OIC chief Iyad Ameen Madani

Jeddah, (AB/IINA)  : Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani described the recent bill passed by the United States Congress, dubbed as the “9/11 Bill”, as ill-advised.

Madani said that in passing the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), the Congress disrupts international relations, threatens to plunge the world economy into a depression, weakens the necessary alliances that promote peace and security around the world, and compromises the war on terrorism.

He recalled the US Chief Justice John Roberts opinion in the Kiobel vs. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. (2013) case, warning of the danger of judicial interference in foreign policy action.
All it will do, as the Chief Justice acknowledged, is to cause international discord and retaliatory reciprocity by nations around the world.

The secretary general added that the U.S. plays a vital role around the world, consistent with its superpower status, to enhance peace and security. It does so by working collaboratively with many nations, maintaining a global financial system, and sharing foreign intelligence.

If the 9/11 Bill was to become law, it would remove the benefits of centuries old laws and international norms that promote the comity of nations, and plunge the world, one nation or region at a time, into chaos as each nation could pass reciprocal laws in retaliation that would weaken the protections that sovereignty and presumption against extraterritoriality legally provides to all people, of all nations. Chief Justice Roberts wisely said, “United States law governs domestically but does not rule the world.”

Madani added that for the US Congress to fall for political pandering that destabilizes the world and undermines the protections that Americans and others lawfully enjoy in a civilized world is baffling, as it is wrong.

The OIC chief expressed the hope that wisdom will prevail, and Congress would reconsider and recall this alarming Bill that threatens not only global peace and security, but also the fragile global economy.