Factly #683 OIC voices ‘concern’, flags impact of CAA (24th December,2019)

News:The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation(OIC) has voiced concern over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the verdict in the Ayodhya case.

Facts:

About Citizenship amendment Act,2019:

• The Act amends the Citizenship Act,1955 to make illegal migrants who belong to certain religious minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.

• It also reduces the requirement of 11 years of continuous stay in the country to six years to obtain citizenship by naturalization for these communities belonging to these 3 nations.

• It also provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law.

What are the objections raised by OIC?

• The OIC has urged the Indian government to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority and the protection of their religious sites.

• It also cautioned that any action, contrary to these principles and obligations, may lead to further tensions and may have serious implications on peace and security across the region.

About OIC:

• OIC is an international organization which was established in 1969 upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco

• The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world.It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.

• It is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states.Of these,47 are Muslim Majority countries.

• It is headquartered at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The OIC also has the permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.

• The observer states of OIC are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central African Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand, Russian Federation and Turkish Cypriot State.

• India is not a member of the OIC. However,India was invited as a guest of honour at 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Minister in 2019.