Bahrain participates in OIC Foreign Ministers emergency meeting

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Shaikh Humood bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, participated in the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC regarding the launch of a ballistic missile by Houthi militias targeting the city of Riyadh. 

During the meeting, which was held in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today, the Ambassador stressed that the repeated attacks by the Houthi militias against the populated cities of Saudi Arabia constitute a flagrant and serious violation of UN resolutions and international covenants, and reflect the intention of these militias to spread terror and chaos among civilians. He affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s rejection of all acts of violence, extremism and terrorism. 

He stressed Bahrain's supportive stance towards the Saudi measures taken against all threats to maintain its security and stability. He also asserted the importance of the Security Council to assume its responsibilities to maintain international peace and security, particularly with regard to the implementation of the sanctions set out in Security Council resolutions 2216 (2015) on Yemen, and resolution 2231 (2015) regarding Iran. 

The meeting discussed the launch of a ballistic missile by the Houthi militias towards Riyadh last month, and the proven involvement of the Iranian regime in it, which is a flagrant violation of international conventions, especially Security Council resolution 2216 for the year 2015 on Yemen, which stipulates that all countries must take measures to prevent direct or indirect supplying, selling or transferring arms to the Houthi militias. 

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs also discussed the urgent procedures needed to put an end to those violations and calling on the Security Council to pay special attention to the issue.

The following is the text of the concluding statement of the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States regarding the launch of a ballistic missile by Houthi militias targeting the city of Riyadh: 

The meeting condemned in the strongest terms the Iranian-backed Houthi militia’s launch of an Iranian-made ballistic missile towards the city of Riyadh on December 19, 2017, describing it as a violation against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a proof of the rejection of the Iranian Houthi militias to comply with the international community and its resolutions. 

It denounced Iran's violation of the Foreign Ministers Council's resolution issued at the Mecca Conference in November 2016 and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council by continuously supplying its coup militias with weapons, especially the Iranian-made ballistic missiles. It also condemned Iran's intervention in some countries of the region, calling on it to stop its policies that promote sectarian conflicts, and to refrain from supporting and financing terrorist groups.

The meeting affirmed the support of the Member States to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the face of terrorism and those seek to undermine its security. It asserted the solidarity of the Member States with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all its steps and measures to maintain its security and stability. It also called upon all Member States to take collective action against this aggression act and those who stand behind it by supporting the perpetrators, adding that any violation of the security of the Kingdom is a prejudice to the security and cohesion of the Muslim world as a whole. 

The Meeting called upon all Member States and the international community to take serious and effective action to prevent the occurrence or repetition of such attacks in the future, and to hold accountable those have smuggled weapons or provided training or support for this coup militia. 

It reaffirmed that this violation is a grave and serious development by the Iranian coup militias, which defies the international community and threatens regional and international security. It also stressed that it is contrary to international humanitarian law to target cities and populated villages. 

The meeting reiterated its unwavering commitment to support the legitimate government led by the President of the Republic of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and emphasized the importance of efforts to reach a comprehensive political solution that eliminates all forms of external interference and puts an end to the suffering of the Yemeni people in line with the Gulf Initiative and its mechanisms, and in accordance with the outcome of the National Dialogue and Security Council resolution 2216.

It referred to paragraph (2) of the resolution issued by the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Makkah on 17 November 2016, calling for the activation of the working group comprised of the Member States of the Executive Committee to hold a meeting as soon as possible to consider practical steps to ensure that such violations are not repeated.

The meeting requested the Secretary-General to take all measures to implement this resolution and to report it to the United Nations and regional organizations as well as to prepare a report in this regard for the next ministerial meeting.