Ambassador Muhammad Zamir is elected as new member of OIC's Human Rights Commission

Bangladesh candidate Ambassador Muhammad Zamir has been elected as a new member of OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission based in Jeddah for a tenure of three years starting in February 2018.

The election was held on the concluding day of the 44th council of foreign ministers at Abidjan, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in the secret ballot.

The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission or IPHRC is an expert body with advisory capacity established by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or OIC as one of the principal organs working independently in the area of human rights.

IPHRC has a total of 18 members and nine rotating members were elected from three geographical groups -- Arab, Asia, Africa -- and three members from each group.

In the Asian Group of 18 member states of OIC, five countries -- Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Pakistan -- earlier nominated their candidates.

In the election of these Asian countries on July 11 in Abidjan out of 18 countries, 17 took part in the elections and Turkmenistan was not present. Through secret ballot, candidates were elected from Bangladesh, Turkey and Uzbekistan for the IPHRC for next three years.

Arab and African groups also elected their candidates.

Ambassador Zamir is a former ambassador and former chief information commissioner (ministerial rank) who also served at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah.

Member states of the Asian Group in the OIC are Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Suriname, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The foreign ministry said the contours of an effective and independent human rights mechanism were envisaged in the OIC ten-year programme of action adopted by the third Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

Accordingly, the creation of IPHRC was enunciated in the new OIC charter adopted by the 11th Islamic Summit held in Senegal in 2008. The commission was formally launched with the adoption of its statute by the 38th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in Kazakhstan in 2011.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with directives of Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali campaigned for the Bangladesh candidate.