The General Secretariat is the Third Body of the OIC and the Organization's Executive organ. It was established by the First Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Muharram 1390H (February 1970).
It carries out duties entrusted to it by the Conference under the Charter, the Rules and Regulations of the Organization and as instructed within the framework of action plans adopted by the Conference and the Secretary General. It assists subsidiary organs and specialized bodies in carrying out their tasks and it coordinates their programmes. It supervises the implementation of resolutions and recommendations of the Summits and the Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers.
The Secretary General:
The General Secretariat is headed by a Secretary General appointed by the Foreign Ministers Conference for a period of four years renewable once only. He is assisted by four Assistant Secretaries General, who are also elected.
As the highest authority of the General Secretariat and subsidiary organs, the Secretary General is responsible to the Conference for their work and submits reports to the Conference on the execution of his duties.
In the exercise of his duties, the Secretary General is assisted by Assistant Secretaries General, officials and experts.
The personalities having been elected OIC Secretaries General since the establishment of the Organization are the following:
1. H.R.H. Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia) 1971-1973
2. H.E. Hassan Al-Touhami (Egypt) 1974-1975
3. H.E. Dr. Amadou Karim Gaye (Senegal) 1975-1979
4. H.E. Mr. Habib Chatty (Tunisia) 1979-1984
5. H.E. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada (Pakistan) 1985-1988
6. H.E. Dr. Hamid Algabid (Niger) 1989-1996
7. H.E. Dr. Azeddine Laraki (Morocco) 1997-2000
8. H.E. Dr. Abdelouahed BELKEZIZ (Morocco) 2001-2004
9. H.E.Prof. Dr. EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU (Turkey) 2005
The tasks of the General Secretariat are divided among general departments headed each by an Assistant Secretary General, who is responsible to the Secretary General for the functioning of his department.
COORDINATION AMONG VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS
The Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs is in charge of the following departments:
1. Department of Political Affairs
2. Department for Arab Affairs
3. Department for Africa Affairs
4. Department for Asia Affairs.
The Assistant Secretary General in charge of Information and Cultural and Social Affairs coordinates between the work of the following two departments:
1. Department of Information.
2. Department of Cultural and Social Affairs.
3. The Assistant Secretary General in charge of Economic Affairs coordinates the work of the Department of Economic Affairs.
4. The Assistant Secretary General in charge of Science and Technology, coordinates the work of the Department of Science and Technology.
5. The Director of Coordination with Palestine (rank of Assistant Secretary General) coordinates the work of Palestine and Al-Quds.
6. The High Commissioner for the Boycott of Israel (rank of Assistant Secretary General) coordinates the work of the Boycott of Israel Bureau. He also supervises the Da'wa Section.
The under mentioned departments and sections are coordinated by the Office of the Secretary General:
1. Department of Administration and Finance
2. Department of Legal Affairs
3. Department of Muslim Minorities
4. Protocol and Public Relations
5. Department of Conferences
6. Department of Computerization
7. General Services Section.
1. The Permanent Observer Mission of the OIC to the UN in New York.
2. The Permanent Observer Mission of the OIC to the UN in Geneva.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS
They can be summed up as follows:
1. THE SECRETARY GENERAL’S CABINET
* Coordination of conferences and meetings of the Organization;
* Follow-up and coordination of the work of the general departments;
* Follow up of activities of non-governmental organizations;
* All work of the Office of the Secretary General.
2. DEPARTMENT OF AL-QUDS AL-SHARIF AND PALESTINE
* To draw up plans, undertake political, economic, social, military and information studies and programs designed:
* To support the struggle of the Palestinian people for their legitimate rights;
* To protect the holy places against desecration by the Zionist enemy:
* To prevent and check Jewish immigration to Palestine and to counter all forms of Zionist action.
* To lead information campaigns in conjunction with information organs of Islamic countries;
* To help the OIC play an effective role during meetings dealing with the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and Palestine.
* To follow up the implementation of decisions relating thereto.
3. BUREAU FOR ISLAMIC BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL
It coordinates the efforts of Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in boycotting Israel.
4. DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS
* To harmonize and coordinate political action among Member States on the international, inter-regional levels in order to adopt unified Islamic political positions;
* To follow-up the implementation of decisions taken in this respect
5. DEPARTMENT OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES AND MINORITIES
* To collect information data and statistics on Muslim communities in non-Islamic countries;
* To promote contact with them;
* To look after their interests while observing the sovereignty of the States in which they live.
6. DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
It deals with legal matters and provides legal counsel relating to the work of the General Secretariat, its organs and institutions.
It examines international draft treaties to which Member States adhere or are concerned. It prepares legal texts of conventions and treaties to be concluded within the Organization and takes legal steps for their signing, ratification, adherence, deposit, registration and publicizing.
7. DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
* To draw up plans and undertake development studies and programmes designed
* To foster economic, technical and trade cooperation in priority fields as defined by the Islamic Conference
* To speed up the economic progress of OIC Member States through the development of their economic and human possibilities and potentialities and the protection of their natural resources in cooperation with banks, organs and other institutions.
8. DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
* To promote the development of Science and Technology in the Islamic World;
* To ensure the implementation of the decisions adopted by the Islamic Conference on inter-Islamic cooperation in the field of science and technology;
* To follow up the activities of the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) and of the Subsidiary Organs.
9. INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
* To keep the public informed about the activities of the General Secretariat and its organs and institutions.
* To coordinate the activities of news media of Member States with those of the General Secretariat and the inter-Islamic information organs
* To disseminate information on the Islamic Ummah, its cultural heritage, its achievements and position;
* To work to bring OIC States and peoples closer to each other.
10. CULTURAL AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
* To promote cooperation among Member States in the cultural and sports fields through:
* The organization of meetings, training courses, competitions and seminars for their nationals;
* The support of and coordination among centers and other institutions clearly involved in cultural and sports activities;
* The creation of an appropriate cultural framework;
* The encouragement of studies and publications on Islam, Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
11. ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT
It draws up the administrative and financial draft Regulations of the General Secretariat and its subsidiary organs, deals with the personnel matters, prepares and executes the budgets, manages the accounts and holds the ledgers of the General Secretariat.
12. CONFERENCE DEPARTMENT
It plans, coordinates and makes all arrangements relating to the holding of OIC conferences and meetings and provides Secretarial support to the Departments of the General Secretariat.
13. PROTOCOL AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
It deals with protocol matters, and handles contacts concerning privileges and immunities of the OIC. It is also in charge of public relations.
14. COMPUTER DEPARTMENT
The Computer Department was established in line with Resolution 1/25-AF adopted at the 25th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Doha, State of Qatar, on 15-17 March 1998. Its main objective is to promote and facilitate the use of information technology at the General Secretariat and to provide it with information processing services with a view to increasing efficiency and productivity of the Departments. It is also responsible for planning, designing, managing and maintaining the infrastructure of information, communication, local area network, OIC website, electronic archiving, and security systems.
15. DA'WA SECTION
It aims to rationalize and coordinate the various activities of official and public organizations working in the domain of the Da'wa in Member States and elsewhere, to avoid duplication or overlapping in their action.
16. GENERAL SERVICE UNIT
This Unit is responsible for the centralization of incoming and outgoing correspondence. It also ensures the liaison between the Secretary General's office and the Departments.
EXTERNAL OFFICES
NEW YORK AND GENEVA OFFICES
The Permanent Observer Missions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the U.N. in New York and Geneva are entrusted with:
* Following all matters of interest to the Islamic Conference at the United Nations;
* Coordinating the diplomacy of OIC Member States at the UN;
* Maintaining close contacts with the UN Secretariat;
* Creating, maintaining and strengthening working relations with the UN specialized bodies and institutions as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
* Creating, maintaining and strengthening contacts with Member States of the UN.