GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION APPROVES AWARDS OF OVER $ 2.3 BILLION FOR COMPENSATION

GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION

APPROVES AWARDS OF OVER $ 2.3 BILLION FOR COMPENSATION

GENEVA, 15 March (UN Information Service) -- The thirty-ninth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission, under the Presidency of Ambassador Sverre Bergh Johansen of Norway, has today approved awards of $2,375,152,650 billion for compensation.

The Council approved sevenreports and recommendations of the panels of Commissioners concerning claims of corporations in category "E" and claims from governments in category "F" as follows:

The sixth instalment of category "E2" claims (non-Kuwaiti claims, excluding oil sector, construction/engineering and export guarantee and insurance claims) involved 94 claims filed on behalf of corporations by 25 governments.  Of these, 41 claims filed by 17 governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $13,671,106;

The seventeenth instalment of category "E3" claims (construction/engineering claims) involved 15 claims filed on behalf of corporations by nine governments.  Of these, six claims filed by six governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $5,752,255;

The eighteenth instalment of category "E3" claims involved 12 claims filed on behalf of corporations by nine governments.  Of these, five claims filed by five governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $945,216;

The twelfth instalment of category "E4" claims (Kuwaiti claims, excluding oil sector claims) involved 121 claims filed on behalf of corporations by the Government of Kuwait.  Of these, 119 claims were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $56,709,793;

The thirteenth instalment of category "E4" claims involved 132 claims filed on behalf of corporations by the Government of Kuwait.  Of these, 131 claims were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $85,458,541;

The second instalment of category "F3" claims involved 21 claims filed on behalf of Kuwaiti ministries and other government entities by the Government of Kuwait.  All 21 claims were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $2,178,134,874.

The first instalment of category "E/F" claims involved 40 claims filed on behalf of insurance companies and export credit agencies by 11 governments.  Of these, 29 claims filed by seven governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $34,480,865.

The Council discussed a progress report of the Executive Secretary on the activities of the Commission.  The report addressed the processing of claims and the payment of approved claims.  The Council also discussed the report of the Executive Secretary on the distribution of payments awarded to successful

claimants, the transparency of the distribution process, and the return of

undistributed funds.  It also discussed the issue of overlapping business loss claims filed in categories "C", "D" and "E4" by various countries in light of further information provided by the secretariat, and reached an agreement on this matter.

The delegations of Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka addressed the 15-member Governing Council at its opening plenary meeting.  The thirty-ninth session was adjourned until 2 April, when the Council will meet to continue its consideration of the provision of technical assistance to Iraq.

The Council decided to hold its next regular session from 19 to 21 June.

To date, the Commission has awarded compensation of over $34.375billion, including the awards approved in this session; over $11 billion of the amount awarded has been made available to governments and international organizations for distribution to successful claimants in all categories of claims.

Further information about the Commission, including the text of Governing Council decisions and reports and recommendations of the panels of Commissioners, can be found on the United Nations Compensation Commission Web site located at www.uncc.ch.

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