Gulf states concerned about U.S. bill that allows 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday expressed concern about a bill adopted by the U.S. Congress that would allow 9/11 victims' families to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The bill, which would allow families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to take legal actions against Saudi Arabia, flagrantly contradicts the firm principles of international law, particularly the principle of equality of sovereignty among countries of the world as stated in the United Nations Charter, the GCC said in a statement.

Abdullatif bin Rashed Al-Zayani, secretary general of the GCC, said undermining such principles would inflict negative repercussion on relations between countries, including the U.S., in addition to the international economic harms that would arise from enacting such a bill.

He said that the GCC countries are gearing forward to see the U.S. not adopting this legislation which would otherwise establish a flagrant precedent in international relations as it embodies instigation of chaos, instability in world relations and dragging the world order backwards.

The bill was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday, months after the Senate approved the measure in May.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers involved in the terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, outside Washington and in Pennsylvania, were Saudi nationals.

The government of Saudi Arabia has denied responsibility and expressed strong objections to the U.S. legislation.

The White House has said that President Barak Obama would veto the bill, arguing that the legislation could harm Washington's relationship with Saudi Arabia and put U.S. officials stationed overseas in jeopardy. Endit