OIC Summit stresses total rejection of separatist plans that undermine member countries’ sovereignty

The 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held in Banjul this weekend, underlined its total rejection of all separatist plans aimed at damaging and undermining the sovereignty of the Organization’s member countries and the security and integrity of their territories.

The Summit said in its Final Communiqué that separatist entities pose a threat to political and security stability in several regions, including the African continent, and are as dangerous as terrorist and extremist groups, given their ideological alliance and the financial, tactical and practical means at their disposal.

OIC member countries are called upon to adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach to strengthen their efforts to combat the factors that fuel the spread of extremism, terrorism and separatism, the document stressed.

The OIC Summit also expressed its support for the security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the countries of the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, and its opposition to any external interference in these States.

It also underlined Mali’s decision to opt for an approach enabling Malians to take charge of the peace operation by establishing a framework for dialogue between the Malian parties in order to achieve peace and reconciliation, which means definitively abandoning the so-called Algiers Agreement signed in 2015.