GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UN COMPENSATION COMMISSION APPROVES AWARDS OF APPROXIMATELY $1.4 BILLION

GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UN COMPENSATION COMMISSION APPROVES AWARDS

OF APPROXIMATELY $1.4 BILLION

The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission, under the presidency of Ambassador Michael Steiner(Germany), has concluded its fiftieth session today and approved awards of $1,408,966,401 for compensation.  Representatives of Kuwait, Iran, Jordan, Philippines and Saudi Arabia addressed the fifteen-member Governing Council at its opening plenary meeting.

The Council approved six reports and recommendations of the panels of Commissioners concerning claims from individuals in category “D”, claims from corporations in category “E”, claims from governments in category “F”, as well as a number of Palestinian “late claims” in category “C”:

-- Part one of the nineteenth instalment of category “D” claims (individual claims for losses over $100,000) involved 323 claims filed on behalf of individuals by ten governments.  Of these, 267 claims filed by eight governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $78,725,660;

-- The tenth instalment of category “E1” claims (oil sector claims) involved eight claims filed on behalf of corporations by one Government, Kuwait.  Of these, six claims filed by the Government of Kuwait were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $76,978,482;

-- The fifteenth instalment of category “E2” claims (non-Kuwaiti claims, excluding oil sector, construction/engineering and export guarantee and insurance claims) involved 258 claims, 257 of which were filed on behalf of corporations by 24 governments, and one directly submitted corporate claim.  Of these, 74 claims filed by 16 governments and the directly submitted corporate claim were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $50,397,873;

-- The twenty-eighth instalment of category “E3” claims (non-Kuwaiti construction and engineering claims) involved 11 claims filed on behalf of corporations by five governments.  Of these, seven claims filed by five governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $38,394,921;

-- The third instalment of category “F4” claims (environmental claims) involved five claims filed by two governments.  Of these, four claims filed by two governments were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $1,148,701,011; and

-- The first instalment of Palestinian “late claims” for damages up to $100,000 (category “C” claims) involved 1,691 claims filed by the Palestinian Authority.  Of these, the Panel of Commissioners determined that 883 claims satisfied the threshold eligibility requirement for review, namely whether the claimant had a full and effective opportunity to file their claim, as set out by the Governing Council.  Of these 883 eligible claims, 852 were approved by the Council for compensation, with a total award value of $15,768,454.

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 awards.

The Council also discussed the report of the Executive Secretary on the distribution by governmentsand international organizationsof payments to successful claimants, the transparency of the distribution process, and the return of undistributed funds. 

      The Council took note of the “Report of the Committee on Administrative Matters (CAM) to the Governing Council”, approving the proposed budget of the Executive Secretary for the biennium 2004-2005.

The Council decided to hold its next regular session from 9 to 11 March 2004.

To date, the Commission has awarded compensation of approximately $48billion, including the awards approved in the fiftieth session; approximately $18 billion of the amount awarded has been made available to governments and international organizations for distribution to successful claimants in all categories of claims.

The session just concluded was the last session for the delegations of Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico and Syria, whose terms of office end on 31 December 2003.  As of 1 January 2004, the five new members of the Security Council, Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Philippines, and Romania, will be joining the Governing Council for two-year terms.

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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