United Nations Compensation Commission

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security Council with a mandate to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraqs unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The Governing Council is the organ of the Commission that sets its policy... within the framework of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. As such, it established the criteria for the compensability of claims, the rules and procedures for processing the claims, the guidelines for the administration and financing of the Compensation Fund and the procedures for the payment of compensation. The Governing Council reports regularly to the Security Council on the work of the Commission. The function of the Commissioners, who completed their work in June 2005, was to verify and evaluate claims, and in so doing, to determine whether the damages were suffered as a direct result of Iraqs invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The Commissioners assessed the value of losses suffered by claimants and recommended compensation in reports to the Governing Council. The Secretariat of the Compensation Commission is headed by the Executive Secretary who is appointed by the UN Secretary-General after consultation with the Governing Council. Since the establishment of the Commission in 1991, the staff of the Secretariat have come from approximately 60 different countries and at the height of claims processing, the Secretariat was made up of approximately 300 lawyers, accountants, loss adjusters and information technology specialists.Read More