UAE calls for review of Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act passed by US Congress

Geneva: The UAE called on the US Congress to review the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) that was passed by the Congress recently.

“The law undermines the foundations of international relations,” said Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the UAE's Federal National Council (FNC), while addressing the 135th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, in the presence of 1,000 parliamentarians representing 100 countries.

The JASTA narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity. It also amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in regards to civil claims against a foreign state for injuries, death, or damage from an act of international terrorism.

Dr Al Qubaisi called for discussing human rights issues, regional conflicts and international crises as well as issuing the international parliamentary declaration on tolerance, as it is a main reference for the values of justice, openness, moderation and co-existence.

She urged the IPU to include in its communique the rejection of the JASTA, which ignores the principles of international law regarding the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity.