Iraq: Compensation and Assets Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Aug. 19, 1999 |
| Report Number |
98-240 |
| Authors |
Kenneth Katzman, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
A U.N. process to compensate the victims of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait is
proceeding,
aided by revenues generated by the U.N. "oil-for-food" program in Iraq. However, the amount of
money available relative to outstanding claims suggests that the compensation process will not be
completed in the foreseeable future. On a related issue, progress to decide the disposition of frozen
Iraq assets held by U.S. banks has been hampered by differences over which claimants should have
priority. (1) A bill that gives priority to members or veterans of the U.S.
armed forces was incorporated
into the House version of the FY2000 State Department authorization bill ( H.R. 2415 ),
passed by the House July 21, 1999. This report will be updated to reflect legislative developments
on this issue. For further information on Iraq, see CRS Issue Brief IB92117, Iraq Compliance
with
Ceasefire Agreements .
1. Â This report mentions some specific compensation claims,
within and separate from the U.N. compensation
process, for illustrative purposes only. CRS has no way to independently assess the validity or value
of any
specific compensation claim.
