Ban satisfied with Iraq's cooperation

New York, Dec 20 (IANS/WAM) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his satisfaction that Iraq continues to deposit five percent of its oil revenues to the Compensation Fund, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to pay the victims of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

"I would like to express my ongoing appreciation to the government of Iraq and the Iraq Committee of Financial Experts (COFE) for their continued cooperation with the Compensation Commission," Ban told the Security Council in his six-month report Thursday.

"I am satisfied that the government of Iraq remains committed to complying with its obligations" under those resolutions, he added.

Iraq is required to deposit five percent of the proceeds from export sales of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas to the fund.

The Council decided in Resolution 687 of 1991 to create a fund to pay compensation for claims by governments, corporations or individuals who incurred direct losses, damage or injuries, as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and to establish a commission to administer the fund.

Ban said the average monthly income to the Compensation Fund for the year to date is approximately $366.6 million, with quarterly payments of compensation awards continuing to average in excess of one billion dollars.

He noted that since his last report to the Council last June, the Compensation Commission has made two payments to Kuwait totalling some $2.3 billion, the first in July and the second in October.

He said the total amount of compensation paid to date by the Commission is $43.5 billion, leaving about $8.9 billion outstanding to the last remaining claim to Kuwait.

"Based on current levels of income to the fund and recent projections, the commission remains on track to pay the outstanding balance in 2015," Ban said.

--IANS/WAM

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