Nouakchott Declaration
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah, all together, and do not become divided.”
We, the participants in the meeting of the 55th Session of the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC), held on 15-16 Sha‘ban 1447 H (3-4 February 2026) in Nouakchott, capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, under the chairmanship of the Mauritanian National Assembly, and upon its kind invitation;
•    Affirming our belief in the unity of the Ummah, founded upon the bonds of faith, the tolerance of Islam, and the fact that the Noble Prophet was sent only as a mercy to all mankind;
•    Mindful of the responsibilities incumbent upon us by virtue of our religion and our legal status as representatives of nearly two billion Muslims across the continents of the world, toward the Ummah and toward humanity as a whole;
•    Reaffirming our commitment to achieving the objectives of our uniting organisation, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States;
•    Fully aware of the gravity of the challenges facing the Ummah, and humanity at large, in the present era, and of the need for solidarity, concerted efforts, and the activation of the Ummah’s sources of strength to confront these challenges;
•    Deeply disturbed by the continued defiance by the Zionist entity of international and multilateral resolutions and agreements, its blatant disregard for humanitarian values, its violation of the ceasefire agreement, and its ongoing aggression against the our brothers in the Gaza Strip through killing, bombardment, arrest, displacement, invasion, demolition, destruction, obstruction of humanitarian and medical aid, and impediment of reconstruction, as well as by the persistence of grave violations in the West Bank and in Al-Quds, including the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites, incursions into homes and into premises enjoying immunity such as UNRWA headquarters, in addition to attacks targeting a number of Islamic States;
Declare, with the help of Allah, the following:
1.    Draw the attention of the Ummah, its leaders, parliamentary institutions, and living forces, as well as the attention of all forces of justice and fairness worldwide, to the grave danger posed by the continued aggressive and rogue conduct of the Zionist authorities, in blatant violation of all covenants, laws, agreements, values, and norms, and to their regrettable enjoyment of overt support from major powers that should serve as exemplars in respect for international law. This support has enabled the Zionist state to singularly record, in the present era, the longest-lasting aggression in temporal terms and the widest in geographical scope. Beyond the decades-long aggression in Palestine, Israeli acts of aggression expanded spatially, such that in 2025 alone they included violations of the sovereignty and sanctity of eight States, among them Lebanon, Qatar, Yemen, Iran, Syria, and Tunisia; they also extended to the territorial waters of non-Islamic States such as Malta and Greece, in addition to other countries previously targeted by the Zionist state, including Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, and Somalia. Thus, this state, contemptuous of all values, has set a record in contemporary aggressive practices of all forms, positioning itself as an enemy not only of Arabs or Muslims, but of the entire world.
2.    Commend the initiative of South Africa and the supporting states in instituting proceedings before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court concerning the genocide committed by the Zionist authorities in the Gaza Strip. Further commend the awakening of the human conscience worldwide, particularly in the West, as reflected in broad student and popular movements in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in deploration of Zionist aggression, and call for investing this momentum to strengthen shared human values and to build global platforms for the protection of humanitarian principles and the defence of just causes, foremost among them the central cause of the Ummah, the Palestinian cause, as it is the greatest ongoing historical injustice.
3.    Commend the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which led to the recognition of the Palestinian State by the majority of countries of the world, pursuant to the resolutions of the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine held in New York in September 2025.
4.    Note with satisfaction the recognition by a number of Western States of the State of Palestine during the Zionist aggression against Gaza, raising the proportion of States recognizing Palestine to more than 80 per cent of the world’s countries, including four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Call upon these States and the international community to exert pressure on the occupying power to halt the Judaization of Al-Quds and the alteration of its historical character, to end settlement expansion, forced displacement, incursions, and systematic arrests, and demand the lifting of all forms of blockade, the release detainees, and the enabling of the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate right to establish their independent State on their land, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
5.    Affirm solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, host country of the PUIC headquarters, and reject any external aggression against it or against any Islamic State. Call for respect for international law and for an end to double standards in dealing with States and peoples, given the instability, imbalance, disruption of the rule of law, waste of resources, and bloodshed that such practices generate.
6.    Warn against the consequences of double standards and the privileging of the logic of force over the force of logic, justice, and right. Call for a parliamentary initiative led by the PUIC, in coordination with regional and international parliamentary coalitions, aimed at establishing a new “Hilf al-Fudul” (Alliance of Virtue) as a step toward reestablishing a more just and equitable global order. (Huilf al-Fudul: A pact made in Jahiliyyah between non-Muslims in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH), which was recognised by him under Islam as it was based on virtuous human values.)
7.    Recall that the Ummah possesses moral and material sources of strength enabling it to regain the initiative and to move from a posture of reaction to one of action and influence, thereby fulfilling its rightful role in reshaping the global order and preventing its fragmentation or decline in ways that would cause further harm to the Ummah and to humanity at large, God forbid.
8.    Call for the adoption of an inclusive approach to combating extremism and violent radicalization, one that goes beyond treating symptoms to addressing root causes such as injustice, oppression, ignorance, poverty, and the absence of dialogue, through prioritizing soft power and the implementation of educational, developmental, and rights-based policies, complemented where appropriate by constructive dialogue and engagement in the best manner.
9.    Call on the General Secretariat of the PUIC and the Committee on Minorities to establish a regular mechanism to monitor the conditions of Muslim minorities in other societies and to take necessary measures, in cooperation with relevant governmental authorities, to persuade states to ensure these minorities’ civil, religious, cultural, political, and economic rights, enabling them to preserve their identity and live in peace and harmony with their host societies.
10.    Commend the PUIC’s attention to the issues of migration and migrants and call for further care to be accorded to these matters, including working on the formulation of a coordinated Islamic plan to address migration and its repercussions for Islamic States and societies.
11.    Call for broad parliamentary action to enact laws and conclude international charters and agreements criminalizing violations of religious sanctities in general and establishing clear red lines against Islamophobia.
12.    Recall that addressing Islamophobia entails a major responsibility for national parliaments and diplomatic, media, cultural, educational, and outreach institutions to respond to misconceptions about Islam and to present it accurately. This responsibility should be the subject of a general mobilization within the countries of the Ummah and beyond, particularly among Muslim communities abroad, to encourage and assist them in embodying the tolerant image of Islam in their conduct and interactions with others.
13.    Highly appreciate Mauritania’s initiative to propose the document entitled “The Dignity of Women in Islam,” which provides a foundational vision of women’s rights, in implementation of the recommendations of the 12th Conference of Muslim Women Parliamentarians held in Jakarta, as well as for its submission of a national report on the implementation of the PUIC’s recommendations, and call upon other Member Parliaments to submit regular annual reports following this model.
14.    Recall all Member Parliaments of the importance of ratifying international agreements aimed at protecting the planet, the shared home of humanity, from the risks of climate change, and urge governments to adopt firm policies and action programs to that end.
15.    Call for the adoption of a precise and clearly defined definition of “terrorism” consistent with Islamic Sharia, international legitimacy, and human rights principles, so as to avoid conflating criminal terrorist acts with the legitimate right of peoples to defend their sovereignty and dignity.
16.    Affirm that Islam laid firm foundations for human rights and beyond, through the proclamation of the principle of human dignity, and categorically reject any attempts to exploit human rights discourse to undermine the foundations of Islamic Sharia or to interfere in the internal affairs of Islamic States.
17.    Commend the National Assembly of Mauritania for hosting this session and for providing the conditions for its success, congratulate the Government and people of Mauritania on the security and stability they enjoy, by the grace of Allah, and acknowledge their past and ongoing efforts in supporting just causes, foremost among them the Palestinian cause. We further pray to Allah to grant this hospitable country and all the countries of the Ummah security and prosperity, and look forward to a world governed by peace, stability, and mutual respect.

And upon Allah rests the ultimate guidance.
Adopted in Nouakchott, on 16 Sha‘ban 1447 H / 04 February 2026