The United Nations Compensation Commission

Source: (2006) In Pablo De Greiff, ed., The Handbook of Reparations. Oxford, New York, USA: Oxford University Press. Pp. 321-389.

“In the aftermath of the 1990-1 Gulf War, The UN Security Council determined that Iraq was liable under international law for any direct damage resulting from its unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. In order to process the claims against Iraq, the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was established. Since 1991, the UNCC has received approximately 2.6 million claims, which it has subdivided in six categories, depending on the status of the claimant, the type of loss, and the amount claimed. For certain claims, rather than assessing the exact amount of the loss, the UNCC has established fixed compensation standards. Other innovative features include such mass claims resolution techniques and methodologies as data matching, grouping, and sampling. The reparations process was funded through oil exports under the oil-for-food program. A share of originally 30 percent and later 25 percent of the proceeds was reserved for compensation. After the new war in Iraq in 2003, the oil-for-food program was terminated and the share of oil revenues dedicated to reparations was lowered to 5 percent. As of June 2005 the UNCC has decided nearly all claims.” (excerpt)