OIC summit

The OIC summit, formally the Islamic Summit Conference, is the supreme decision-making body of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The OIC was founded in 1969 in Rabat following an arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and was originally known as the Organisation of the Islamic Conference until it was renamed in 2011.

Under the OIC Charter (revised and adopted in Dakar in 2008), the summit convenes heads of state and government once every three years in the territory of a member state. Between summits, the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meets annually, and the General Secretariat handles day-to-day affairs. The summit sets the organisation's strategic direction, adopts final communiqués, and can convene in extraordinary session to address urgent crises affecting the Muslim world.

Typical summit agenda items include:

• The question of Palestine and the status of Al-Quds (Jerusalem)
• Conflicts and humanitarian crises in member states (e.g., Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan)
• Islamophobia and the protection of Muslim minorities
• Economic cooperation, trade, and development financing
• Counter-terrorism and ideological extremism

For MUN purposes, the OIC summit is occasionally simulated as a specialised regional body. Delegates should note that the OIC operates by consensus in practice rather than weighted voting, that its resolutions are politically binding declarations rather than enforceable international law, and that observer states and organisations (including Russia, Thailand, and the UN) may attend but not vote. Membership is restricted to states with a significant Muslim population that apply and are accepted; Syria's membership was suspended in 2012 and reinstated in 2023.

When citing OIC summit outputs in committee, delegates typically reference the Final Communiqué and any accompanying Declaration (e.g., the Mecca Declaration) issued at the close of the session.