More than 12 years after the death of Saddam Hussein and nearly three decades after the vicious invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, ordinary Iraqis continue to pay the price for the invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
Following the rolling back of the invasion and the driving out of Iraqi forces by an international coalition led by the US in 1991, the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was set up to monitor and ensure Iraq paid reparations for the losses it inflicted on Kuwait. According to a statement from the UNCC, the latest tranche of reparation amounting to US$270 million was paid out on 23 July.
The UNCC was authorized to pay a total of $52.4 billion to individuals, corporations, government bodies and other organisations that incurred losses directly caused by the Iraq’s incursion and occupation of Kuwait. The funds for the reparations came from a levy imposed on the sale of Iraqi oil and petroleum products. However, between 2014 and 2018 Iraq halted pay-outs on account of the prevailing security situation, mainly the takeover of large swathes of the country by the so-called Islamic State.
The commission said it had so far, including Tuesday’s payment, reparated a total of $48.7 billion. The remaining $3.7 billion are related to a single claim by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for losses suffered from lost oil production and damage to oil field assets.
Except for the four-year break from 2014, Iraq has adhered to the reparation plan, despite suffering from economic and political upheavals.