Ban Ki-Moon Report Released Monday
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090727...r-3cd7efd.html
UN urges alternatives to Iraqi war reparations to Kuwait
Iraq should mull alternative solutions to resolve the dispute over its outstanding war reparations to Kuwait, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report released here Monday.
Iraq currently pays five percent of its oil revenues in war reparations to a special UN fund for its 1991 invasion of its tiny oil-rich neighbor.
Ban took note of Baghdad's request for a cut in the percentage it pays to Kuwait and urged the UN Security Council to act to help Baghdad fulfill its outstanding obligations.
"I have noted Iraq's request for the payment percentage to be lowered, if not eliminated altogether," he said.
"In that regard, I strongly encourage Iraq and other stakeholders to actively discuss alternative solutions to the issue of outstanding compensation and debt payments, including through investments, in the mutual interest of Iraq's people and the region as a whole," he added.
Last month, Iraq's UN Ambassador Hamid al-Bayati told the Security Council that the percentage should drop from five to 2.5 percent.
Ban said Iraq had to date paid a total of 27.1 billion dollars in war reparations to Kuwait, "with an outstanding payable balance of approximately 25.2 billion dollars."
"It is important to recognize that Iraq of today is very different from Iraq prior to 2003 (when US-led forces invaded the country to oust Saddam Hussein)," the UN secretary general added in his report.
"It is my hope that the Security Council will consider this report with a view to taking appropriate decisions that would help Iraq fulfill its outstanding obligations in a timely manner," he added.
And he called on both Iraq and Kuwait to weigh "innovative steps for resolving the oustanding issues between them in a spirit of generous compromise and understanding for each other's concerns."
His long-awaited report, which reviews Iraq's obligations under relevant UN resolutions, followed a visit here last week by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who pressed for an easing of the war reparation burden.
Baghdad wants the UN Security Council to accept that it no longer poses a threat to international security, the pretext for the sanctions imposed on Saddam's regime and for the 1991 Gulf War in which his forces were evicted from Kuwait.
The resolutions require Iraq to satisfy Kuwaiti demands on reparations and the return of property, as well as demarcation of their shared border and the repatriation of the remains of prisoners of war.
Kuwait insists there should be no change in the Security Council's position until its resolutions have been fully complied with.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090727...r-3cd7efd.html
UN urges alternatives to Iraqi war reparations to Kuwait
Iraq should mull alternative solutions to resolve the dispute over its outstanding war reparations to Kuwait, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report released here Monday.
Iraq currently pays five percent of its oil revenues in war reparations to a special UN fund for its 1991 invasion of its tiny oil-rich neighbor.
Ban took note of Baghdad's request for a cut in the percentage it pays to Kuwait and urged the UN Security Council to act to help Baghdad fulfill its outstanding obligations.
"I have noted Iraq's request for the payment percentage to be lowered, if not eliminated altogether," he said.
"In that regard, I strongly encourage Iraq and other stakeholders to actively discuss alternative solutions to the issue of outstanding compensation and debt payments, including through investments, in the mutual interest of Iraq's people and the region as a whole," he added.
Last month, Iraq's UN Ambassador Hamid al-Bayati told the Security Council that the percentage should drop from five to 2.5 percent.
Ban said Iraq had to date paid a total of 27.1 billion dollars in war reparations to Kuwait, "with an outstanding payable balance of approximately 25.2 billion dollars."
"It is important to recognize that Iraq of today is very different from Iraq prior to 2003 (when US-led forces invaded the country to oust Saddam Hussein)," the UN secretary general added in his report.
"It is my hope that the Security Council will consider this report with a view to taking appropriate decisions that would help Iraq fulfill its outstanding obligations in a timely manner," he added.
And he called on both Iraq and Kuwait to weigh "innovative steps for resolving the oustanding issues between them in a spirit of generous compromise and understanding for each other's concerns."
His long-awaited report, which reviews Iraq's obligations under relevant UN resolutions, followed a visit here last week by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who pressed for an easing of the war reparation burden.
Baghdad wants the UN Security Council to accept that it no longer poses a threat to international security, the pretext for the sanctions imposed on Saddam's regime and for the 1991 Gulf War in which his forces were evicted from Kuwait.
The resolutions require Iraq to satisfy Kuwaiti demands on reparations and the return of property, as well as demarcation of their shared border and the repatriation of the remains of prisoners of war.
Kuwait insists there should be no change in the Security Council's position until its resolutions have been fully complied with.