Consequences of the 1990 invasion
Iraq has paid reparations to Kuwait
02/09/2022, 7:45 p.m
The UN estimates the compensation that Iraq has to pay for the attack on Kuwait at almost 46 billion dollars. The sum is settled by a tax on oil products. The money goes to private individuals, companies and organizations.
After more than 30 years, Iraq has paid all war reparations to Kuwait from the 1990 Gulf War. A UN commission presented a report in Geneva according to which Iraq paid a total of 45.9 billion euros. On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invaded the neighboring emirate. The Iraqi ruler at the time, Saddam Hussein, declared Kuwait his country’s “19th province”.
Seven months later, the annexation ended after intervention by an international military coalition led by the United States. In 1991, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 692, in which compensation payments for Kuwait were determined and administered by a commission. The UN commission collected the money through a 5 percent tax on oil and other oil industry products.
The money was paid to individuals, businesses, government agencies and other organizations harmed by the Iraqi invasion. Since the Gulf War, 2.7 million compensation claims have been filed. One seventh of the amounts requested were granted to the applicants. The UN Commission’s final report said the reparations contributed to post-war “reconciliation” and “demonstrated the importance of international law.”