Jordan Times
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Jordan gets $18 million from UNCC
AMMAN (JT) — The government on Wednesday received $18 million in compensation from the United Nations for several Jordanian businessmen who incurred losses as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent war.Ministry of Labour Secretary General Majed Habashneh said the government is now waiting to receive a list of the approved names from the Geneva-based United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) before it distributes the compensation, starting, he expects, mid-February.
There are four categories of claims for compensation by individuals approved by the UNCC.
The United Nations has finished paying compensation to individuals falling under categories A, B and C, which respectively cover those forced to leave Kuwait [following the invasion], those killed during the war or who suffered personal injuries, and those who lost their jobs.
According to Habashneh, the government is only now following up with the UN authorities on the claims falling under Category D, which covers Jordanian businessmen who incurred losses.
The UNCC was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security Council to oversee compensation, which came from revenues from Iraqi oil sales, to victims of the Gulf War.
After and during the Gulf War, more than 300,000 Jordanians left there livelihoods in the Gulf states, many of them from Kuwait and returned to the Kingdom.