UN Sec General Ban predicts full compensation of Iraqi invasion victims by early ’15

[Stillw8n]

UN Sec General Ban predicts full compensation of Iraqi invasion victims by early ’15
UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (KUNA) ­­ Secretary General Ban Ki­moon expressed satisfaction with Iraq’s
cooperation with the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) and Baghdad’s continued payments of five
percent of its oil proceeds to compensate the victims of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990,
.predicting that full compensations will be completed by early 2015

In his six­month report to the Security Council on the matter issued Tuesday, Ban expressed “my ongoing
appreciation to the Government of Iraq, including its Committee of Financial Experts, for its continued
commitment to fulfilling its obligations and its ongoing cooperation with the Compensation Commission.” He
said the “overall amount of compensation made available to date by the Commission is approximately USD
36.4 billion, with a total outstanding balance of USD 16 billion remaining to be paid. It is estimated that this

balance will be paid in full by early 2015.” Since the beginning of the year, he noted, the Compensation
Commission has made two payments to Kuwait of more than USD one billion each ­ the first was made on
January 26 and the second on April 26. The next payment ­ close to 1.3 billion ­ is scheduled to be made on
.the 26th of this month

Ban said Iraq, through the Head of its Committee of Financial Experts, reiterated to the Head of the
Geneva­based Compensation Commission “the importance that the Government of Iraq attaches to
ensuring continued observance of the relevant United Nations resolutions, and advised that the Committee
had no plans to alter the current mechanism for payment of 5 per cent of revenue from the sale of Iraqi
petroleum and petroleum products into the Compensation Fund.” He said the average monthly income from
the Iraqi oil proceeds to the Compensation Commission for the first three months of this year was
approximately USD 352 million, and that the income for the month of April was however USD 396.3 million,
.because of Iraq’s increased oil production

The current levels of income to the Compensation Fund suggest that the Government of Iraq is in”
compliance with its obligations” under relevant Council resolutions, he concluded, adding that this will be
confirmed once the audit of the Development Fund for Iraq and the successor account to the Fund is
finalized.

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