Kuala Lumpur/Information Office/19 January 2017/ The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called Thursday on the government of Myanmar to commit to international law obligations and take all necessary measures to stop the violence and discrimination against the Rohingya Muslim Minority and continued attempts to deny their culture and identity.

The ministers expressed their alarm at the recent eruption of violence in northern Rakhine that resulted in the loss of innocent lives and displaced tens of thousands of Rohingya people. This came in the final communique of their meeting that took place in Malaysia.
The statement called on the government to eliminate the causes of discrimination against Muslim minorities in Rohingya from the roots and renewed the call for restoring the citizenship of the Rohingya Muslims which was revoked in the Citizenship Act of 1982.
The Meeting called upon the Government of Myanmar to take all necessary measures to restore peace and inter-communal harmony through dialogue and a comprehensive national peace and reconciliation process involving all segments of society in Myanmar. In this regard, the importance of moderation was underlined as a core value in countering extremism and terrorism in all their aspects.
OIC Foreign Ministers agreed that the Member States to continue to share the substantial costs incurred by those countries that have provided temporary shelter and protection to Rohingya refugees, in accordance with the principles of burden-sharing and shared responsibility, and in the spirit of Islamic solidarity. The also agreed to request the OIC Groups in New York, Geneva and Brussels to regularly review the evolving situation and explore sustained engagement strategies with Myanmar, the United Nations, the European Union, and other international organizations.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi chaired Qatar's delegation to the meeting.