$377 million awarded by UN for damages incurred in 1990 invasion of Kuwait

A United Nations panel today approved awards of nearly $377 million in compensation to victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of Kuwait.

With today's decision, the Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission has awarded approximately $48.9 billion to successful claimants, with about $18.6 billion of that amount made available to Governments and international organizations for disbursement.

The Commission was established by the Security Council in 1991 to process claims and pay compensation for losses resulting from Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The panel received about 2.6 million claims for death, injury, loss of or damage to property, commercial claims and claims for environmental damage.

Compensation is payable from a special fund that receives a percentage of the proceeds from sales of Iraqi oil.