INDEPENDENT PERMANENT COMMISSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (IPHRC)

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INDEPENDENT PERMANENT COMMISSION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
(IPHRC)
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• The IPHRC is a nascent organization established
  in 2011. The (IPHRC) is the principal organ of
  the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
  invested with responsibilities for supporting
  member states in the promotion and protection of
  human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
•  
• The Commission held five sessions. The IPHRC
  has mainly been engaged in in-house activities
  and structural building founding appropriate
  infrastructure for a full implementation of its
  mandate including promotion and protection on
  human rights. It has completed its Rules of
  Procedure and is currently in the process of
  adopting the Guiding Principles and Mission
  Statement. 

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• Therefore, it is only natural that the IPHRC
  has not yet established special procedures and
  practices, so far, to be shared with the relevant
  UN bodies and the regional mechanisms. The IPHRC
  is in a learning process.
•  
• Nonetheless, the following information will be
  helpful in understanding the general direction
  being taken and the pillars of the organization
  being instituted by the IPHRC.

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  I- References to human rights in the basic
documents

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• The OIC Charter
• Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights
• Article 15
• The Independent Permanent Commission on Human
  Rights shall promote the civil, political, social
  and economic rights enshrined in the
  organization's covenants and
• declarations and in universally agreed human
  rights instruments, in conformity with Islamic
  values.
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• 14 -To promote and to protect human rights and
  fundamental freedoms including the rights of
  women, children, youth, elderly and people with
  special needs as well as the preservation of
  Islamic family values.

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 II-The nature of the IPHRC

• - OIC is not a religious but political
  organization
• - IPHRC is a cross-regional human rights
  organization
• - IPHRC is an advisory body with consultative
  task authorized to propose recommendations to the
  Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)
• The Commission exercises its functions in an
  independent manner and in conformity with OICs
  Charter, own Statute, universally recognized
  human rights norms and standards and with the
  added value of Islamic principles of justice and
  equality.

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III-Basic elements

• Being a cross-regional human rights mechanism,
  the Commission strives to avoid duplication while
  promoting complementarities with relevant
  organizations.
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• The Commissions objectives and mandates cover
  a wide range of activities, including the
  following

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• Advising OICs policy-and-decision-making
  bodies on all issues relating to the promotion
  and protection of human rights and fundamental
  freedoms this role is unrestricted and covers
  even those areas that may not have been mentioned
  specifically in Commissions documents.
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• Advancing human rights and fundamental
  freedoms in Member States as well as the
  fundamental rights of Muslim minorities and
  communities in non-Member States in conformity
  with the universally recognized human rights
  norms and standards and with the added value of
  Islamic principles of justice and equality.

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• Pursuing dialogue among religions and
  civilizations and promoting the true image of
  Islam.
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• Extending support to Member States and their
  national institutions in the promotion and
  protection of human rights for all, through
  measures including technical assistance, capacity
  building, counseling on domestic legislations and
  obligations under international human rights
  laws, awareness campaigns etc.

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• Reviewing OICs own human rights legislations
  and recommending ways for their fine-tuning with
  the option of drafting OICs Charter of Human
  Rights.
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• Promoting cooperative working relations with
  UN system, regional and sub-regional mechanisms
  and civil society for the pursuit of common
  objectives.
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• Participating in missions for observing
  elections in Member States.

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IV-Objectives in Summary (a holistic approach to
human rights)

• - Advancing human rights and supporting Member
  States' efforts in terms of policies aimed at
  enhancing legislation and policies in favor of
  advancing the rights of women, the young and
  those with special needs, in the economic,
  social, political and cultural fields as well as
  eliminating all forms of violence and
  discrimination.
• - Serving the interests of the Islamic Ummah,
• - Consolidating respect for the Islamic cultures
  and noble values,
• - Promoting inter-civilizational dialogue,
• - Monitoring observance of the human rights of
  Muslim Communities and minorities.

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V-Priorities in promotion and protection of human
rights

• Human Rights of Women
• Rights of the Child
• Right to Development
• Right to Education including Human Rights

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VI-IPHRC Structural Mechanisms

• Working Group on human rights of women
• Working Group on Palestine
• Working Group on the Right to Development
• Working Group on Islamophobia

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VII- The ways and means to advance human rights

• Assessment of the situation including through
  Questioner,
• Capacity Building,
• Technical cooperation,
• Advisory services,
• Awareness raising,
• Cooperation with NHRI's and NGO's,
• Cooperation and interaction with international
  and regional organizations,
• Cooperation in the elaboration of human rights
  instruments within the OIC and their refinement.

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VIII- Basic human rights references

• OIC instruments,
• Universally agreed instruments,
• In conformity with Islamic values.

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IX- Parts of the report of the secretariat on 5th
session on the IPHRC pertaining to Right to
Development and Human Rights of Women

• Human Rights of women and rights of the child
• 16- The Commission reaffirmed that the human
  rights of women are fully protected under Islamic
  law and strongly rejected the attribution to
  Islam of any violent or discriminatory practices
  impeding the rights of women.

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• 17- The Commission re-emphasized the need to
  first address the issue of the human rights of
  women on a conceptual basis, inter alia, by
  issuing thematic statements or writing short
  studies and publications that highlight the
  positive cultural practices based on Islamic
  principles and values. In this connection, it was
  affirmed that while awaiting additional responses
  by the Member States on their national
  legislative and policy framework, the Commission
  should undertake preliminary studies that would
  pave the way for a clearer conceptual
  understanding of issues at stake. Commission
  Members discussed with great concern various
  elements affecting the life and dignity of women
  and stressed the importance of addressing women
  rights from a holistic angle i.e. not just
  talking about the physical violence but also on
  how to promote their economic, social and
  cultural rights by providing education, economic
  assistance and basic medical facilities in
  particular to the rural women.

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• 18- Some Member States took the opportunity of
  the interactive dialogue with IPHRC to provide
  the Commission with further information on their
  national laws and policies with regard to the
  promotion and protection of the human rights of
  women and of the child, including contemporary
  forms of discrimination. Commission was requested
  to work and provide its views on specific issues
  discussed during the Session namely early
  marriage, honor killings, inheritance, harmful
  traditional practices like FGM, trafficking of
  persons, child exploitation, women participation
  in public life etc. to help Member States craft
  appropriate policies in these areas. The need to
  seek the views and insights of the Islamic Fiqh
  Academy on how to deal with some of the sensitive
  issues was also expressed by the Member States.
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• 19- Both the Member States and Commissioners
  dwelt on the importance of addressing the
  specific issue of OIC Member States reservations
  on international covenants (such as CEDAW and
  CRC) from a holistic and objective perspective
  but in a non-apologetic fashion. Commission was
  urged to look into this issue from a legal
  perspective with a view to providing objective
  advisory opinion on whether these reservations
  conform to Islamic / human rights principles.
  Commission was also advised to conduct these
  studies in collaboration with Islamic Fiqh
  Academy and other reputed NGOs working in this
  field to objectively analyze and clarify
  different cultural practices that are wrongly
  associated with religious teachings. IPHRC agreed
  on the pressing need to study these reservations
  in a thematic fashion from a legal perspective as
  well as to collaborate with reputed NGOs to
  promote the true, positive and enlightened
  teachings of Islam on some of the controversial
  or sensitive issues/practices.

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• 20- The Commission reiterated its call to Member
  States to expedite ratification of the Statute of
  the OIC Women Development Organization so as to
  allow for its early establishment and strengthen
  the role of OIC institutions in addressing all
  aspects of the human rights of women. The IPHRC
  further called upon Member States to implement
  the OIC Plan of Action for the Advancement of
  Women (OPAAW) and expressed its readiness to
  assist Member States in this regard.

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• 21- The Commission highlighted the need to
  enhance interaction with relevant OIC bodies,
  including IDB, the International Islamic Fiqh
  Academy (IIFA) the Statistical, Economic, Social
  Research and Training Centre for Islamic
  Countries (SESRIC) as well as the OIC General
  Secretariat, particularly the General Directorate
  for Cultural, Social and Family Affairs. It was
  also recommended that the Working Group on the
  human rights of women and of the child should
  co-organize a Workshop on the theme of rights of
  women and their status in Islam, possibly in
  collaboration with the IIFA and other relevant
  CSOs.

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• 22- The Commission recommended that the Working
  Group on the rights of women and of the child
  should elaborate detailed and result oriented
  plan of action based on recommendations and
  points identified in the report of the Fourth and
  Fifth IPHRC Session. Commission members also
  stressed the importance of funds availability for
  hiring technical experts or conducting research
  etc for these studies by the Commission.

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• Right to Development (RtD)
• 23- The Commission reiterated the need to address
  economic and social rights from the perspective
  of the Right to Development (RtD), being
  indispensable to the realization of all other
  rights. Role of IPHRC in helping Member States to
  implement the provisions of ratified human rights
  covenants and instruments in this area was also
  highlighted. In this regard Commission members
  also emphasized the importance of information and
  data collection to identify and evaluate
  challenges that prevent the implementation of RtD
  in Member States, particularly the least
  developed ones.
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• 24- In follow up to the previous discussions and
  specific CFM mandate, Commission member, Amb.
  Mostafa Alaei presented his report on the
  Negative Impacts of Economic and Financial
  Sanctions on the Full Enjoyment of Human Rights
  of People of the OIC Targeted Countries, which
  describes unilateral economic and financial
  sanctions as illegal, discriminatory and
  counter-productive to the principles of the UN
  Charter and other international human rights
  standards. Commission welcomed the comprehensive
  nature of the report. A number of additional
  recommendations were made by the Commission
  members, which were included in the report that
  was endorsed for submission to the 41st CFM in
  implementation of its Res. No. 21/40 POL. (Copy
  of the Report attached Annex2)

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• 25- The Commission expressed concern that some
  Member States were still lagging behind in the
  realization of many MDGs and identified other
  opportunities aimed at creating conditions for
  better enjoyment of the right to development like
  the voluntary services of the youth in the OIC
  Member States. The Working Group on RtD had also
  charted out a number of concrete proposals
  (enumerated in the report of the fourth IPHRC
  Session), which would continue to be followed-up
  by the Working Group.