REPORT OF THE SEVENTH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE PARLIAMENTARY UNION OF THE OIC MEMBER STATES (PUIC) BEIRUT –REPUPBLIC OF LEBANON 29th ZUL HIJJAH 1425 TO 1st MUHARRAM, 1426H 9 – 10 FEBRUARY 2005   1.      Upon the kind invitation of H.E. Nabih Berry, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Lebanon, and the President of the PUIC Council to convene the 7th Session of the Council, the Session was held in Beirut on 9 and 10 February 2005 under the Chairmanship of His Excellency.  2.      The proceedings of the Session began with listening to recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, and in the presence of:   -        Mr. Hamadou Sali, Representative of the National Assembly of Cameroon, Vice-President from the African Group.  -        Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yazicioglu, Representative of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Vice- President from the Asian Group.  -        Mr. Rachid Al Mudawar, Representative of the House of Representatives of Morocco, was elected as Rapporteur due to the non- participation of the Mauritanian Rapporteur in the proceedings of the Session.  The Session was also held in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Ibrahim Auf, PUIC Secretary General and H.E. Ambassador Mohammad Peyrovi, PUIC Assistant Secretary-General.   PARTICIPATING DELEGATIONS   3.      The Secretary General declared that the Session attained quorum (24 member parliaments at least) with the participation of 33 Member Parliaments and seven delegations of Observers and one guest. 14  Member Parliaments were absent. (List of the names and designations of Members of participating delegations are in Annex 1).   OPENING SESSION:   4.      H.E. President Nabih Berry delivered an exhaustive speech in which he welcomed the attendees and began with referring to the fact that this Islamic Meeting was held in Lebanon coinciding with the festivals of Mar Marone and the beginning of the Hijri year as proof that Lebanon constitutes a unique model of dialogue among civilizations and the co-existence of religions and ideas. His Excellency read the text of the message he received from Signor Pierre Fernando Cassini, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Italy. In the message he expressed his greetings and understanding of the contribution of the Islamic civilization towards the advancement of human civilization and that the richness of the Islamic civilization is received with appreciation in Italy. He reiterated in the message that the open dialogue among civilizations, religions and parliamentarians constitutes one of the most important weapons to eliminate terrorism.  His Excellency then stated that Beirut, the venue of the meeting, and the capital of resistance against the Israeli occupation which proved that the unity of national peoples, despite their small sizes, constitute an important weapon of resistance. His Excellency further stated that the Palestinian Cause is the mother of causes. He commended the peaceful and quiet transfer of power following the passing away of President Yasser Arafat which proves the attachment of the Palestinian people to the weapon of its national unity in the face of Israel’s refusal to withdrawal, return of refugees and dismantling of settlements.   His Excellency criticized the USA for the identity of its stance with the Israeli vision and called for an Islamic pressing parliamentary diplomacy in order to conduct dialogue with the world in order to reach a solution to the refugees’ problem, demolition of the racist wall and confronting the danger of the Israeli nuclear arsenal at a time when pressure is mounting on Iran in order to deprive it of its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.  His Excellency reiterated the Arab’s alignment with peace as reflected in the initiative of Prince Abdullah Al-Saud as well as the call made by President Bashar Assad for negotiations. His Excellency also declared our demand for maintaining the unity of the territory and people of Iraq as well as its Arab and Islamic identity. His Excellency referred to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 being considered as an embarrassment for Lebanon which is well-known for its respect for the UN resolutions.  He described that resolution as falling outside the terms of reference of the Security Council because it deals with a purely internal sovereginty policy issue. He further added that Syria is the geographic, human, interest-oriented and Arab depth of Lebanon. His Excellency recalled that the Islamic World was the first entity to suffer from terrorism, especially Egypt and Syria and that we reject the confusion between the legitimate right to resist occupation and terrorism (Text of the speech is in Annex 2).  5.      His Excellency the President then gave the floor to Mr. Cecep Syarifuddin, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and the representative of the outgoing President of the Sixth Session of the PUIC Council. His Excellency focused on the impacts of the Tsunami disaster and the huge losses in lives, properties and the infrastructure sustained by his country. He requested the attendees to take measures to support and help the affected areas. His Excellency called for the liberation of Arab territories occupied by Israel and to exert the utmost efforts in this regard, otherwise our objectives will not be realized.    6.      Thereafter, the floor was given to their Excellencies Mr. Nureddine Bushkhugh, Secretary General of the Arab Parliamentary Union, Mr. Saiid Mukadam Secretary General of the Consultative Council of the Maghreb Arab Union and Mr. Saadudine Al Tayeb advisor to the OIC Secretary General.  Their statements addressed the dangers facing the Islamic World at the present time and the necessity of solidarity and action to repel this vicious attack. They also focused on Israeli intransigence and tranny against Al-Quds Al Sharif and the occupied Arab territories as well as the violation of the rights of their citizens by the oppressive Israeli military machine.  7.      Mr. Zuheir Ambar, member of the Turkish delegation delivered the speech of Prof. Nevzat Yalcintas, Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE who was unable to participate in the proceedings of the Session due to weather conditions. The speech highlighted the necessity of cooperation and rapprochement to achieve mutual understanding that would ensure a better knowledge of the reality of Islam through strengthening political and economic dialogue as well as human rights so as to stress the security concept between their countries.   8.      Finally, the floor was given to Mr. Konstantions Mygdalis, Representative of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Orthodoxy who underlined the necessity of affirming the foundations of the principles of democracy and human rights. He stated that overcoming difficulties would be achieved through ensuring cooperation among the peoples of the world.   FIRST WORKING SESSION:  9.      H.E. President Nabih Berry requested the Council to consider the Agenda and Program of Work whose drafts were prepared by the General secretariat and which were amended by the 11th and 12th meetings of the PUIC Executive Committee.  10.    The Council adopted its amended Agenda and Program of Work after some discussion. (Annexes no. 3 & 4).   Report of the PUIC Secretary General submitted to the Council  11.   H.E. the President invited the Secretary General to submit his report to the Council. The Secretary-General stated that this report covers the period from the 6th Session of the august Council in Dakar on 9th and 10th March 2004, until now, and that it is one of four reports. The Secretary-General submitted the first one and the second supplementary report to the 11th meeting of the Executive Committee (Beirut, 7-8 October 2004.) He submitted the third report to the 12th Meeting of the same committee (Beirut 7-8 February 2005). The 4th report was submitted to the current 7th session of the PUIC Council.  12.    In his report submitted to the Council the Secretary General reviewed political, organic, financial and administrative affairs, especially the contents of the most important subjects which had already being examined by the 11th & 12th meetings of the Executive Committee in Beirut.  13.    His Excellency reviewed the activity of the Union in that period in terms of the following subjects:   13.1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS:   These included the following themes:   13.1.1    Distribution of declarations adopted by member parliaments.  13.1.2    Statements issued by the PUIC General –Secretariat  13.1.3 The PUIC participation in international and regional fora and the development of the Union’s relations with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the First Conference of the Association of Senates/ Second Chambers in Africa and the Arab world, 31st Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, and the 110th and 111th Assemblies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Brussels’s Session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO as well as the 27th Conference of the African Parliamentary Union.  13.2    Meetings with some especially important personalities on the sidelines of the conferences in which the PUIC participated as an observer or those held at the PUIC headquarters in Tehran.  13.3  Important correspondence between the Union and a number of international organizations, namely, the International Committee of the Red Cross, The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Orthodoxy and the Duma Council of the Russian Federation.   FINANCIAL AFFAIRS: The necessity of payment of arrears: 14. In more than one occasion H.E. Nabih Berry stressed and focused on the indispensable necessity for the delegations to honor their commitments and word of honor and without taking measures of expeditiously paying their contribution arrears to the budget of the General Secretariat, partially or wholly, within three months at the most, in the light of the statement made by the Secretary General that the total of these arrears have exceeded 1 million dollars since the establishment of the Union and that 21 member parliaments out of 47 have not paid their full contributions until the end of the fiscal year 2004 despite the commendable efforts exerted by the Presidential Troika.   ·              Fiscal year 2003: 15.    H.E. the Secretary General submitted to the Council the report of the Financial Control Committee (FCC) which was composed of H.E. Representative Jassem Mohammad Al Mawali from the Council of Representatives of Bahrain, and H.E. Issam Yassine from the Lebanese House of Representatives. The FCC reviewed the accounts of the General-Secretariat for the fiscal year 2003 in the light of the report of the local external accountant. The Committee approved these accounts and prepared its attached report which is submitted to the esteemed Council including the recommendation by the Committee for its adoption.   ·              Fiscal year 2004: 16.    The Secretary General submitted the actual revenues received by the Union as well as the actual expenditure and expenses related to the estimated budget for the fiscal year 2004. The final accounts for this year will be closed by the internal accountant by the end of February 2005, by submitting his report thereon. The Union will charge a local external auditor (Azmoudeh Karan Office) to submit his report thereon before the end of April 2005 in preparation for convening the FCC at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Tehran to prepare its report before the end of May 2005 for submission to the 8th Session of the PUIC Council.   ·              Estimated Budget for the fiscal year 2005 17.    The Secretary- General presented the draft estimated budget for the fiscal year 2005 which was prepared by the PUIC General Secretariat within the same limits of the budgets of previous years, i.e. on the basis of 10% of payments made by member states to the budget of the OIC with a proposed total of $1,127,932.00 (One million one  hundred and 27 thousand nine hundred thirty-two US dollars). 18.    Annex no. 5 shows the details of the estimated budget for the fiscal year 2005 in terms of the shares of member parliaments and the main figures relating to expenditures as distributed among the 4 expenditure chapters.   ADMINISTRATIVE AND ORGANIC AFFAIRS: ·              Draft staff regulations: 19.    The Secretary General submitted the report of the 7 Member Committee which had been charged by the 6th Session of the Council, held in Dakar, Republic of Senegal on 7 - 8 March 2004, with re-examining the Draft Staff Regulations and submitting them to this session (item 29 of the final report of the 6th session of the Council); and the Draft Regulations attached to this report after it was examined by the Committee and the adoption of their entire pages and the list annexed to them by H.E. Representative Mohammad Fneich, representing the Lebanese Presidency at the Union’s Council and Chairman of the 7-Member Committee. At the end of its Meeting in Teheran on 21st of November 2004, the Committee recommended to submit its report and the Draft Staff Regulations as per agreed formulation to the 7th Session of the Council held in Beirut on 9 and 10 February 2005 for adoption of the Regulations according to the text approved by the Committee.  ·              Headquarters Agreement: 20.    The Secretary General reviewed the contacts made by the Union with the competent authorities in Iran concerning the preparation of the Headquarters Agreement in preparation for signing it by His Excellency the Foreign Minister of Iran and the PUIC Secretary General. He also reviewed the legal status of the ownership of the building of the Union and its contents in light of contacts made by the Secretary General with H.E. Dr. Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Council of Iran. Reports and annexes of the 11th and 12th Meetings of the Executive Committee: 21.    The Council reviewed and adopted the reports and annexes of the Executive Committee on its 11th Meeting in Beirut, on 7th and 8th October 2004 and the 12th Meeting also in Beirut on 7th and 8th February 2005.   Draft Staff Regulations: 22.    The 7th Session of the PUIC Council approved the Staff Regulations in accordance with the attached text and the Report of the 7 Member Committee dated 21st of November 2004. The Chairman of the Committee, H.E. Representative Mohammad Fneich, representing the Lebanese Presidency at the Union’s Council signed all the pages and annexes of the Regulations and these Regulations will come into force as of 11th February 2005. (Annex No.6)   Formation of Standing Specialized Committees: 23.    The Council reviewed the discussions which took place during the 12th Meeting of the Executive Committee on this subject and approved the formation of the following three committees: - Standing Committee for Political and Economic Affairs - Standing Committee for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, and Environment - Standing Committee for Women, Social and Cultural Affairs  Upon a proposal made by H.E. Nabih Berry, President of the Council, the Council agreed by applause to the formation of these committees and to charge the General Secretariat of the PUIC to prepare a formulation that would avoid the meaning of following up on the implementation of the resolutions as it is the task of PUIC Executive Committee and that the formulation should lead to the conception for which those standing committees have been established in such a way as to avoid any discrepancy between the terms of reference of these standing committees and the express terms of reference of the Executive Committee as stipulated in the Statute of the Union.   It was agreed also that the financing of holding these Committees shall be made from the arrear contributions paid by a number of Member States.   Formation of Drafting Committees: 24. Three Drafting Committees were formed during this Session under the chairmanship of the rapporteur as follows:  -        Drafting Committee for Political Affairs and Final Declaration. 21 representatives of the member parliaments took part in it  -        Drafting Committee for Economic and Social Affairs. 12 representatives took part in the proceedings.  -        Drafting Committee for Cultural Affairs with the participation of 15 representatives.   These Committees prepared the Draft Final Declaration called “Beirut Declaration”, as well as a number of resolutions in the Political, Eonomic, and Cultural fields. These are the documents which the PUIC Council approved and adopted in its Closing Session.   SECOND WORKING SESSION:  General debate: 25.    The Council carried out a general debate of all issues included in the agenda of the session in the political, economic, cultural and organic fields as follows:   STATEMENTS BY HEADS OF DELEGATIONS: 25.1       Palestine National Council: The representative of the Palestine National Council reviewed in detail the tragedy facing the Palestinian people and misrepresentation of meanings so as to serve the interests of Israeli occupation and which will put the blame on the occupied and persecuted Palestinian people in their usurped territory. He ascribed prevailing conditions in the Arab and Islamic Umma to infighting and fragmentation. He concluded by maintaining that the remedy to this deterioration and disintegration will only be through self-improvement and credibility between brothers as Allah has said that God will not change the conditions of people unless they change themselves.   25.2       People’s Council of Egypt: The representative of the People’s Council of Egypt called for launching an extensive parliamentary diplomatic campaign to reflect the true image of Islam on the basis of a well-studied and scientific applicable plan that takes into consideration the characteristics of the peoples and regions which it is going to address. He stated further that the solution to the Middle East problem will only be through achieving a just settlement of the Palestinian issue that realizes for the Palestinian people the establishment of their independent State, with Al-Quds as its capital and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Syrian Golan and the Lebanese Shebaa farms.   25.3       The Grand National Assembly of Turkey: The representative of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey reviewed the deteriorating conditions of the Islamic World and stated that the advancement in the Islamic World necessitates entering into serious and constructive dialogue with the others so as to put an end to the perceived linkage between Islam and terrorism.     25.4       The Shura Council of Saudi Arabia: The representative of the Saudi Shura Council reviewed the current conditions in occupied Palestine, Syrian Golan, Shebaa farms and Iraq. He called on all Muslims to seek a solution to the issue of Al-Quds which is of concern to all Muslims. He also called for supporting the Iraqi people to enable them to establish a democratic State capable of unifying all its territories with the participation of all its sects. He urged all States to exert pressure on Israel to withdraw from the territories which it occupied after June 5, 1967, including the Syrian Golan and the Lebanese Shebaa farms.   25.5       The National Assembly of Kuwait:  The representative of the National Assembly of Kuwait called for extending support to the Asian States which have been affected by the Tsunami pursuant to the principle of Islamic (interdependence) Takafoul. He also called on the international community to protect the Palestinian people from the State terrorism which is practiced against them by Israel. He focused in his statement on the necessity of establishing constructive dialogue between the Islamic Umma, the Western World and Europe in particular in order to establish sustainable and constructive cooperation.   25.6       People’s Council of Syria: The representative of the Syrian People’s Council called for establishing firm relations between civilizations and peoples because the essence of Islam is good neighborliness through good discourse, and the necessity of dialogue among all groups without any previous condemnation as God says: “those who say good things are those who call for the way of Allah and do good deeds”.   25.7       The Islamic Consultative Council Of Iran: The representative of the Islamic Consultative Council of Iran denounced the daily massacres to which the Palestinian people are subjected and asked for mercy on the souls of Palestinian martyrs foremost among whom is Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abdel Aziz Al Rantissi. He addressed the pressures exerted against Iran and its people in order to relinquish their peaceful nuclear program where all evidence and proofs have shown that it conforms to the rules and terms of the agreement signed by Iran with the international control bodies.   25.8       The Federal National Assembly of the Emirates: The representative of the Federal National Assembly of the United Arab Emirates reviewed the deteriorating conditions in Iraq and Palestine and the suffering of people in both places under foreign occupation which, though different in origin and type, yet they agree in methodology and approach. He condemned all acts of violence, terrorism and discrimination and called for respecting the rules of International Law and legitimacy.    25.9       The Council of Representatives of Bahrain: The representative of the  Council of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain put the blame on the USA which acts since the events of 9 September, 2001, in a random manner with the pretext of combating terrorism while forgetting or pretending to forget that the Arab States are the first victim of terrorism. He requested the establishment of an objective dialogue with the West aimed at putting an end to the vicious attack on Islam. He requested respecting civilizational and cultural diversity and upholding the principles of justice and equity.   25.10     The House of Representatives of Tunisia: The representative of  the House of Representatives of Tunisia focused on the Palestinian cause and demanded extending support to the just issues of the Palestinian people until they establish their independent State with Al Qods Al-Sharif as its capital. He declared his support to the Riyadh Conference on combating terrorism. He requested drawing up economic and social policies among States and peoples to combat poverty and marginalization.   25.11     The Sudanese National Council: The representative of the Sudanese National Council hailed the peace agreement concluded between the North and the South which will realize political stability which will pave the ground for the Sudanese people to live a decent living. He said that the problem of Darfour will witness a breakthrough in the near future. He requested the realization of a just solution for the Palestinian issue and the Iraqi question. The Sudanese representative expressed his sympathy with the States affected by the Tsunami.   FINANCIAL AFFAIRS:   26.    Adoption of the following financial documents:   26.1    The august Council adopted in its 7th Session the report and annexes of the Financial Control Committee (FCC) on the accounts of the fiscal year 2003 and absolved the Secretary General of responsibility for the accounts of this fiscal year according to the provisions of Article 17 of the Financial Regulations of the Union’s General Secretariat.   26.2    The Council took note of the figures on incomes and expenses for the fiscal year 2004 as submitted by the Secretary General and agreed to charge Azmoudeh Karan office with examining and auditing the accounts of the Union for that year against fees not exceeding US$.3000.   26.3    The Council approved the Draft Estimated Budget for the fiscal year 2005  which have been prepared by the Union’s General Secretariat within the same limits of budgets of previous years i.e. 10% of the contributions made by Member States to the budget of the OIC with a total amount of US $1,127,932 (One million one hundred twenty seven thousand and nine hundred thirty two US dollars only).   27.    Annex 5 shows the details of the Estimated Budget for the fiscal year 2005 in terms of the shares of the Member Parliaments to this budget as well as the main figures relating to expenses as distributed among the 4 expenditure chapters.   Venue and date for holding the 4th Session of the PUIC Conference: 28.    The Council approved with thanks the offer made by the delegate of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey concerning Turkey’s readiness to host the 4th Session of the PUIC Conference in Istanbul in April 2006.   CLOSING SESSION: ·              Election of the new Bureau of the 8th Session of the PUIC Council 29. The new Bureau of the 8th Session of the PUIC Council was elected as follows:  29.1       Mr. Guy Nzouba Ndama, Speaker of the National Assembly of Gabon as President.   29.2       Dr. Mohiddin Amimour, Representative of the Algerian Parliament as Vice President from the Arab group  29.3       Mr. Sait Yazicioglu, Representative of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey  as Vice President from the Asian group.  29.4       Mr. Mustafa Aysceoglu, Representative of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey  as Rapporteur  30.    The Council adopted the final report of the 7th Session held in Beirut on 9 and 10 February 2005.  31.    The Council adopted a Final Communiqué called (Beirut Declaration) (Document No. CNCL/7-2005/DEC.1/FINAL). The Council also adopted its Resolutions in the political, economic and cultural fields. (Document No.CNCL/7-2005/RES.1/FINAL).  32.    Dr. Kazim Jalali, representative of the Islamic Consultative Council of Iran delivered a vote of thanks for the Lebanese presidency on behalf of the Asian group. His Excellency Ibrahim Keita, Speaker of the National Assembly of Mali delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the African group. Dr. Jamal Ayesh, Representative of the Palestine National Council, delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of the Arab group. His Excellency President Nabih Berri responded to these statements by delivering a statement in which he thanked the delegations, the PUIC Secretary General, the General Secretariat and all the technical staff of the Lebanese House of Representatives and others who contributed to the success of the proceedings of this Session   33. The Council approved by applause to address a congratulatory cable to His Excellency Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir through His Excellency Ahmed Ibrahim Al Tahir, Speaker of the Sudanese National Council, on signing the peace agreement between the North and the South. (Annex No.7)   34.    A Cable of thanks was addressed to H.E. President Nabih Berry and to the Government and people of the Republic of Lebanon for their hospitality and good preparation and excellent organization of this Session (Text of the cable is in Annex 8) 35.       The Session was concluded by recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.