US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2543

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 002543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2013 
TAGS: PREL, KU, IZ, UN 
SUBJECT: (C) KUWAIT SEEKS US SUPPORT AGAINST NEW PROPOSAL 
ON COMPENSATION PAYMENTS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones, reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
1. (C) At a luncheon in honor of visiting US Ambassador to 
Jordan Edward Gnehm on June 7, Kuwaiti UN Permanent 
Representative Ambassador Mohamed Abulhassan buttonholed 
Ambassador Jones regarding recent developments in the UN 
Compensation Commission in Geneva.  According to Abulhassan, 
the French and German representatives on the Commission were 
pushing for a change in procedure to require that any 
compensation payments exceeding USD 25,000 be referred to the 
UNSC in New York for approval.  Abulhassan said that Kuwait 
strongly opposed this thinly veiled attempt to tie the whole 
compensation process in knots.  The UNSC had already given 
the Commission the authority to make all compensation 
payments.  That was its job; it made no logical sense for the 
Commission to seek to return that authority to the UNSC.  He 
urged the U.S. to support Kuwait in opposing the proposal. 
The Ambassador agreed to relay this information and request 
to Washington and UNSC posts. 
 
2. (C) Comment:  After the fate of its Gulf War missing, the 
payment of Kuwait's many large private compensation claims is 
probably the second most important international issue here 
at this time.  Moreover, the GOK is still smarting from UNSC 
Resolution 1483's sharp reduction in the share of Iraqi oil 
revenues going to the UN compensation fund as well as from 
its delegation of decision authority for continuation of 
compensation payments to the UNCC in Geneva.  If Abulhassan's 
information is correct, this Franco/German proposed change in 
procedure would all but freeze major compensation payments. 
With GOK morale at a low in the wake of the cancellation of 
last week's proposed POTUS visit, adoption of this change 
would be a very bitter pill indeed for Kuwait to swallow.  We 
strongly recommend that the US support the Kuwaitis on this 
issue.  Please advise. 
 
3.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
JONES