UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION PAYS OUT $ 654 MILLION

The United Nations Compensation Commission has made available today a total of
$ 654,355,008.59 to 15 Governments and 3 international organizations for distribution to 239 successful claimants. Payment is being made in respect of 3 claims in category “C” (claims of individuals for damages up to $ 100,000), 170 claims in category “D” (claims of individuals for damages above $ 100,000), 50 claims in category “E” (claims of corporations, other private legal entities and public sector enterprises) and 14 claims in category “F” (claims of Governments and international organizations).

In the present round of payment, which is being made in accordance with the Governing Council’s decision 253 (S/AC.26/Dec.253 (2005)), funds will be disbursed to claimants whose claims were approved from the forty-eighth (June 2003) to the fifty-sixth (June 2005) sessions. As a result of this payment, all such claimants awarded $ 9.5 million or less will have received the full amount of their awards.

The attached table lists the submitting entities receiving funds, and the amounts of money to be made available to each of them.

The present payment brings the overall amount of compensation made available to date by the
United Nations Compensation Commission to $ 20,054,538,907.

The first phase of payments, which commenced in June 1994, involved an initial payment of
$ 2,500 to each successful individual claimant in categories “A” (claims of individuals for departures from Kuwait or Iraq) and “C”, as well as payment of the full amount to all successful individual claimants in category “B” (claims for death or serious personal injury). In the second phase, which commenced in September 1999, payments of up to $ 100,000 were subsequently made available to approved claims in categories “A”, “C”, “D”, “E”, and “F” in two rounds comprising payment amounts of up to $ 25,000 and $ 75,000 respectively. The second phase concluded payment of the full amount to all successful claimants in categories “A” and “C”, with the exception of claimants who have not yet been located and late claims that were accepted for filing by the Governing Council at a later stage. A total of $ 8,398,200,527.70 was made available to 1,503,207 claimants in all categories under the first and second phases of payments.

In the third phase of the payments mechanism, which commenced in October 2000, each successful claimant in categories “D”, “E” and “F” received an initial amount of up to $ 5 million in accordance with decision 100 of the Governing Council of the UNCC. Subsequent rounds of payments of up to $ 10 million were made to successful claimants in these categories of claims in the order in which they have been approved. A total of $ 9,219,583,850.16 has been made available to 7,921 claimants in categories “D”, “E” and “F” under the third phase.

At the forty-eighth session (June 2003), the Governing Council adopted decision 197, establishing a temporary payment mechanism in light of the reduction in the Compensation Fund’s income, following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1483 (2003), which provides in paragraph 21 that the Fund shall receive 5 per cent of all export sales of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas from Iraq. Under this temporary payment mechanism, up to $ 200 million from the Compensation Fund was made available for the payment of successful claims on a quarterly basis following each session of the Governing Council (from the forty-eighth to the fifty-first sessions, inclusive). Successful claimants in all categories received an initial amount of $ 100,000 or the unpaid principal amount of the award, if less, with the disbursement of subsequent rounds of payments of $ 100,000 to successful claimants in all categories in the order in which they had been approved at the sessions described above, until the available funds for distribution had been exhausted. This temporary mechanism was extended by the Governing Council in its decision 227 at its fifty-second session (June-July 2004).

As a result of the completion of the review of all claims and of the higher than anticipated income into the Compensation Fund, the Governing Council adopted at the fifty-seventh session (September 2005) decision 253, which lifted the ceiling of $ 200 million established under decisions 197 and 227, and makes available for payment the entire balance in the Compensation Fund for each quarterly payment. The current payment of approximately $ 654 million represents the income of the Compensation Fund over the past three months plus the balance that has accumulated since June 2003 as a result of the $ 200 million ceiling. The magnitude of future quarterly payments will depend on actual income, which currently averages approximately $ 120 million per month.

The Governing Council monitors the distribution of payments to claimants by the relevant Governments and international organizations. Governments and international organizations are obligated to distribute funds to successful claimants expeditiously and to report to the Commission on payments made to claimants. Any funds undistributed to claimants by Governments and international organizations within twelve months of receiving payment shall be returned to the Commission. Further payments to Governments and international organizations shall be suspended where they fail to report on the distribution of funds to successful claimants or fail to return undistributed funds on time.

Further information about the Commission can be found on its website located at www.uncc.ch.

UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION
Consolidated report of payments of categories “C”, “D”, “E” and “F” claims (27 October 2005)

Submitting entity	Category C	Category D	Category E	Category F	Totals
	Amount (US$)	Number of claims	Amount (US$)	Number of claims	Amount (US$)Number of claimsAmount (US$)Number of claimsAmount (US$)Number of claims
1	Austria	-	-	94,337.00	1----94,337.001
2	Canada	-	-	1,651,133.00	3----1,651,133.003
3	France	-	-	-	-5,206,547.002--5,206,547.002
4	Germany	-	-	-	-9,166,334.002--9,166,334.002
5	Iran	-	-	-	---9,066,964.0029,066,964.002
6	Japan	-	-	-	-1,577,544.001--1,577,544.001
7	Jordan	35,790.00	1	45,870,653.89	43--7,600,000.00153,506,443.8945
8	Kuwait	-	-	344,937,541.01	114119,799,693.003744,697,428.007509,434,662.01158
9	Lebanon	-	-	133,636.69	2----133,636.692
10	Republic of Korea	-	-	-	-13,767,960.002--13,767,960.002
11	Saudi Arabia	-	-	-	---26,972,274.00426,972,274.004
12	Syrian Arab Republic	-	-	-	-2,187,616.001--2,187,616.001
13	Turkey	-	-	-	-7,500,000.001--7,500,000.001
14	United States	-	-	-	-11,791,201.004--11,791,201.004
15	Palestine	173,010.00	1	992,829.14	5----1,165,839.146
16	UNDP UAE	-	-	890,246.86	1----890,246.861
17	UNHCR Canada	-	-	206,992.00	1----206,992.001
18	UNRWA Gaza	35,278.00	1	-	-----35,278.001
	Total	244,078.00	3	394,777,369.59	170170,996,895.005088,336,666.0014654,355,008.59 237