UN panel pays out $1.3 billion in reparations for Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

A pile of wreckage left behind in downtown Kuwait after looting and destruction by Iraqi occupation forces in 1991. UN Photo/John Isaac 26 July 2012 – The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses due to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, today made $1.3 billion available to six successful claimants. The latest round of payments brings the total amount of compensation disbursed by the Commission to $37.7 billion for more than 1.5 million successful claims of individuals, corporations, Governments and international organizations, states a news release. Successful claims are paid with funds drawn from the UN Compensation Fund, which is funded by a percentage of the proceeds generated by the export sales of Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products. The Geneva-based UNCC’s Governing Council has identified six categories of claims: four are for individuals’ claims, one for corporations and one for governments and international organizations, which also includes claims for environmental damage. The Commission was established in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security Council. It has received nearly three million claims, including from nearly 100 governments for themselves, their nationals or their corporations.