UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION RECEIVES $20 MILLION FOR COMPENSATION FUND

Press Release
IK/213

UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION RECEIVES $20 MILLION FOR COMPENSATION FUND

GENEVA, 16 January (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Compensation Commission is receiving $20 million today following the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995) and the resumption of Iraqi oil exports, the Executive Secretary of the Commission's Governing Council announced this morning.

Speaking as the Governing Council held its sixth special session today, Carlos Alzamora said that at the current pace of incoming weekly revenue, a first group of 57,000 successful individual claimants from 63 countries in categories "A" (claims for departure from Iraq or Kuwait) and "C" (claims for losses up to $100,000) will each be paid an initial amount of $2,500 as early as the end of February. The total amount of compensation to be paid to that first group at this stage amounts to $142 million.

Also during this session, the Commission's Governing Council, which is composed of the same members as the Security Council, elected Portugal as President, in the person of its Permanent Representative, Gonçalo de Santa Clara Gomes. Portugal replaces Italy, whose membership in the Council expired on 31 December 1996. The Council also elected Kenya as Vice-President, through its Permanent Representative, Esther Tolle. The other new members of the Council are Costa Rica, Japan and Sweden.

The Governing Council thanked Giuseppe Baldocci (Italy), its previous President, for his inspired leadership, as well as Agus Tarmidzi (Indonesia), the previous Vice-President. The Council also conveyed its high appreciation for the excellent work performed by Mr. Alzamora and the secretariat staff, as well as for the outstanding results achieved since he was appointed as Executive Secretary in July 1991. Mr. Alzamora is leaving the Commission at the end of this month.

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