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from http://www.jubileeiraq.org/reperations.htm The date of this webpage is unclear but it seems to have been put together early in 2004. The original includes an impressive array of relevant links, not given here)
After the 1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council determined that Iraq was liable for any economic loss and damage resulting from its invasion of Kuwait. The UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) was set up to oversee compensation claims from foreign companies, governments and individuals (Iraqis are not eligible to apply). The Security Council decided in Resolution 705 (1991) that 30% of Iraq's oil revenue should be paid into a Compensation Fund for this purpose. This was reduced to 25% in Resolution 1330 (2000). Since the establishment of the UNCC, 2.6 million claims have been filed with the UNCC, and $46.25bn has been awarded to corporations, governments and individuals. $17.78bn has already been paid out of Iraqi oil revenues through the Oil-for-Food fund. $97.9bn of claims have yet to be processed by the UNCC, and Jubilee Iraq estimates that additional awards will be around $20-30bn.
Individuals
Corporations
Governments
* Total following UNCC meeting, 16-18 December, $29.88bn
Explanation of categories: A: Individuals'
who had to depart from Kuwait or Iraq between the date of Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and the date of the cease-fire,
2 March 1991.
At present, therefore, there is still an obligation on Iraq to pay $28.47bn, 250% of Iraq's entire annual income at present. By current predictions, this will rise to $48-58bn, around 500% Iraq's present annual oil revenue [1]. Only if the UN Security Council removes these reparations on Iraq through a resolution will Iraq be freed of the need to pay these enormous amounts. There are further expenses that are not included within this figure: interest on claims must be paid as well, and this figure is under constant calculation by the UNCC. In addition, Iraq must pay the costs of the UNCC. According to a November 2002 report by the Office of the Iraq Programme, $278m was allocated to pay for the "operating expenditures" of the UNCC, such as lawyers' fees. There has been international controversy over the payments that the UNCC has determined that Iraq must make, with some alleging that excessive quantities have been awarded (Iraq does not have the right to appeal against awards). For example, in June 2000, the UNCC ruled that Iraq must pay $15.9bn in damages to the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation. France and Russia, backed by China, Tunisia and Ukraine, refused to ratify this decision. Eventually, a compromise was reached whereby the claim was awarded, while in exchange a reduction of the percentage allocated for compensation, from 30% to 25%, was formalised in Security Council Resolution 1330 of 4 December 2000. The extra revenue generated by the reduction to 25% -- an estimated $275m in phase XII of oil for food -- was, according to the Security Council, "to be used for strictly humanitarian projects to address the needs of the most vulnerable groups in Iraq". It is noteworthy that this is an implicit admission that reparations and humanitarian needs compete for scarce resources. This conflict was in fact foreseen already by SCR 687 (April 1991), which stated that the level of payment by Iraq should take "into account the requirements of the people of Iraq, Iraq's payment capacity ... and the needs of the Iraqi economy". The large majority of unprocessed claims are from governments and international organisations. Claims from individuals who were forced to leave Iraq and Kuwait, or who suffered personal injuries, or who suffered the death of a close family member, were given priority by the UNCC, and all these claims have now been resolved. As a result, those individuals who have an immediate humanitarian need for financial reparations have already been awarded compensation. The newspaper 'Le Monde' has concluded that if the present rate of payment continues, Iraq would not have paid off the reparations (including interest) even by 2070. In the words of Khaldun al-Naqeeb, a political science professor at Kuwait University, the present arrangements ensure that "Iraq's economic future has been mortgaged for most of the coming century because of the hundreds of billions of dollars in claims for war reparations". [1] From 1/12/2001 to 25/11/2002, Iraq's oil income was $10.23bn.
Latest News (early 2004?) UNCC will take $600m from Iraq this year, over twice the amount requested by the UN's new humanitarian appeal. (23rd June) The UNCC governing council (which has the same membership as the UN Security Council) will rule this week on the biggest claim - $86bn filed by the Kuwait Investment Authority. The commission said it did not expect the award to exceed $5bn. Kuwait has also lodged environment-related claims of $80bn which will be assessed next year. This week's meeting will try to agree how to prioritise reparations payments. There is said to be strong support for a decision to "clean up" smaller payments, worth about $4bn, first, which would further delay payment of big awards, mostly to Kuwaiti companies and the Kuwait government. Kuwaiti officials protested that priority had been given to small claims at the outset and now that instalments were being paid on larger claims it was not fair to reverse the process. "The UNCC was not established for humanitarian purposes. [Prioritisation] would be unfair to the government of Kuwait and to the Kuwaiti people who suffered the most," said Khalid al-Mudaf, chairman of the board of Kuwait's public authority for the assessment of compensation for damages. (23rd June) New Security Council resolution reduces payment amount to 5% but commits the future Iraqi government to payment. (22nd May) Mohammad Abulhasan, Kuwait's UN ambassador, said it might discuss reducing the 25% of oil revenue that to the UNCC but will not cancel any of its claims. Joseph Sills, a New York-based spokesman for the UNCC, says the US wants to cut the rate to 10-15%. An anonymous UNCC official in Geneva, told Bloomberg that discussions are under way among Security Council members and a decision is likely by early June. (8th May) Michael Raboin, director of the UNCC, said that the unresolved reparation claims would probably be settled at about $40bn, $5bn to individuals & businesses, $35bn to governments, based on the recent pattern of awards. Awards in those cases are expected to be less than 10 percent of the asserted value, and would be paid over 10 years, according to a new payment plan the commission will discuss in coming months. Jubilee Iraq argues that all these claims, and the $26.4bn which has been settled but unpaid, should be written off, they are not the responsibility of the Iraqi people. (2nd May)
Country breakdown N.B. These are estimates of outstanding claims as of January 2003. This is now out of date, but gives an indication of country breakdown.
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