UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION PAYS OUT $582,227,464.04

Press Release
IK/284

UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION PAYS OUT $582,227,464.04

GENEVA, 18 November (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Compensation Commission has today made available, in the second phase of payments, a total of $582,227,464.04 to 41 governments and seven offices of three international organizations for distribution to 152,815 successful claimants. That amount includes $152,722,485.00 for 61,815 claims in category "A" (claims of individuals for departure from Kuwait or Iraq), $422,472,892.04 for 90,712 claims in category "C" (claims of individuals for damages up to $100,000), and $7,032,087.00 for 288 claims in category "E" (claims of corporations, other private legal entities and public sector enterprises).

A table listing the governments and the international organizations receiving funds and the amounts of money to be made available to them is available on the Commission's Web site at http://www.uncc.ch.

The first phase of payments involved an initial payment of $2,500 to each successful individual claimant in categories "A" and "C", as well as payment of the full amount to all successful claimants in category "B" (claims for death or serious personal injury). The final payments began on 8 July 1999, bringing the amounts made available for compensation in the first phase of payments to a total of $3,153,203,114.60 to 1,457,900 successful individual claimants in categories "A", "B" and "C".

In respect of the second phase of payments, the United Nations Compensation Commission Governing Council in decision 73 determined that priority of payment will continue to be provided to claimants in categories "A" and "C", while also providing meaningful compensation to claimants in categories "D" (claims of individuals for damages above $100,000), "E" and "F" (claims of governments and international organizations). The Governing Council decided that transfers shall be made to approved claims in all categories when there are funds in the Compensation Fund sufficient to make a payment of $25,000 (or the unpaid principal amount of the award if less) in respect of each approved claim. Once that amount has been paid on all awards of claims in categories "A" and "C" and all approved claims in categories "D", "E" and "F", the amount for further payments on all claims shall increase to $75,000 (or the unpaid principal amount of the award if less). On 23 September 1999, the Commission commenced the second phase of payments by making available $481,224,655.70 to 73 governments and nine offices of three international organizations for distribution to 167,730 successful claimants in categories "A", "C", "E" and "F". On 14 October 1999, the Commission made available $11,800,599.38 to 21 governments and two international organizations for distribution to 687 successful individual claimants in category "D".

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Funds to pay the awards of compensation are drawn from the United Nations Compensation Fund, which receives 30 per cent of the revenue generated from the export of Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products. Funds are made available in accordance with the "oil-for-food" mechanism established by Security Council resolution 986 (1995) and extended by Security Council resolutions 1111 (1997), 1143 (1997), 1153 (1998), 1210 (1998) and 1242 (1999).

The present payment brings the overall amount of compensation made available to date by the United Nations Compensation Commission to $4,277,162,288.20.

Further information about the Commission can also be found on the Commission's Web site.

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