Arakan Watch: August 28, 2026: Rohingya Arakanese minority of Burma (Myanmar) welcome the newly elected Secretary General for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), His Excellency Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Rohingya people express their hopes that the new Secretary General of OIC shall look into long standing crises of Rohingya in finding a durable solution.
Mohammed Rafique, a Rohingya rights defender, said, “We are very much hopeful that the new OIC Chief will play a vital role to set up a comprehensive Consultative Body for Rohingya with Rohingya within a time frame, while Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) is no longer inclusive representative for Rohingya”.
We also hopeful that OIC will rule over all member states to treat the Rohingya humanely and to release all Rohingya detainees from their Immigration Detention Camps in order to show OIC resolution for Rohingya, he further said.
Foreign ministers from the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) elected this Mauritanian diplomat on 27th August 2026 (Thursday).
Ould Cheikh Ahmed will succeed Chad’s Hussein Ibrahim Taha, who took office in November 2021 and whose term is due to end in November 2026.
As per the charter of OIC, the secretary-general serves a five-year term that may be renewed once. So, H. E Ould Cheikh Ahmed will remain in the office of OIC from 2027 to 2032.
The position is filled by the Council of Foreign Ministers according to principles that include equitable geographical distribution, rotation and equal opportunity, while also taking into account competence, integrity and experience.##
