link terrorism with any religion, culture and people as this global scourge does not have any religious or national affiliation. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthen cooperation in fighting and eliminating terrorism through, inter alia, exchange of information and strengthening capacity-building. In doing so, we should benefit from the experience of OIC Member States in fighting terrorism through, among other means, the promotion of national reconciliation policy in order to achieve peace.

7. At present the international community is facing new global threats and challenges which demand strengthening of international cooperation to jointly fight in a comprehensive and concerted manner against international terrorism, transnational crime, illicit weapons and drug trafficking and trafficking in persons. In this connection, we endorse the Report and the Declaration of the First Conference of Islamic countries Police Chiefs held in Isfahan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, from 15 to 17 May 2006. We support the establishment of the Conference of the Heads of Law-Enforcement Agencies of the OIC Member States and welcome the offer of Azerbaijan to host a meeting at the level of experts in Baku in preparation of the next Conference.

8. We reaffirm that speedy peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a principal objective of our Organization and the key problem for our Ummah. Protection of the rights of the Palestinian people, the establishment of the Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, liberation of all occupied Arab territories in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, return of all Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes and properties, implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and UN General Assembly resolution 194, are the basic conditions for the establishment of peace and security in the Middle East. We respect the outcome of the elections held in Palestine on the 25th of January 2006 and support the democratic steps taken by the Palestinian people to form their legitimate government. We reiterate our support to the Arab peace initiative adopted at the Beirut Arab Summit and the "Road Map" and "Land for peace" principle, and appeal to the U.S.A., the European Union and other donors to resume rendering assistance to the Palestinian people. We call upon the Quartet to speedily resume the peace process and not to recognize unilateral Israeli measures contradictory to the principles of the peace process.

9. We invite the Member States to join Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds Funds and extend existing partnership to finance projects that would strengthen the capabilities of the Palestinian economy as well as programmes to alleviate people's suffering through the implementation mechanisms which proved to be efficient under the management of the Islamic Development Bank and provide voluntary donations to both Bait Mal Al-Quds and Al-Quds Funds.

10. We strongly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. We request the Secretary-General to explore practical ways of ensuring a strengthened OIC role in promoting peace and stability in Iraq. We also affirm the need to put an end to terrorist armed actions in Iraq, to establish stability and security in this brotherly country, complete reconstruction work, and continue to render necessary economic, material and moral support to the government and people of Iraq. In this connection we welcome the Ninth meeting of the neighbouring countries of Iraq to be held in the Islamic Republic of Iran from 8 to 10 July 2006.

11. Recognizing significant progress achieved recently in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan towards peace, democracy, human rights and nation-building, we remain committed to continued comprehensive assistance to the government and people of Afghanistan to reinforce the ongoing reconstruction process.

12. We reaffirm the basic and inalienable right of all Member States to develop research, production and the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with their respective legal obligations. We believe that all issues on IAEA safeguards and verification, including those of Iran, should be resolved within the IAEA framework as the competent authority for verification of respective IAEA safeguards obligations of Member States. Thus we express our conviction that the only way to resolve the Iran's nuclear issue is to resume negotiations without any preconditions and to enhance cooperation with the involvement of all relevant parties with the view to facilitate the Agency's work on resolving the outstanding issues.

13. We consider the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone as a positive step towards attaining the objective of global nuclear disarmament and reiterate our support for the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, in accordance with the relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Pending the establishment of such a zone, we demand Israel's accession to the NPT without delay and prompt placement of all its nuclear facilities under IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards System.

14. We once again strongly condemn the aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan and urge immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupying forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. We consider the illegal transfer of Armenian population into the occupied Azerbaijani territories, illegal economic activities and exploitation of natural resources in the occupied territories detrimental to the peace process. We condemn the continued destruction of Azerbaijani cultural and historical monuments and demand from Armenia to compensate Azerbaijan in accordance with international law for the material damage inflicted by Armenia. We express our deep concern over recent massive fires in the occupied territories and demand the occupying forces to take urgent measures to prevent ecological disaster. We appeal to international community to undertake all necessary measures for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. We urge the OIC Member States to support Azerbaijan on the issue of full restoration of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

15. We express our support for the process of settlement of the Cyprus problem on the basis of political equality of the two parties, and reaffirm our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Northern Cyprus. We appeal to the international community, including the OIC Member States to make all necessary efforts to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and to build cooperation in economic, cultural, scientific, technological and other fields.

16. We reaffirm support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. We call for respect of the human rights of the Kashmiri people, and agree to provide all possible political and diplomatic support to the true representatives of the Kashmiri people in their struggle against foreign occupation.

17. We commend the recent positive developments to achieve peace and national reconciliation in the Sudan with the participation of all Sudanese political forces, and we call on the OIC Member States and the international community to support the reconstruction of the Sudan in order to achieve prosperity and preserve its unity.

18. We commend the establishment of the all-inclusive Somali transitional federal institutions. We reiterate our commitment to Somalia's unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence. We call on all Somali factions to be engaged in the national reconciliation efforts with the Somali transitional federal government.

19. We consider it important to intensify efforts on full implementation of the initiatives to establish common market and free trade zone in the Islamic countries and deem it necessary to encourage the development of trade between the OIC Member States. Noting the importance of multilateral negotiations with the World Trade Organization on trade liberalization, we also deem it important to hold consultations, with support of the OIC economic institutions, on review of the issues on agenda of the WTO negotiations.

20. We emphasize the importance of regional and inter-regional cooperation and encourage cooperation aimed at improvement of inter-regional connectivity, as well as exploitation and transportation of energy resources of the OIC Member States as an essential factor for their social and economic development.

21. We note once again the problems and needs of the landlocked OIC Member States and consider it important to render necessary financial and technical assistance by the relevant Islamic financial institutions to these countries to improve their transit transport systems.

22. We decide to issue inventory of archaeological, historical, cultural and religious monuments in the OIC Member States related to Islamic heritage and investigate damage to them caused by acts of aggression, war or any other kind of violence under the auspices of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture.

23. We commend the efforts taken by the OIC and all its institutions in undertaking tasks assigned to them with regard to strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Ten Year Programme of Action.

24. While recalling the Ten Year Programme of Action and the decisions of the 3rd Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference including the establishment of a Fund to fight poverty, we express heartfelt thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz for the generous donation of 1 billion US dollars to support the Fund.

25. We call for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council in all its aspects, so as to make it more democratic, representative, transparent and accountable. We reaffirm our principled position on the adequate representation of the OIC Member States in any category of membership in an extended UN Security Council.

26. We call upon all OIC Member States to vote for resolutions submitted on behalf of the OIC at international fora, in particular at the United Nations.

27. We welcome the establishment of the OIC Group in Vienna with the purpose to discuss issues of common interest for the OIC Member States. In order to foster contacts and coordination within the international organizations based in Vienna, we task the Administrative and Financial Committee and the OIC General Secretariat to study the issue of the establishment of the OIC Observer Mission in Vienna, as well as assess the role of the other existing OIC observer missions and to report on the matter to the next ICFM, and request the OIC General Secretariat to expedite the establishment of the OIC Observer Mission in Brussels.

28. For the improvement of the process of political consultations and decision-making process in the OIC we invite Member States to consider the issue of establishing permanent missions of the Member States to the OIC Headquarters.

29. We express our sympathy with the government and people of Indonesia in connection with the recent devastating earthquake, and consider it important to render economic and humanitarian assistance to the OIC Member States affected by natural disasters, epidemics, economic crises, conflicts and refugee problems.

30. We express out thanks and gratitude to the OIC Secretary General and the staff of the Organization for their active role in accelerating the process of the reform of the General Secretariat, and for developing of a new culture of work which proved instrumental in effectively dealing with various issues such as the implementation of the Ten Year Programme of Action. We also appreciate the role played by the Secretary General in furthering the interests of the Muslim World through his high-level contacts with international and regional organizations, as well as with key Western states. This was manifested in his dealings with the issue of Islamophobia and the blasphemous cartoons.

31. We extend our deep appreciation to the government and people of brotherly Azerbaijan for the warm hospitality and excellent organization of the 33rd ICFM.