The Maldives strongly condemned Israeli atrocities in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza at the 2025 Conference on the Question of Jerusalem, calling for an immediate end to violence and occupation.

The conference, held in Dakar, Senegal, was jointly organised by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It was held under the theme: “Palestinian Oppression and Displacement in Jerusalem in the Shadow of the War: A Microcosm of the Situation Throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

The Maldives was represented by Ahmed Sareer, Permanent Representative to the OIC and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. In his address, Sareer expressed deep concern over the ongoing genocide, condemning Israel’s occupation as illegal and as a cause of widespread displacement, dispossession and dehumanisation.

He stressed the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire and called on the international community to act decisively to support a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian people.

The CEIRPP was established in 1975 by UN General Assembly Resolution 3376 to develop a programme enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including self-determination, national sovereignty and the right of return.

The Maldives, a member of the OIC since 1976, has remained a consistent advocate of Palestinian rights in international forums.