Istanbul (UNA) – The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) commended the role of the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) in promoting media work in the Islamic world and providing training programs for media professionals. The Council called on OIC member states to support the Union by paying their mandatory contributions to its budget and participating actively in its activities.
This came in a special resolution issued by the Union Council during its fifty-first session, held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, on June 21-22, 2025.
In its decision, the Council appreciated the support of the Federation’s headquarters country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its provision of a financial grant to the Federation in the amount of 3 million and 173 thousand US dollars. It also appreciated the role of the State of Qatar in paying all of its contributions for the past years, which amounted to (985) thousand US dollars.
The Council of Foreign Ministers called on member states to pay their mandatory contributions to the Union's budget, participate actively in its activities, and benefit from the services it provides, commending all states that regularly pay their financial contributions.
The Council commended the outcomes of the international forum organized by the Union, titled "The Media and Its Role in Fueling Hatred and Violence: The Dangers of Misinformation and Bias," in Jeddah on November 26, 2023. The forum was held in cooperation with the Muslim World League and with the participation of all official news agencies in the OIC member states, as well as a number of international media outlets and intellectual and religious institutions.
The Council noted the forum's themes, which highlighted the biased coverage of the Palestinian cause in some Western media outlets, which prevents the exposure of the Israeli occupation's violations and the Palestinian people from achieving their rights.
The Council welcomed the "Jeddah Charter for Media Responsibility" issued by the Forum, calling on media outlets in member states to benefit from the principles contained in this Charter regarding adherence to common ethical standards in journalistic work, the preservation and respect of human rights, regardless of religious, national, or ethnic identity, and refraining from broadcasting or publishing anything that would infringe upon the rights of others or violate their privacy.
The Council of Foreign Ministers commended the Union's organization of the International Media Forum, "Media and Palestinian Rights: Practical Steps to Build on Initiatives to Recognize Palestine," which was held online on June 9, 2024, in partnership with the Assistant Secretariat for Institutional Communication at the Muslim World League. The forum resulted in the announcement of 11 executive initiatives that enhance Islamic and international media support for the defense of the rights of the Palestinian people.
In its resolution, the Council urged the Union to highlight the media capabilities of member states, including by organizing a program on media cities held periodically in one of the member states' cities. This program includes media forums, training programs for media professionals, and an introduction to the tourist, historical, and cultural landmarks in these cities, in addition to providing media coverage of the major events and conferences hosted by these cities.
The Council called on the Union to strengthen its communication with non-member states, including international federations of news agencies and international media institutions, to establish media programs in areas of common interest, promote dialogue and cultural exchange, combat Islamophobia and terrorism, and highlight the role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, its agencies, and member states in these areas.
The Council commended the range of programmes, workshops and training courses held by the Union in cooperation with a group of its international partners in the field of artificial intelligence and media, for the benefit of media professionals in member states.
The Council called on the Union, in coordination with member states, to submit a comprehensive study on the status of the digital platforms of member news agencies, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and its affiliated bodies. It also called on the Union to work on creating websites for the Organization and its agencies, contribute to updating the websites of news agencies facing technical difficulties, particularly in the least developed member states, and mobilize the necessary technical and financial support to achieve this.
The Council commended the Union's contributions to media coverage of prominent OIC events, calling on the Union to enhance coordination between news agency staff and media professionals in member states to strengthen communication between them, and to work on creating a database to support joint media action. This database should be used to enhance the media visibility of the OIC, its conferences and organs, and international conferences of member states. It also called on member agencies to strengthen their cooperation with the Union's General Administration, including coordination to cover the activities of the Organization and its affiliated bodies.
The Council of Foreign Ministers commended the Union's launch of an integrated digital media platform to enhance news exchange among member states in the organization's three official languages and more than 51 other languages using artificial intelligence-powered neural machine translation technology. It also sought to intensify media coverage of the organization's activities and prominent events in Islamic countries, calling on member states and OIC agencies to take advantage of this platform and provide it with media materials.
The Council also commended the opening of an office for the Union of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Palestine and the broadcast of news around the clock directly from Ramallah.
The Council welcomed the Union's initiative to organize the largest exhibition for member states to promote tourism, culture, trade, media, and entertainment in Islamic countries and to familiarize peoples with each other.
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