REPORT OF THE SECOND EXTRA-ORDINARY SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE PARLIAMENTARY UNION OF THE OIC MEMBER STATES (PUIC) Istanbul - Republic of Turkey 16 Rabie Awal 1429H 24 March 2008   INTRODUCTION               In implementation of the resolution adopted by the 10th Ordinary Session of the PUIC Council, held in Cairo, on 27-28 January 2008 and in response to the kind invitation of H.E. Mr. Köksal Toptan, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey, the Second Extraordinary Session of the PUIC Council was held in Istanbul, on 24 March 2008, for electing a new PUIC Secretary General and new PUIC Assistant Secretary General, on the occasion of the expiry of the tenure of H.E. Mr. Ambassador Ibrahim Ahmed Auf, current PUIC Secretary General on first May 2008, as well as the expiry of the term of office of the Assistant Secretary General H.E. Ambassador Mohammed Peyrovi at the end of February 2008, presided over by H.E. Mr. Mahamane Ousman, President of the PUIC Council and Speaker at the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger, and with the participation of 47 deputies representing 28 Member Parliaments. The Session was also attended by H.E. Ambassador Ibrahim Auf, PUIC Secretary General and Ambassador Mohammed Peyrovi, Assistant Secretary General.   INAUGURAL SESSION   The Session the Council was graced by the attendance of H.E. Mr. Köksal Toptan, Speaker of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey and host of this Extraordinary Session.   1.         The inaugural session began with a recitation of blessed verses of the Holy Quran.   2.         H.E. Mr. Mahamane Ousman, President of the Eleventh Session of the PUIC Council and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger , opened the proceedings by delivering a speech which included.   -          Expressing thanks to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for hosting the proceedings of this Second Extraordinary Session of the PUIC Council, singling out for special thanks His Excellency President of the Republic Mr. Abdullah Gül, and His Excellency Speaker Köksal Toptan and the brotherly people of Turkey .   -          Referring to the role played by the Republic of Niger in defence of the causes of the Islamic Ummah and confronting the phenomenon of Islamophobia as well as attempts to blaspheme the honorable Messenger and the true religion.   -          Considering the Draft Programme of Work of the Extraordinary Session which included:   ·         Reviewing the report presented by the PUIC Secretary General. ·         Electing a new PUIC Secretary General. ·         Electing a new PUIC Assistant Secretary General. ·         Considering and adopting the report of the Financial Control Committee (FCC) on the closing accounts of the PUIC General Secretariat for the Financial Year 2007.   The Council approved the Draft Programme of Work.   3.         H.E. the President of the Council invited H.E. Mr. Köksal Toptan, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and host of the Second Extraordinary Session to deliver his speech which included:   -          Welcoming the convening of this meeting on Turkey ’s soil in order to support the spirit of cooperation among Islamic parliaments.   -          Requesting to strengthen the spirit of effective cooperation among all Islamic countries for the sake of achieving their objectives, especially on the international arena.   -          Stating that the spirit of tolerance, coexistence and respect of the other will ensure blocking the way for extremists who endanger world peace.   After concluding his speech, His Excellency left the meeting hall amid the applause of attendees.   FIRST WORKING SESSION   4.         His Excellency President of the Council declared the commencement of the proceedings of the Session and invited His Excellency the PUIC Secretary General to present his report.   5.         The Report of the Secretary General included the following:   -          Reviewing the rules defined by the PUIC Statute concerning the election of the PUIC Secretary General and his Assistant.   -          Reviewing the candidacies submitted for the post of Secretary General from the legislative assemblies of Indonesia , Niger , Tunisia , Turkey and Yemen , as well as candidacies submitted for the post of Assistant Secretary from the assemblies of Cameroon , Iran and Tunisia .   6.         He focused on the following points of these rules:   -          That each Member Parliament shall be represented by two sitting members, each with one vote when balloting.   -          Those Parliaments which cease to function for any reason may attend the meeting as guests but without casting votes in the elections.   -          That paying the contributions of the Member Parliament to the budget of the PUIC up to the end of 2007 is a condition for submitting candidatures for any of these two posts.   7.                  He referred to the report of the FCC which is composed of H.E. Mr. Habib Makki Hashim, representative of the House of Representatives of Bahrain;   H.E. Mr. Ahmet Naci Arikan and H.E. Selim Bagli, both for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey . The FCC examined and audited the closing accounts of the PUIC for the Financial Year 2007 in the light of the report of the Internal Accounts Officer, and the report of the Local External Auditor as well as the recommendation of the FCC in its report for submitting that report and the report of the Local External Auditor to the PUIC Council for adoption during the Second Extraordinary Session of the Council, held in Istanbul on 24 March 2008.   The Secretary General requested the august Council to consider approval of the content of the FCC Report and absolve the Secretary General of the financial responsibility for the Financial Year 2007 (according to Article 17 of the Financial Regulations of the Union ).   8.1.            H.E. the President of the Council proposed to consider the FCC report on the accounts of the PUIC for the Financial Year 2007 in preparation for adopting a resolution before moving on to the subject of electing the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General. The Council approved the proposal.   8.2.            H.E. the President invited Mr. Habib Makki Hashim, the representative of the House of Representatives of Bahrain, to introduce the report of the FCC on the Financial Year 2007 to the Council. His Excellency answered the questions which were raised. The Council adopted the report and absolved the Secretary General of the Union of the responsibility for the budget of the Financial Year 2007.   ELECTION OF THE PUIC SECRETARY GENERAL   9.         The Council supported the proposal offered by some attending Member Parliaments that candidates to the post of Secretary General shall introduce themselves to the meeting. The proposal was approved.   9.1.      Upon the invitation of the President of the Council, the four candidates successively delivered brief speeches stating the tasks which they will perform during their tenure of office and the services to the Islamic Ummah which they will offer as well as promoting the PUIC functioning if they were elected.     9.2.            The representative of the Tunisian House of Deputies participating in the proceedings of the Session announced the absence of Mr. Mohammad Chatti, candidate to the post of PUIC Secretary General. H.E. the Secretary General explained that the presence of the candidate is not a condition for the validity of the candidature.  However, the Council was f the view that the arrival of the candidacy application on 4th March, 2008, later than the utmost date defined (29th February, 2008) renders the application unacceptable as a matter of formality.   9.3.            His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Touha, representative of the Indonesian House of Representatives, announced the withdrawal of its candidate in order to serve Islamic solidarity. He requested the support of the Member Parliaments to the candidature of Indonesia to the IPU Presidency in the Autumn Session scheduled to be held in Geneva in October 2008.   9.4.            The President of the Council stated that the matter is now confined to three candidates, namely:   -                      H.E. Mr. Brigi Rafini from Niger . -                      H.E. Prof. Mahmut Erol Kilic from Turkey . -                      H.E. Mr. Jaffar Said Basalih from Yemen .   ELECTION PROCESS   10.       H.E. the Secretary General pointed out the necessity for the winning candidate to obtain the two-third majority of those members present and voting (32 votes).   11.       A committee was constituted for counting the votes composed of:   -                      H.E. Mr. Abdul Latif Al Sheikh, representing the House of Representatives of Bahrain (Rapporteur as the Chairman.) -                      Mr. Ambassador Amin Mohammad Ghoneim, Director of the Cabinet of the PUIC Secretary General. -                      Mr. Zahid Hassan Qureshi, Director of Conference Department at the PUIC.   And that each candidate may be represented by one person from his parliament as an observer during the process of counting the ballots.   11.1.        The election process took place by calling the name of the member country and its two representatives participating in the Voting Session.  Each member present cast his vote on the ballot paper in total secrecy.   11.2.        The ballots were counted and the result was as follows:   -                      H.E. Prof. Mahmut Erol Kilic candidate of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey obtained thirty (30) votes. -                      H.E. Mr. Brigi Rafini, representative of the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger obtained twelve (12) votes. -                      H.E. Mr. Jaafar Said Basalih, representative of the House of Representatives of Yemen obtained four (4) votes. -           One vote was considered as void. Thus the total number of votes counted was forty-seven (47).   12.       His Excellency the President of the Council announced the result of voting, stating that a rerun of the electoral process ought to take place between the candidate of the Grand National Assembly of turkey and the candidate of the National Assembly of Niger.             13.       Candidate of the National Assembly of Niger announced the withdrawal of his candidature to the post of PUIC Secretary General.   14.       Also the representative of the House of the Representatives of Yemen announced the withdrawal of his candidature.   NEW SECRETARY GENERAL   15.       His Excellency the President of the Council stated that pursuant to the above the matter is now confined to His Excellency Prof. Mahmut Erol Kilic, candidate of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to occupy the post of the new PUIC Secretary General. This was met with the applause of the attendees.   16.              His Excellency the President of the Council invited the Secretary General-elect to deliver a speech on this occasion. The speech included the following:   -          Thanking all their Excellencies attending the meeting. -          Promising to work for promoting unity among the Islamic Ummah. -          Promising to be representative of all member parliaments on an equal footing. -          Expressing thanks to His Excellency to the outgoing Secretary General Ambassador Ibrahim Auf and to His Excellency Ambassador Mohammed Peyrovi, Assistant Secretary General.   ELECTION OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARFY GENERAL   17.       His Excellency the President of the Council invited their Excellencies the members to move on to the election of the new Assistant Secretary General from among the three candidates.   17.1.    His Excellency Ambassador Ibrahim Auf, Secretary General, stated that he had written to H.E. the Speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroun, requesting the payment of arrears of three years so that the candidacy of Cameroun may fulfill the formal conditions for candidature.  The General Secretariat did not receive up to the time of convening the Extraordinary Session of the Council any information about realizing this request. Therefore selection for the post will be confined to the representative of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran and representative of the House of Deputies of Tunisia.   17.2.    The representative of the Tunisian House Deputies announced the absence of  Mr. Hamid Shaqroon, candidate of the House to this post.   17.3.    His Excellency President of the Council stated that on account of this the matter is now confined to His Excellency Ambassador Ali Asghar Mohammadi Sijani candidate of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran.   17.4.    His Excellency Mahmut Erol Kilic, the Secretary General-elect requested the Council to approve the selection of His Excellency Ambassador Ali Asghar Mohammadi Sijani to occupy the post of PUIC Assistant Secretary General. The request was met with applause.   18.              His Excellency Ambassador Ali Asghar Mohammadi Sijani, the new Assistant Secretary General expressed thanks to the outgoing Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General for the efforts they exerted during their term of office. He also expressed ample thanks to the Secretary General-elect and to all the PUIC Member Parliaments, promising to exert utmost effort in order to strengthen the bonds of the Union and to serve the causes of the entire Islamic Ummah.   19.       A number of members took turns to submit their proposals concerning the necessity for this Extraordinary Session Council to adopt a number of resolutions on issues of concern to the Islamic World, most importantly attempts to blaspheme the honorable Messenger and the true Islamic religion;  the unjust siege imposed on the inhabitants of Gaza Strip;  and inviting Member Parliaments to support the candidature of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia to occupied the post of IPU President during the coming Autumn Session in Geneva. The Council approved this.   CLOSING WORKING SESSION   20.              The Closing Working Session was held in the evening of the same day (24 March 2008). His Excellency the Rapporteur reviewed the draft resolutions which were proposed for adoption by attendees and they numbered 3 Resolutions which the Council adopted as follows:   20.1..   Resolution on the Situation in Occupied Palestine , and the Israeli Siege of Gaza Strip.   20.2.    Resolution on Demanding to Incriminate Blaspheming Religious Symbols.   20.3.    Resolution on Supporting the Candidature of the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives to the Presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).   21.       H.E. Mr. Hamadou Sali and H.E. Mr. Amadou Adji, representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Cameroun , attended the Closing Session.  The first expressed their regret for their late attendance due to flight difficulties.  He mentioned that his country has paid for two years of its contribution arrears in order to benefit from the facilities approved by the Tenth Session of the PUIC Council in Cairo , providing for 50% deduction from the arrears in case of payment of contributions for two years.   22.       His Excellency the Secretary General reviewed the Draft Report of the Second Extraordinary Session of the PUIC Council. Following discussion of the contents of the report, the Council adopted its report for the Second Extraordinary Session of the PUIC Council.   23.       H.E. Mr. Mamane Sabiou, representative of the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger , expressed regret that the African Group is not represented in any of the principal posts of the PUIC General Secretariat. H.E. the President asked H.E. the PUIC Secretary General to comment thereon.  The latter stressed the extremely important role of the African States as a primary constituent of the Islamic Ummah.  He stated that the organizational structure of the General Secretariat which had already been adopted as part of the PUIC Staff Regulations comprises (49) members, headed by two Assistant Secretaries General.  The PUIC Statute also provides for the allocation of a budget for the General Secretariat within the limit of 50% of the contribution of the Member States to the OIC budget.  However the Second Session of the Council, held in Cairo, on 3 – 4 July, 2000, decided to limit the number of the Staff of the General Secretariat to (22) individuals only and to one Assistant Secretary General.  The budget was decreased to a mere 10%.  H.E. the Secretary General added that the decision of the 5th PUIC Conference in Cairo to establish a committee for developing the PUIC would be a suitable opportunity for completing the occupational structure of the General Secretariat by appointing a second Assistant Secretary General and a number of Directors and other staff members as well as increasing the budget.  Then Africa will be entitled to contribute, in an appropriate measure, to the principal and other posts in the General Secretariat.    A VOTE OF THANKS   24.       His Excellency Prof. Iba Der Thiam, representative of the Republic of Senegal , delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the participating delegations to the Republic of Turkey , its President, Assembly and people, for their generosity, warm reception and good organization. He also expressed thanks to His Excellency President Mahamane Ousman for his good steering of the proceedings of the Session.   25.       The Council decided to address a cable of thanks to His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Gul, the President of the Republic of Turkey , for the hosting by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey of the proceedings of this Extraordinary Session.   CLOSING PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE COUNCIL   26.       The proceedings of the Second Extraordinary Session of the PUIC Council was concluded with the blessed recitation of the verses of the Holy Quran.