Assalamu alaykum - Azerbaijan reminded the OSCE of modern manifestations of colonialism
Assalamu alaikum, friends. At the OSCE Conference on the Human Dimension in Warsaw, the executive director of the Baku Initiative Group, Abbas Abbasov, raised the issue of the brutal colonial policies of some European states and how their traces still show up today.
Abbasov spoke at three plenary sessions where they discussed issues like racism, xenophobia, discrimination, religious intolerance, human trafficking and fundamental freedoms. He pointed out that a number of countries continue to pursue neocolonial policies and gave concrete examples to back up his words.
In his speech he reminded people of the atrocities of the Belgian colonizers in the Congo - he called the seizure and exploitation of that region one of the most tragic examples of human suffering. He also talked about how local beliefs and cultures were violently suppressed and replaced by alien norms.
Abbasov noted that the crimes in Africa still haven’t received proper appraisal from the world community, and stressed: colonialism is not just the past, it lives on in new forms today. As an example he cited France’s overseas territories - such as Kanaky (New Caledonia), Guadeloupe, Martinique and Mayotte - where indigenous people often remain second-class citizens, are excluded from decision-making and deprived of equal economic opportunities. According to the speaker, in Mayotte, where the majority are Muslims, a policy of de facto isolation is being carried out and the island is turning into a militarized territory.
In French Guiana and Réunion, he continued, economic dependence, high unemployment and environmental disasters force people to leave their homes; many end up in the hands of criminal networks that traffic people - which is essentially a modern continuation of colonial-era slavery.
The conference was attended by representatives of 57 OSCE member states, the organization’s institutions, other executive bodies, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs.
Alhamdulillah - Islam appeared in the 7th century and has had a strong influence on the history, culture and public life of many peoples. In Arabic the word “Islam” means submission to the will of Allah, and today the religion has more than a billion followers. May Allah grant us the strength to stand for justice and to remember the lessons of history.
https://islamnews.ru/2025/10/1