GENEVA - A former top U.N. humanitarian official in Iraq on Thursday called for an end to a U.N. programme exacting compensation from Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War.

Taking Iraqi oil revenues and paying companies in Kuwait is an injustice which can only fuel more violence.

Kathy Kelly Voice in the Wilderness

Hans von Sponeck, who quit as U.N. humanitarian coordinator in 2000 after sharply criticising the effects of the then economic sanctions on civilians, said Iraq's government should negotiate its reparations debt directly with claimants.

The U.N. Compensation Commission, set up by the Security Council to compensate losses using a share of Iraqi oil sales, has approved $52.1 billion in payment to individuals, companies and governments so far.

Its Governing Council is due to approve a final batch of claims at a meeting later this month.

"The UNCC has no legitimacy for one day longer, it is not a colonial master," Von Sponeck told Reuters. "Whatever happens must be bilateral; it is an issue between the government of Iraq and claimants."

Von Sponeck, who is German, was speaking outside the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva to support a handful of American protesters who began a fast to demand cancellation of all debt incurred by the regime of ousted President Saddam Hussein.

"Taking Iraqi oil revenues and paying companies in Kuwait is an injustice which can only fuel more violence," said Kathy Kelly of the U.S.-based group Voices in the Wilderness.

"The people of Iraq have suffered and endured so much, from sanctions to bombardment to occupation ... They are innocent people who haven't done anything wrong," added Kelly.

The protesters plan to take only liquids until June 30 when the UNCC's Governing Councils ends a three-day meeting.

The 15-member state body is to rule on billions of dollars of claims from Iraq's neighbours for environmental damage.

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