Strengthening the Compliance of the OIC Member States
to International Standards
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SMIIC’s work on metrology, in addition to its standardization program. Besides these programs, the
SMIIC also has an accreditation committee. It aims to carry out work with the objective of establishing
an accreditation scheme in OIC member states.
The general picture that emerges of the SMIIC’s work to date is that it is a potentially useful initiative for
OIC member states, in particular as it is committed to working towards broader international
harmonization goals. However, it is still a young organization, and progress to date has been limited in
areas other than Halal food standards. A review of the SMIIC’s documentation suggests that the body is
still establishing its work program, and identifying areas of concrete overlapping interest of member
states. As that work proceeds, it is to be hoped that the development of internationally harmonized
quality infrastructure will remain a cornerstone of the organization’s work, both through
standardization and otherwise. OIC member states will be able to leverage the SMIIC as a forum for
discussion and exchange of views and experiences on issues of common interest. It could form part of an
array of regional initiatives countries can leverage in their efforts to upgrade quality infrastructure,
including through international harmonization and mutual recognition of conformity assessments.
4 ANALYSIS OF OIC MEMBER STATES’ PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
Numerous international bodies are active in the area of standards. Three areas stand out as providing a
categorization of efforts in this regard: standardization, metrology, and accreditation. This section will
present background information on the major international bodies active in these areas, and
characterize the extent of OIC member states’ participation in them.
4.1 Standardization
International standards bodies are primarily responsible for standardization at the international level.
Some of them are general in extent, in the sense that they deal with multiple sectors of economic activity.
ISO is the most obvious and important example. Others, by contrast, have a particular focus, such as
electrical products (IEC) or food safety (the Codex). All international standardization bodies have in
common that they issue norms that can then be adopted by national standards bodies. They do not
directly make national standards, except in two limited cases. One case is that of certain regional bodies
like CEN for the EU: issuance of a CEN European Standard requires national authorities to withdraw
conflicting standards, and issue the CEN standard as a national norm. The second case, of more practical
importance to OIC member states, is when a country’s own legislation provides for the use of
international standards in cases where there is no applicable domestic standard, or as an alternative to
domestic standards. Such approaches are used in numerous countries, particularly those where the