Setting a date for the dissolution of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti Compensation Committee

Mawazine News – The United Nations committee charged with overseeing the process of Iraq’s payment of compensation to Kuwait has completed its mandate after 30 years of its formation and paid $52.4 billion, while the Security Council in New York is scheduled to approve on February 22 the dissolution of the committee.

The committee was established in May 1991 under Resolution No. 692 of the UN Security Council, and was responsible for managing financial compensation for Iraq, which is deducted at a rate of 5% imposed on sales of oil and petroleum products from Iraq.

During its mandate, the committee decided about 2.7 million compensation requests, of which $52.4 billion was paid out of about $352 billion claimed, the last of which was on January 13, at a value of about $630 million, according to the committee’s report.

The final report confirmed that “this amount represents” the end of the commission’s mandate after more than 30 years, and while this period of time appears to be long, it is important to note that the settlement of 2.7 million applications, with a total amount estimated at $352 billion during this period, is unconstitutional. Prefixed “for this type of action”.

Mawazin.net

Iraq pays last chunk of $52.4 billion Gulf War reparations

GENEVA, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Iraq has completed payment of $52.4 billion to compensate individuals, companies and governments who proved damages due to its 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait, the United Nations reparations body said on Wednesday.

The U.N. Compensation Commission, set up by the U.N. Security Council after the seven-month occupation of the emirate and U.S.-led defeat of Saddam Hussein’s troops in the Gulf War, received a portion of proceeds from Iraqi oil sales. The rate varied over the 30 years and was most recently 3%.

In all, about 2.7 million claims, with an asserted value of $352.5 billion were lodged, but the UNCC approved payment of $52.4 billion covering 1.5 million successful claims.

The largest claim approved by the UNCC was for $14.7 billion in damages incurred by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) after departing Iraqi troops set fire to oil wells.

Payments were suspended between October 2014 and April 2018 because of the Iraqi government’s security and budgetary problems in its fight against Islamic State insurgents.

“With the final payment of compensation made on 13 January 2022, all compensation awarded by the Commission has now been paid in full,” the Geneva-based body said in a statement following a closed-door meeting of its Governing Council.

“The Government of Iraq has fulfilled its international obligations to compensate all claimants awarded compensation by the Commission for losses and damages suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s unlawful invasion of Kuwait,” it said.

Bathsheba Crocker, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, tweeted on Tuesday after talks with Qahtan Al-Janabi, Iraqi under-secretary for multilateral and legal affairs, and other diplomats ahead of Wednesday’s meeting: “We commend Iraq for completing payments for all UNCC claims, a historic achievement.”

Reuters.com

Legal advisor: The House must set a new date for the session to elect the President

Baghdad / The Obelisk: The Legal Adviser to the Legislation Department in the House of Representatives, Ghazi Faisal, published, on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, a clarification regarding reopening the candidacy for the post of President of the Republic.

And Faisal said in his blog, which was followed by the obelisk, that “House of Representatives Resolution No. 4 of 2022 regarding re-nomination for the post of President of the Republic, in which it decided to re-nominate the nomination process for the position of President of the Republic once again, relying on the provisions of the Nomination Law for the Position of President of the Republic No. 8 of 2012, and regarding it. We make the following notes:

First: Article “3/first” of the aforementioned presidential nomination law stipulates that “those who wish to be nominated and who meet the legal conditions stipulated in Article 1 of the law shall submit their written requests accompanied by official documents proving the fulfillment of those conditions with their progress.” It is clear from the aforementioned text as the overnight sun that the set date is inevitable, as it is not extendable and may not be repeated again.

Second: There is no connection but rather a schizophrenia between the nomination process and the holding of the parliament session to elect the president of the republic, even if the first paved the way for the second. If the aforementioned session could not be held due to the lack of a quorum, which is expected, and because the period specified by the constitution is organizational and not inevitable, this does not affect the nomination process. It does not deprive the candidates who meet the legal requirements really.

Third: Since the decision of the Council of Representatives mentioned above is a legislative decision, it is acceptable to challenge it before the Federal Supreme Court based on the provisions of Article (93/Third) of the Constitution and Article (4/Third) of the amended Court Law for the year 2005 and its internal system, and a request to cancel it because it is bound by provisions the law”.

The legal advisor stressed that “what is required of the House of Representatives is to set a new date for the presidential election session so that the electoral process will take place among the candidates who have met the legal requirements so that the political process in the country is not disrupted and the rest of the constitutional institutions are formed as soon as possible, so the new parliamentary session will start.”

Almasalah.com

Salih addressed the Supreme Court to hinder al-Halboosi from taking over presidency

Shafaq News/ The outgoing president of Iraq, Barham Salih, posted a correspondence to the Supreme Federal Court on the power void created by the parliament’s failure to elect a president of the republic on Monday’s session.

A source told Shafaq News Agency that Salih’s move came to counter Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi’s maneuver to take over the president’s duties under the pretext of “power vacuum by the end of Salih’s term.”

“Salih posted this correspondence to preclude al-Halboosi’s attempt to temporarily take over the duties of the president in addition to his duties as parliament speaker,” the source said.

Faceiraq.org

Finance: The economy has begun to recover as a result of the reform steps in the white paper

Earth News / The Ministry of Finance announced today, Saturday, that the Iraqi economy has begun to recover as a result of the reform steps of the White Paper.

And the ministry said in a statement received by “Earth News”, “The Minister of Finance, Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi, participated in the activities of the Bahr Al-Uloom Forum for Dialogue, which aimed to activate dialogue between the Iraqi elites and fill part of the void that the arena suffers from in its various axes, and one of its requirements is openness to various segments.” Iraq is far from partisan, sectarian and nationalist trenches.”

And she added, “The forum granted Allawi the shield of creativity and excellence and a certificate of appreciation for the distinguished efforts he made during the short period that passed since his assumption of the ministerial position,” noting that “the main goal of such intellectual activities and meaningful dialogues is to produce a movement that helps create a moderate climate for the practice of work.” political and economic.”

She indicated that “the forum witnessed the presentation of many of the pivotal axes that His Excellency the Minister touched on, the most important of which is the policy of changing the exchange rate that guarantees the revival of the Iraqi economy by supporting the productive sectors in the private sector and discussing opinions and ideas related to the current economic reality and ways to move from the current low level of productivity and income.

A high level of productivity and income, which is done by addressing the factors that led to low labor productivity in Iraq, which recorded in 2018 less than half of what it was in the seventies of the last century due to the dominance of the unproductive public sector, in addition to the decline in the tradable goods sector, and the effects The negative impact of the non-competitive exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar – especially against the exchange rates of the currencies of Iraq’s trading partners – on the agricultural and basic industries in Iraq over the past decades.

She added, “Reports of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and international organizations show that the Iraqi economy began to gradually recover with the beginning of 2021, as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund expected the growth of the Iraqi economy, as a result of the reform steps that the Iraqi government is working on, embodied in the White paper.

Earthiq.news

Al-Zayadi – The Framework Is Determined To Reduce The Price Of The Dollar

The Information / Baghdad… The representative of the State of Law coalition, Muhammad Al-Ziyadi, confirmed, on Sunday, that the coordination framework is determined to reduce the exchange rate of the dollar in the event that he participates in the political process, pointing out that reducing the price will be one of the conditions for voting on the Prime Minister for the next government.

Al-Ziyadi told Al-Maalouma, “The coordination framework rejected the rise in the dollar exchange rate against the dinar when voting on the 2021 budget, as this caused great damage to various segments of the people.”

He added, “Whoever was the reason for passing the budget at the current dollar price, today enjoys the majority in Parliament, and it is hoped that the course will be corrected by decreasing the exchange rate.”

And Al-Zayadi, “The coordination framework, and if it is part of the political process, it will set a condition when voting on the prime minister, as the candidate will not pass without obtaining a word from him to reduce the exchange rate, but by going to the opposition, then he cannot set the conditions but demand adjusting the price.

Almaalomah.me

Al-Halbousi And Al-Khanjar Alliance Announces Support For Al-Kazemi To Obtain A Second Term

Earth News / Deputy Mishaan Al-Jubouri, a leader in the “Sovereignty” coalition, revealed today, Tuesday, his coalition’s support for Mustafa Al-Kazemi to obtain a second term.

Al-Jubouri said in a tweet, followed by Earth News, “I and a number of deputies of the (Sovereignty) coalition were alongside the leader of the coalition, Khamis Al-Khanjar, when receiving Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and his office leaders.”

He added, “I can confirm that the (Sovereignty) coalition will support President Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s assumption of a second term if he is assigned by the Sadrist movement to form the new government.”

The head of the Sovereignty Alliance, Khamis Al-Khanjar, received in his office in Baghdad, yesterday, Monday, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

Earthiq.news

The Iraqi parliament will include the selection of the President of the Republic in Monday session.

Shafaq News / On Sunday, the Iraqi parliament included the agenda of its session scheduled for tomorrow, the paragraph of choosing a president of the country.
The Council’s media department published the agenda of Monday’s session, and Shafak News Agency obtained a copy of it, which witnessed the setting of the session’s date at 12 noon.

The session’s agenda also included the swearing-in of a number of new deputies.
This comes at a time when the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq issued a state order to stop the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari for the post of President of the Republic.

Legal experts considered that the Iraqi parliament’s session dedicated to electing the new president has become “suspended” as a result of the recent Federal Court decision regarding the nomination of Hoshyar Zebari.

Shafaq.com

There is no change in the dollar exchange rate, CBI affirms

Baghdad – The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq-CBI, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, confirmed that there is no change in the dollar exchange rate, indicating that monetary policy is exclusively within his jurisdiction.

Khalaf said in a statement to Al-Sabah official newspaper, which followed by The Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “The rise in oil prices led to an increase in foreign reserves, and a significant growth of foreign currency was recorded last year 2021, and the current year, as this growth is unprecedented compared to previous years.”

This growth has been achieved through CBI’s diversified investments and its management in line with international best practice monetary policy away from risk, Khalaf added.
He also revealed the imminence of granting very soft loans to all citizens in order to provide decent housing for all.

Ina.iq

A deputy directs 4 questions to Al-Kazemi regarding the exchange rate and the financial abundance achieved.

Baghdad – Mawazine News: Member of Parliament Hadi Al-Salami directed a set of questions to the caretaker Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, related to the dollar exchange rate, and the financial differences resulting from the rise in oil in global markets.

The four questions also included, according to a document published by the deputy today, Friday, and obtained by Mawazine News, an inquiry about the government’s failure to submit the supplementary budget for the financial abundance achieved in 2021, and the failure to send the 2022 budget bill on time. Ended 29/A 4

Mawazin.net