Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, has called on the member states of the OIC to formulate cultural policies that will promote pluralism and harmony between different cultural groups within nations and among nations.

Dr. Al-Othaimeen made the call in a statement delivered on his behalf by Ambassador Samir Bakr Diab, Assistant Secretary-General for Palestinian Affairs, during the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission IPHRC’s Thematic Debate on "Importance of Cultural Diversity in the promotion and protection of Human Rights" as part of the 12th Regular Session of IPHRC held in Jeddah.

The Saudi Press Agency quoted OIC Secretary-General as saying that that the cultural policies should encourage values and attitudes to embrace cultural diversity as a unifying force for creation of resilient societies.

"Towards this goal, the first and foremost action required is to make human rights education an integral part of the formal curriculum with an aim to educate our younger generation about the ethos of ‘global citizenship’," said Al-Othaimeen.

"Secondly, while devising long term national action plans, the benefits of harnessing the cultural diversity as an engine of social and economic transformation for sustainable development must be incorporated as a viable choice," he added. He therefore stressed that the OIC, which embraces 57 Muslim nations from four continents with different cultures and social customs, is committed towards protecting cultural diversity and promoting dialogue and development within the organisation and beyond.

The 12th IPHRC Session is discussing several items on its agenda including Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories; Civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in OIC Member States; Combating Islamophobia and incitement to hatred and violence; Human rights situation of Muslim minorities and communities in non-member States.