United Nations Compensation Commission
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Compensation Commission was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council
. Its mandate is to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq
's 1990-1991 invasion and occupation of Kuwait
. These losses included claims for loss of property, deaths, loss of natural resources, damage to public health and environmental damage.
At the first meeting in August 1991, six categories of claims were set up: claims from individuals forced to flee Kuwait between the invasion and the cease fire (Category A); claims from individuals who (or whose family) suffered injuries or death as a result of the invasion (B); claims from individuals for business loses, pain and anguish, property damage etc. less than $100,000 (C); claims from individuals for business loses, pain and anguish, property damage etc. more than $100,000 (D); claims from corporations and other entities for business (including oil sector) losses (E); and governmental and international agency claims for cost of resettling and providing relief to citizens, claims for damage to government property and to the environment (F). Category E and F claims were further broken down to subcategories.
Each claim category had specific dates for initiating the claim and providing required evidence. A total of over $350 billion in claims was submitted in 2,686,131 claims. Of these claims, 1,543,619 (57%) resulted in some sort of award. The total awarded, to be paid by Iraq from oil revenues, was just over $52 billion. As of August 2007 approximately $22.5 billion of this total had been paid to claimants. The UNCC adopted a policy of paying individuals first, with the result that the remaining sum is owed entirely to government entities (including state oil companies) of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The UNCC is making payments at approximately $300 million per quarter, depending on the extent of Iraq's oil revenue.
Copies of all major decisions and major evidence in support of claims can be found at the UNCC website.
The process of assessing and awarding claims was begun during the period of Saddam Hussein
's stewardship of Iraq. However, many of the claims (especially major claims) were not settled until after a new management was in place in Iraq. Efforts by the Paris Club
(an organisation set up by the world's industrialised nations during the 1950s to restruture debt from severely indebted nations) to seek debt forgiveness in order to allow Iraq to use its oil revenues to reconstruct met with some success among wealthy nations with the very notable exceptions of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/2004_05.html) There are those who suggest that the concept of odious debt
, under which a country should not be responsible for debt incurred by despotic regime for purposes such as strengthening itself and suppressing internal dissent. (http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/2004_05.html)
and Saudi Arabia
suffered gross environmental damage at the end of the Iraqi occupation, as the retreating Iraqi forces blew up oil wells and released millions of barrels (estimates go as high as 11 million) of crude oil into the Persian Gulf
. In Kuwait the damage to the environment was largely terrestrial in the form of tarcrete and oil lakes surrounding the damaged wells. In 2001 the UNCC awarded Kuwait $108 million (the money to be taken from the Oil-for-food program) to study the effects of the environmental devastation to the desert and the coastline, and the effects of the oil fires on public health. Most of Kuwait's desert is in fact sparse shrubland and capable of sustaining sheep, goats and camels. Little damage was found to Kuwait's shoreline and fishing industry. As a result of these studies claims were prepared for several billion dollars worth of damages to the desert ecosystem resulting from the oil fires and uncontrolled releases, and from military manoeuvres by both Iraqi forces and coalition military.
In contrast, the Saudi study (funded with $109 million from the Oil-for-Food Programme
via the UNCC) found most damage to the coastline. The anti-clockwise current pattern of the Gulf forced the floating spill onto the Saudi coastline and fouled approximately 800 km (250 km as the crow flies) of almost pristine shoreline. Commercial fish stocks (shrimp and fin fish) plummeted but recovered within a few years. An extensive and very detailed study of the shoreline was conducted at 250 meter intervals for the entire affected length, from the high water mark to low water, to determine the extent of the contamination and its effect on biota. The Saudis similarly claimed several billion dollars to compensate for environmental damage.
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. Its mandate is to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's 1990-1991 invasion and occupation of Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. These losses included claims for loss of property, deaths, loss of natural resources, damage to public health and environmental damage.
At the first meeting in August 1991, six categories of claims were set up: claims from individuals forced to flee Kuwait between the invasion and the cease fire (Category A); claims from individuals who (or whose family) suffered injuries or death as a result of the invasion (B); claims from individuals for business loses, pain and anguish, property damage etc. less than $100,000 (C); claims from individuals for business loses, pain and anguish, property damage etc. more than $100,000 (D); claims from corporations and other entities for business (including oil sector) losses (E); and governmental and international agency claims for cost of resettling and providing relief to citizens, claims for damage to government property and to the environment (F). Category E and F claims were further broken down to subcategories.
Each claim category had specific dates for initiating the claim and providing required evidence. A total of over $350 billion in claims was submitted in 2,686,131 claims. Of these claims, 1,543,619 (57%) resulted in some sort of award. The total awarded, to be paid by Iraq from oil revenues, was just over $52 billion. As of August 2007 approximately $22.5 billion of this total had been paid to claimants. The UNCC adopted a policy of paying individuals first, with the result that the remaining sum is owed entirely to government entities (including state oil companies) of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The UNCC is making payments at approximately $300 million per quarter, depending on the extent of Iraq's oil revenue.
Copies of all major decisions and major evidence in support of claims can be found at the UNCC website.
The process of assessing and awarding claims was begun during the period of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's stewardship of Iraq. However, many of the claims (especially major claims) were not settled until after a new management was in place in Iraq. Efforts by the Paris Club
Paris Club
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...
(an organisation set up by the world's industrialised nations during the 1950s to restruture debt from severely indebted nations) to seek debt forgiveness in order to allow Iraq to use its oil revenues to reconstruct met with some success among wealthy nations with the very notable exceptions of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. (http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/2004_05.html) There are those who suggest that the concept of odious debt
Odious debt
In international law, odious debt is a legal theory that holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation, should not be enforceable. Such debts are, thus, considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred...
, under which a country should not be responsible for debt incurred by despotic regime for purposes such as strengthening itself and suppressing internal dissent. (http://www.jubileeiraq.org/blog/2004_05.html)
Environmental damage
KuwaitKuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
suffered gross environmental damage at the end of the Iraqi occupation, as the retreating Iraqi forces blew up oil wells and released millions of barrels (estimates go as high as 11 million) of crude oil into the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. In Kuwait the damage to the environment was largely terrestrial in the form of tarcrete and oil lakes surrounding the damaged wells. In 2001 the UNCC awarded Kuwait $108 million (the money to be taken from the Oil-for-food program) to study the effects of the environmental devastation to the desert and the coastline, and the effects of the oil fires on public health. Most of Kuwait's desert is in fact sparse shrubland and capable of sustaining sheep, goats and camels. Little damage was found to Kuwait's shoreline and fishing industry. As a result of these studies claims were prepared for several billion dollars worth of damages to the desert ecosystem resulting from the oil fires and uncontrolled releases, and from military manoeuvres by both Iraqi forces and coalition military.
In contrast, the Saudi study (funded with $109 million from the Oil-for-Food Programme
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
via the UNCC) found most damage to the coastline. The anti-clockwise current pattern of the Gulf forced the floating spill onto the Saudi coastline and fouled approximately 800 km (250 km as the crow flies) of almost pristine shoreline. Commercial fish stocks (shrimp and fin fish) plummeted but recovered within a few years. An extensive and very detailed study of the shoreline was conducted at 250 meter intervals for the entire affected length, from the high water mark to low water, to determine the extent of the contamination and its effect on biota. The Saudis similarly claimed several billion dollars to compensate for environmental damage.