THE FINAL REPORT OF THE NINTH SESSION OF THE PUIC COUNCIL Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia 27 – 28 Muharram 1428H  15 – 16 February 2007   Introduction    1.         At the kind invitation of H.E. Tan Sri Dato Seri Di Raja Ramli Ngah Talib, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia, the Ninth Session of the PUIC Council was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 – 16 February 2007 under the chairmanship of his Excellency.   Inaugural Session   2.         The Session of the Council opened its proceedings with a recitation of blessed verses from the Holy Quran.   3.         The meeting was attended by:   ·        H.E. Abdul Razak Muqri, representative of the National People’s Assembly of Algeria, Vice-President from the Arab Group (in lieu of H.E. Dr. Mohiddin Amimoor, representative of the National Assembly of Algeria who apologized for not attending).   ·        H.E. Mamado Salio Balde representative of the National Assembly of Guinea, Vice-President from the African Group, in lieu of the President, who apologized for not attending in the last minute.   ·        H.E. Dr. Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, representative of the House of Representatives of Bahrain, as Rapporteur of the Session proceedings.   The Session was also attended by H.E. Ambassador Ibrahim Auf, PUIC Secretary-General, and H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Peyrovi, Assistant Secretary General.   4.         The Secretary-General announced that the Quorum for the Council (24 Member Parliaments at least) was reached with the participation of 34 Member Parliaments and the absence of 14 Member Parliaments.   5.         Also attended as Observers their Excellencies the Secretary-General of the OIC, the Secretary-General of the Arab Parliamentary Union, the Assistant Secretary-General of the African Parliamentary Union, the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the representative of the Parliament of the Turkish Cypriot State and the representative of The National Assembly of Nigeria as a guest (List of the names and designations of the members of participating delegations in Annex No. I).   6.         H.E. Tan Sri Dato Seri Di Raja Ramli Ngah Talib, Speaker of the Malaysian House Representatives, delivered a speech welcoming the participants, stressing that this gathering proves that parliamentary diplomacy can play a major role in resolving contemporary issues in the international community, in the service of peace, welfare and stability.  He condemned Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people and called for national reconciliation in Iraq to stop bloodshed and thwart the plan aiming at creating dissension among Iraqi sects. He referred to the Malaysian success story in the course of twenty-five years only, saying that this experience is at the disposal of any Islamic State, particularly the African States, which may wish to make use of it.   In conclusion, His Excellency urged the Islamic States to draw utmost benefit from their natural resources --which are not inexhaustible-- through the establishment of industries commensurate with these resources, so as to optimise long-term benefit.   7.         The Guests of Honour delivered their speeches, as follows:   7.1       H.E. Abdul Hadi Al Majali, Speaker of the House of Deputies of Jordan.   7.2       H.E. Jassem Al Khorafi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait.   7.3       H.E. Edmond K. Cowan, Speaker of the National Assembly of Sierra Leone.   7.4       H.E. Ahmed Ibrahim Al Tahir, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Sudan.   7.5       H.E. Khalid Al Attiya, Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament.   7.6       H.E. Professor EKmeleddine Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General,   (Texts of the speeches delivered by Their Excellencies are included in the documents of the General Secretarial).   First Working Session    8.         The Head of Delegation of the Lebanese House of Representatives requested to observe a minute of silence and to read the Fatiha, in memory of Mr. Rafiq Al Hariri, the late Prime Minister of Lebanon.   9.         H.E. the Council President requested consideration of the Agenda and the Program of Work of the 9th Session of the PUIC Council for which the Executive Committee had prepared two Drafts at its 15th and 16th meetings upon introducing amendments thereto. The Council adopted these two amended documents (Annexes 2 - 3).   10.       The Council agreed to the request of the National Assembly of the Republic of Tajikistan to join the PUIC on account of the fact that the Republic of Tajikistan is an OIC member state and accordingly its National Assembly is eligible to the PUIC membership.  However, the delegation of Tajikistan was not able to attend the Council Session.   Report of the PUIC Secretary-General to the Council    11.       H.E. the Council President invited H.E. the Secretary-General to present his report to the PUIC Council. The Secretary-General made it clear that this Report covers the period from the Fourth Session of the PUIC Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey on 12-13 April 2006 to date.   12.       H.E. noted that this Report contained the General Secretariat’s activities during the said period including political, organic and financial affairs as well as administrative affairs, as follows:   Political Affairs    13.       His Excellency presented a detailed review of the General Secretariat’s circulation of political declarations and correspondence issued by member parliaments on different occasions amounting to 28 statements, besides statements released by the PUIC General Secretariat which numbered 7.   13.1  The Secretary-General took up the question related to the PUIC participation in international and regional forums as well as his contacts with each of the following bodies:   The Inter-Parliamentary Union/ Meetings of the General Assembly of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent / 115th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly where he gave details of his meeting with Signor Ferdinando Cassini, former Speaker of the Italian House of Representatives  and the current IPU President, with the aim of re-exploring prospects of reviving previous contacts between the Secretary-General and Mr. Bruce George, former President of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE-PA) for the purpose of establishing a dialogue between the Islamic parliamentarians and their counterparts in the West / General Assembly Meetings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Countries (PABSEC) in Baku / Coordination between PUIC and the OIC / Cooperation between the PUIC and the League of Arab States / Exchange of observer status between the PUIC and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).   Organic Affairs    14        H.E. presented a detailed review of the General Secretariat’s preparation of the draft Rules of Procedure of the Standing Specialized Committees which the PUIC Conference, in its 4th Session, held in Istanbul on 12-13 April 2006, had approved their establishment and the election of their members, for these committees to embark on their work upon the approval of the PUIC Council in this Session of the given Rules which the Executive Committee, in its 15th Session, had studied and recommended their submission to the Council for consideration.   Financial Affairs   FISCAL YEAR 2005   15.       The Secretary General presented the report of Financial Control Committee (FCC), comprising of account controllers Mr. Al Swalhy Bozekry, Deputy Speaker of Morocco’s House of Counsellors and Mr. Baba Omar Borea, Third Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Mali, who was appointed by 8th Session of the PUIC Council, held in Istanbul (10 - 11 April 2006) to examine the accounts of the General Secretariat for 2005 and 2006. The FCC adopted the report of the external account auditor who examined the accounts of the General Secretariat for 2005 and the recommendation to submit the report to the PUIC Council for consideration and adoption.               The Secretary General requested the Council to approve the above mentioned FCC report and absolve the Secretary General of the financial liability for Fiscal Year 2005 in conformity with Article 17 of the PUIC Financial Regulations.   FISCAL YEAR 2006   16.       The Secretary General reported the details of revenues and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2006 whose budget was approved by the Council, including a detailed list of the contributions paid or unpaid, wholly or partially, since the establishment of the PUIC General Secretariat in 2000 until December 2006. His Excellency explained that according to the Financial Regulations of the PUIC General Secretariat, the account of Fiscal Year 2006 would remain unsettled until the PUIC internal accountant has closed the accounts at the end of February 2007, pending the revision of the account, by the External Auditor in April prior to submitting his report to the FCC during May 2007.   FISCAL YEAR 2007   17.       The Secretary General presented the estimates of the PUIC budget for Fiscal Year 2007, in accordance with the budgets approved for previous years amounting to $1,127,932 without any increase and distributed to the four chapters of the budget.  He requested the adoption of the draft budget to enable the General Secretariat to include the budget in its accounts for this year.   Report of the Second Meeting of the Seven-Member Committee on the financial allocations of the PUIC staff.   18.       The Secretary General presented the report of this committee which recommended that the report be submitted to the ninth session of the PUIC Council through the Executive Committee.  He pointed out that the report was submitted again to the fifteenth meeting of the Executive Committee held in Kuala Lumpur on 28 – 29 November 2006 and the sixteenth meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 13 February 2007 after having been substantiated by the figures of the financial account covering the cost of this increase amounting to $6,500 per month, explaining that it could be easily provided from the returns of the monthly deposits of the PUIC which surpass $10,000 monthly.   He concluded that the 16th Executive Committee approved the Report of the Second Meeting of the Seven-Member Committee and requested the Secretary General to submit it to the 9th Session of the PUIC Council to decide upon it.   Administrative Affairs   Headquarters Agreement   19.       The Secretary General explained that the contacts between the PUIC and the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affair are still in progress to jointly sign the Headquarters Agreement.   He indicated that despite the fact that the agreement has not been signed so far, the Iranian authorities deal with the General Secretarial as a diplomatic mission and provides it with all the necessary assistance.   First complementary report on dialogue between the PUIC and Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE/PA)   20.       The Secretary General referred to the first complementary report submitted to the 9th Session of the PUIC Council (Dialogue between the PUIC and OSCE/PA) where he reported the details and developments of this subject since adoption of the resolution by the PUIC 3rd Conference held in Dakar from 9 – 11 March 2004, which stipulates in item 44 the following:               “The Conference decides to establish a contact group comprising initially of the Presidential Troika of the Conference (Morocco, Senegal and Turkey) to make contacts with the Western Parliamentary side with a view to reaching initial agreement on holding permanent dialogue between Islamic and Western Member Parliaments pending establishing, later on, a framework, mechanisms, agenda and periodicity of the dialogue with the participation of the Secretary General”     The 4th Session of the Conference held in Istanbul in April 2006 promoted this orientation.  It added the headquarters state (The Iranian Consultative Assembly) to the Presidential Troika in accordance with Para 6 of the resolution of the afore mentioned Conference on the repercussions of double standards used by some states and parties vis-à-vis the issues of the Islamic World, particularly Middle East affairs and their impact on constructive relations between Muslim and Western Countries.   The Secretary General took the initiative and directly approached on 17 October 2006, H.E. Fernando Cassini, the IPU President in Geneva and discussed with him the importance of conducting a dialogue between Muslim parliamentarians and their counterparts in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.   This was followed by a visit on 20 December 2006 by the Secretary General and his assistant to Rome at the invitation of Mr. Carlo Vizine, the Head of Italian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in the latter’s office at the Italian Senate, where the Secretary General explained he was conveying a message from the whole Islamic world at the parliamentary level to the Western world represented by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly that comprises all West and East European countries as well as U.S.A. and Canada.  Mr. Vizine welcomed such meetings and dialogues.   In his complementary report, the Secretary General concluded that such mutual meetings would be conducive to the desired results of the communication between the two international parliamentary organization, unless a channel of direct dialogue was opened at the high level of the speakers of parliaments of both sides whereby an agreed upon agenda could be reached and discussed through regular meetings.   The Secretary General provided the Presidential Troika of the PUIC, namely H.E. Pape Diop, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal in his capacity as the Former President of the PUIC Conference, H.E. Bulent Arinc, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, in his capacity as the Current President of the PUIC Conference and H.E. Dr. Ahmad Fathi Sorour, the Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly, in his capacity as the forthcoming President of the PUIC Conference,  with a detailed report on this subject, in the hope that it would be discussed in depth during the PUIC Council Meetings currently held in Kuala Lumpur.   Second Complementary Report on Cooperation between PUIC and OIC   21.       In addition to the contents of the report submitted by the Secretary General to the 9th Session of the PUIC Council (Malaysia, 15-16 February, 2007) on  cooperation between PUIC and OIC, which was circulated to the Member Parliaments as part of the preparatory documents for this meeting, on the occasion of the work session between the Secretary General and PUIC delegation, and OIC Secretary General, in Jeddah on 22 January 2007, at the invitation of OIC Secretary General, to re-energize relations between the two organizations and identify ways and means for future cooperation between PUIC and OIC, insofar as OIC requires effective action on the part of the Islamic Parliaments within the framework of the implementation of “ the Ten Year Action Plan” adopted by the 3rd Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Makkah Al-Mukkaramah, in December 2005, the Islamic Parliaments need to attend to: ratification of the agreements contained in the Ten Year Action Plan/ its constitutional adoption / Promulgation of the necessary national legislation for the implementation of the Action Plan/ Adoption of the necessary budgets for the implementation of the programmes on the Action Plan.   22.       The Secretary General submitted to the distinguished Council Members the text of the report on the official meeting between the Secretaries General of the two organizations, which was signed up at the end of the meeting they held in Jeddah on 22 January 2007. Enclosed is the list of the Member States which have ratified the different agreements and the regulatory frameworks of economic, trade, technical cooperation among the OIC Member States. OIC Secretary General requested the Islamic Parliaments, each in its national jurisdiction, to implement the above mentioned agreements (The above mentioned list in Annex No. 4).   23.       The Members of the Council commended the efforts exerted by the Secretary General such as listed  in the two complementary reports mentioned above, and asked His Excellency to continue efforts in this context, while mandating the PUIC Executive Committee to design a plan to enhance the relations existing between the PUIC and OIC and find new channels of coordination, provided the PUIC is represented by a number of Executive Committee Members, alongside the Secretary General, within the executive body of OIC and its affiliated organs.   Adoption by the Council of the two reports by the Executive Committee in its 15th and 16th meetings   24.       H.E. the President of the PUIC Council asked the participants to give their views on the two reports and the annexes of the Executive Committee 15th and 16th meetings. The Council members adopted the reports by applause.  (Document No. EXC/15-2006/REP.1/FINAL and No. EXC/16-2007/REP.1/FINAL).   Cooperation between the PUIC and the League of Arab States   25.       The Council welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two Organizations in Cairo on 12.9.2006 which included exchanging of Observer Status between them (Text of the MOU in Annex-5).   Reports of the Standing Specialized Committees   26.       HE the President of the Council asked the Standing Specialized Committees Rapporteurs to submit their reports on the meetings of the respective committees on 15 February 2007.     The Council referred the reports to the open-ended Drafting Committee, chaired by the Council Rapporteur, with the participation of the Rapporteurs of the three Standing Specialized Committees, in preparation of a unified re-drafting of the topics relevant to each committee and the draft resolutions that will be issued by the Council.   General Discussion    27.       HE the President of the Council asked the Members who so wished to deliver their Statements on the different aspects of the political, economic, cultural and social topics raised, in addition to topics relating to democracy, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law.   28.       Successively took the floor delegates from the following Member Parliaments: Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Pakistan, Yemen, and Bahrain. They focused on:   ·                    The situation in Palestinian occupied territories and the criminal acts of the Israeli occupation authorities in their attempt to destroy the Aqsa Mosque. A call is made to all Palestinian factions to overcome their divisions and unify their word, following the agreement reached in Makkah al Mukarramah, under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. ·                    The denunciation of  the double standard criteria followed by the major Powers in their  dealings with the countries seeking to acquire nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. A call was launched to make of the whole of the Middle East a region free of weapons of mass destruction. ·                    The situation of Muslim minorities in Cyprus and Western Thrace and the need to support and assist them in all fields. ·                    The call for self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir ·                    The call for the Islamic rich countries to assist the Islamic poor countries and those victims of droughts or disasters.   Second Working Session   Financial Affairs   Report by the Financial Control Committee on the Final Accounts for the fiscal year 2005:   29.       The Council adopted the report submitted by the Financial Control Committee on the Final Accounts for the fiscal year 2005 as well as all its appendixes, and absolved the Secretary General of the liability for the fiscal year 2005, in pursuance of Article 17 of the PUIC Financial Regulations.    Fiscal Year 2006   30.       The Council took note of the figures submitted by the Secretary General relating to the budget of the fiscal year 2006 which is still open until the end of February, the time when accounts are closed for the year by the PUIC internal auditor.   Fiscal Year 2007   31.       The Council adopted the PUIC draft budget for the fiscal year 2007, according to the budgets adopted in the previous years and amounting to 1127932 US Dollars, distributed into the four Chapters of the budget (Annex No. 7)    Report of the Second Meeting of the Seven Member Committee on the Emoluments of PUIC Staff   32.       Mr Rachid Mdaouer, representative of the Moroccan House of Representatives and Chairman of the second meeting of the Seven Member Committee, read the text of the report and the recommendations made by the Committee at the closure of their report.   The Secretary General replied to the questions raised during the discussion of the report by the Council members. The Council then adopted the report of the Second Meeting of the Seven Member Committee on the Emoluments of PUIC Staff, emanating from its meeting held in Tehran (Iran) on July 5th, 2006, as well as the following recommendations:   “Pursuant to the increase in the salaries and emoluments of the OIC Staff decided by the Thirty-Second Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Sana’a, on 28 – 30 June 2005, as of the first of July 2005, the Seven Member Committee recommends to the PUIC Council to approve all these above decided salaries, emoluments and allowances for the PUIC staff, without exception, effective from the date on which they have come into force at the OIC on the first of July 2005, while observing the minus 10% currently in force”. (Text of the Report of the Seven Member Committee in Annex No.6).   Organic Affairs   Draft Rules of Procedure of the Three Standing Specialized Committees:   33.       A detailed discussion was held in which several PUIC members took part. H.E. the Council President summarized it as follows:   n                  The committees’ invitation and mandate shall be conducted by the President of the Conference or the Council.   n                  The necessity of reaching the quorum of one third of the committee members to ensure validity of the meeting.   n                  The necessity of reaching the quorum of two-thirds of the attending members to issue recommendations.   n                  Observance by the Conference of the geographic rotation rule in terms of the membership of these committees which are formed on a bi-annual basis.   The PUIC Council has decided to adopt the Rules of Procedure of the Standing Specialized Committees alongside mandating the Secretary General to introduce the three afore-mentioned amendments. (Annex-8)   Closing Session   34.       The Council President announced the attendance of H.E. Basheer Edris, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Nigeria and invited H.E. to deliver his speech in which he pointed out that he is representing the Speaker of the National Assembly in Nigeria as it has been decided to take part in this Islamic parliamentary gathering and that there is the intention of filing a formal application with H.E. the Secretary General to join the PUIC membership, adding that Nigeria could not be neglected as part of the Islamic world, comprising of 140 million inhabitants mostly Muslims and for also being a resource-abounded country. He thus underpinned the momentous importance our PUIC now enjoying an appropriate position in the international community.      35.       The President gave the floor to H.E. Nazim, Member of Parliament of the Turkish Cypriot State on which the observer status has been conferred. H.E. requested that Member Parliament step up cooperation with his country to help terminate the isolation imposed on it after Greek Cypriots turned down the UN Plan and acceded to the European Union, likening their situation to the Palestinians’.   Islamic Group Coordination during the 116th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union   36.       H.E. Jassem Al Khorafi, Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly made his proposal which the Executive Committee, in its 16th Session, has approved to present to the 9th Session of the Council on the occasion of convening the 116th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Bali, Indonesia from 29 April – 4 May 2007. The proposal contained Item 4 of its Agenda reading: “Respect for peaceful coexistence of sects, religions and beliefs in the age of globalization”. H.E. requested the approval of the PUIC Council to add a paragraph to the above-mentioned resolution in the name of all Islamic parliaments, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, that textually read as follows: “Parliaments’ contribution to the call for enacting an international legislation ensuring full respect for all divine religions and religious symbols as well as the inadmissibility of abusing the freedom of expression to insult any religion, thus bringing to an end the growing phenomenon of religious xenophobia among people.” H.E. proposed that the PUIC Council mandate H.E. Tan Sri Dato Seri Di Raja Ramli bin Ngah Talib, Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives, to present this proposal on behalf of the Islamic Parliamentary Group to the Inter-Parliamentary Union in its Indonesia-held 116th Assembly. H.E. the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament announced his approval of the mandate and pledged to give it effect, which the Council met with applause.    Election of the President of the 10th Session of the Council (From the Arab Group)   37.       The Council approved the nomination put forward by the Arab Group, selecting H.E. Ahmed Ibrahim Al Taher, Speaker of the National Assembly in the Republic of the Sudan as President of the 10th PUIC Council, provided the date for holding the 17th Session of the Executive Committee under his Excellency’s Presidency is set in Khartoum in consultation with the PUIC General Secretariat. H.E. delivered a speech in which he thanked the Council for his election as President of the 10th Session and welcomed the hosting of the 17th Session of the Executive Committee in Khartoum, adequately ahead of schedule for convening the 10th Session of the Council in Cairo.    38.       The Council elected the rest of its Bureau members to its 10th Session in the following manner:   38.1     H.E. Dr. Kazem Jalali, Representative of the Iranian Shura Assembly as First Vice President of the PUIC Council President.   38.2     H.E. Mamadou Salio Baldi, Representative of the National Assembly in the Republic of Guinea as Second Vice-President of the Council President. (Nomination has been made in His Excellency’s absence by H.E. the Representative of the National Assembly of the Republic of Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group).   38.3     H.E. Dr. Al Sheikh Abdul Latif Ahmed Al Sheikh, representative of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain as Rapporteur of the Council.   39.       The representative of the People’s Assembly of Egypt H.E. Dr. Zeinab Ridhwan proposed holding the Fifth Session of the PUIC Conference in Cairo in the second half of January 2008 to be preceded by the Second Meeting of the Standing Specialized Committees for one day to be directly followed by the 18th Meeting of the Executive Committee for two days and the Tenth Session of the Council for two other days.  She promised to define the date through direct contacts with the PUIC Secretary General who will inform the other august PUIC member parliaments in due time.   The Council welcomed the afore-mentioned proposal.   Documents adopted by the Council:   40.       The President mandated H.E. the Rapporteur to present the Declaration of the Ninth PUIC Council as well as the texts of the Nineteen Resolutions. The Council adopted all of them after brief discussions and introducing some amendments therein.   41.       The Council considered the Final Report of the 9th Session which was prepared by the PUIC General Secretariat. The Council adopted the report without any remarks.   42.       The Council mandated its President to hold a press conference at the conclusion of the Session, and charged the Rapporteur with circulating the Declaration adopted by the Council to the media.   Vote of Thanks   43.       Representatives of the parliaments of Turkey (on behalf of the Asian Group), Burkina Faso (on behalf of the African Group) and Egypt (on behalf of the Arab Group) successively delivered votes of thanks to H.E. the President of the Council and the government and people of the Kingdom of Malaysia for hosting the Ninth Session of the Council and related meetings and for the warm reception and generous hospitality which had a great impact on the success of the Session. They offered felicitation through the President to the brotherly people of Malaysia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of establishing their independent state. They also expressed thanks to H.E. the Secretary-General and his assistants for the good organization of the proceedings.   44.       The President delivered a concluding speech expressing his thanks to the honorable members of the PUIC for their brotherly cooperation during the proceedings of the Session and their constructive contributions to enabling the Council to adopt its resolutions and final declaration, which confirms the success of the Union in performing its mission. He called the reciter to recite some blessed verses of the Holy Quran.   45.       The Session was concluded by recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.       ______________________________________________________________________ Reservation   H.E. the representative of the Iranian Islamic Consultative (Shura) Assembly submitted to the PUIC General Secretariat a written reservation, dated 16 February 2007 stipulating the following:  “The parliamentary delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Ninth Session of the PUIC Council, held in Malaysia, on 15-16 February 2007, expresses its reservation on any reference or document adopted by the 9th Session of the PUIC Council and related meetings which might have contained, explicitly or implicitly, recognition of the Israeli entity. It requests to record this reservation in the official documents of the afore-mentioned meetings.”