GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION HAS CONCLUDED ITS SIXTY-FIFTH SESSION

The Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission, under the presidency of Ambassador Van Meeuwen (Belgium), and the vice-presidency of Ambassador Puja (Indonesia) has today concluded its sixty-fifth session. At this session, the Council elected Ambassador Thompson (Costa Rica) as one of the vice-presidents of the Governing Council. Costa Rica replaces the Republic of the Congo, which held the vice-presidency of the Governing Council for the period 2006-2007. Indonesia currently holds the other vice-presidency.

Representatives of Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and Jordan addressed the fifteen-member Governing Council at its opening plenary meeting.

At the session, the Council considered a number of reports and information notes prepared by the secretariat on the activities of the Commission since the last session; distribution by Governments and international organisations of payments to successful claimants; the transparency of the distribution process, and the return of undistributed funds. The Council also heard a briefing from the secretariat on the status of the implementation of the Follow-up Programme for Environmental Awards, approved by the Council at its fifty-eighth session in December 2005 to monitor the technical and financial aspects of F4 environmental remediation projects.

The Council decided to hold its next regular session on 21-22 October 2008.

The next payment to successful claimants pursuant to decision 256 is scheduled to be made on 29 April 2008. There are now twenty-seven approved claims (in categories E and F), with a total outstanding balance of approximately US$29 billion, that have not been paid in full. The overall amount of compensation made available to date by the United Nations Compensation Commission is approximately US$23.4 billion.

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 website located at www.uncc.ch.