Iraq compensation put at $52.5bn

Iraqi troops set fire to Kuwait's oil fields as they retreated

The United Nations has approved $52.5bn (£29.3bn) in compensation payments to Iraq's neighbours arising from its 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait.

The final figure is a fraction of the $354bn sought by countries which suffered damage from the invasion.

Iraq has called for an end to payouts from its oil revenue, seeking negotiated settlements instead.

Iraq has so far paid $19.2bn, but it is thought it could be decades before all the claims are finally met.

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), which oversaw the compensation claims, wound up its final three-day meeting on Thursday.

Over the past 12 years it has processed a total of $354bn in claims but rejected the bulk of them.

Environmental damage

Compensation was sought by individuals, corporations and governments.

Rolf Knutsson, UNCC executive director, told Reuters news agency: "I wouldn't say the claims were inflated. They reflected the impression of claimant countries of the magnitude of damage, which is a subjective matter."

Reuters said most of the outstanding payments are owed to Kuwait, which was plundered by Iraq following Saddam Hussein's invasion in August 1990.

Under a UN scheme, Iraq uses 5% of its oil revenue in compensation payments.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Hamud Bidan called for an end to the arrangement, saying Iraq wished to negotiate settlement of the claims instead.

Kuwait, however, rejected the move, insisting on "uninterrupted payments" to all the claimants.