OIC voices concern over Trump travel ban

The new US president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Iran and six other Muslim countries.

The OIC General Secretariat stated that the decision will further complicate the already grave challenges facing refugees.

“As a result of this ban many of those fleeing war and persecution have been adversely and unjustly affected,” the statement said.

While a Department of Homeland Security official had said earlier that the new executive order by Trump will also include people holding green cards, the White House said on Saturday that green card holders, who had left the United States and wanted to return, would have to visit a US embassy or consulate to undergo additional screening.

Such selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists and will provide further fuel to the advocates of violence and terrorism at a critical time when the OIC has been engaged with all partners, including the US, to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations, the OIC statement said.

“The OIC calls upon the US government to reconsider this blanket decision and maintain its moral obligation to provide leadership and hope at a time of great uncertainty and unrest in the world,” it added.

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