View source for The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s declaration on human rights: Promises and pitfalls - September 28, 2020 by Turan Kayaoglu

{{Web citation
|web link=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-organization-of-islamic-cooperations-declaration-on-human-rights-promises-and-pitfalls/
|title=The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s declaration on human rights: Promises and pitfalls
|author=Turan Kayaoglu
|source=Brookings
|date=September 28, 2020
|wmdsays=Brookings goes through and analyses the changes introduced to the replacement for the Cairo Declartion in the 2020 "OIC Declaration on Human Rights".
|extract=The ODHR marks an improvement from the 1990 Cairo Declaration as it aligns more closely with the UDHR, and offers a contemporary formulation of Muslim state positions on human rights. Though some may fear that the revised instrument is simply its predecessor rebranded, this deflects attention away from the OIC’s great progress. Indeed, the revision of the ODHR demonstrates the organization’s engagement with international human rights, responsiveness to criticism, and its willingness to move away from rejecting the UDHR or co-opting Sharia to limit basic freedoms.

Moving forward, if the OIC and international community seek to further human rights in the Muslim world, they should focus on implementation, diplomacy, and involving civil society. Regarding implementation, the OIC should continue to refine its human rights vision and, more importantly, move to implement basic freedoms with binding treaties and monitoring. It should also help member states build their human rights capacity. On the part of the international community, it can and should collaborate with member states, and their NHRIs more specifically, to realize ODHR principles that already align with those of the UDHR. On areas of divergence, the U.N., Western governments, and human rights NGOs should engage in diplomacy and dialogue with the OIC. Carrying out tactful discourse will be of the utmost importance. If the international community attacks the ODHR though caricaturing, belittling, and shaming, this will empower OIC conservatives at the expense of moderates. Finally, CSOs must be brought to the table. Indeed, the OIC should engage with CSOs, NGOs, and unions in member states if it wants to increase efficacy. And though civil society was excluded from the Cairo Declaration’s revision process, its involvement is key to guarantee that the ODHR has visibility, legitimacy, and impact.
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