Kuwait receives $270 million from UN as compensation for Iraq invasion

Kuwait has received another compensation payment, to the tune of US $270 million, for Iraq’s 1990 invasion of the country, said the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) on Tuesday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kuwait has received another compensation payment, to the tune of US $270 million, for Iraq’s 1990 invasion of the country, said the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) on Tuesday, a fund to which Iraq has been contributing to for more than a decade since the death of Saddam Hussein.

The UNCC was established in 1991 to process claims and pay $52.4 billion in compensation for losses and damages incurred by individuals, corporations, Governments, and international organizations as a direct result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait from Aug. 2, 1990 to March 2, 1991.

The compensation scheme uses taxes from the sale of Iraqi oil and petroleum products.

The UNCC almost halted the compensation process from 2014 to 2018 due to the emergence of the Islamic State in the country and the costly fight against the group, led by Iraqi forces and supported by the US-led coalition.

The repayment percentage increased from 0.5 percent in 2018 to 1.5 in 2019. The amount will increase to three percent at the beginning of 2020 and remain at that level until the outstanding compensation amount has been paid in full, the UNCC said in a statement.

So far, Iraq had paid $48.7 billion to Kuwait, and $3.7 billion is left to complete the process, according to the UNCC.

The payments are linked to a claim submitted by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation for its losses in oil production and damages to oilfield assets, the statement added. 

Editing by Nadia Riva