Recalde-Vela 191 sovereignty resulted in Iraq’s international responsibility96 for violations of the laws and customs of armed conflict (jus in bello) and for an act of aggression against another state. Acting under its powers in Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the UNSC established Iraq’s liability97 and set up the UNCC, which would grant financial compensation to victims who incurred ‘any loss, damage or injury…as a [direct] result of the invasion and illegal occupation…’98 funded by the proceeds of Iraqi oil. The creation of this organ was the UNSC’s ‘first attempt to establish an international claims settlement agency against a state’.99 The UNCC was not set up as a court or a tribunal100 and served an administrative rather than judicial role. The first aspect of redress, namely finding the perpetrator of the wrongful act guilty, had, in fact, already been addressed by the UNSC before the UNCC was established. The UNCC was based on three existing models, namely ‘(1) the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunals, (2) a variety of government-sponsored compensation programs, and (3) a broad range of claims resolution facilities from other contexts’.101 These mechanisms followed the “traditional” diplomatic protection approach, which requires the State of nationality to file claims on behalf of its nationals. The acts for which compensations were due included ‘arbitrary killings, torture, enforced disappearance, and the seizure and destruction of property’102 among others. Claims were categorized into six categories (A–F), with categories A–C corresponding to claims by individuals.103 Regarding individual claims, successful claims had to be paid to the government, and the government in turn had to compensate the individuals within six months.104 Only States and international organisations were granted competence ratione personae to submit claims before the UNCC on behalf of individuals, corporations or on their own behalf.105 Therefore, when ‘seeking compensation, individuals […] rely on their state of nationality’106 which is in line with international practice on ­diplomatic protection. For this reason, stateless persons were initially unable to file claims for compensation. 4.1.2 Statelessness at the UNCC: challenges and opportunities Ensuring that everyone affected by the Gulf War could ‘have recourse to a remedy, regardless of nationality, or more importantly, non-nationality’107 was, nevertheless, a priority for the UNCC. Its model presented a response to the challenges and opportunities arising from their mandate to ensure that the stateless victims of the war could access redress, in the form of compensation. It became clear from the start that some individuals would not be able to access compensation, among which Palestinians represented the largest group. Drafters felt that the international community bore responsibility to protect their interests,108 and included 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 G Townsend, ‘The Iraq Claims Process: A Progress Report on the United Nations Compensation Commission & (and) U.S. Remedies’ (1995) 17(4) Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 973. See also UN Security Council (UNSC) Res. 674 (29th October 1990), para. 8.; UN Security Council (UNSC) Res. 686 (2nd March 1991), para. 2(b); UN Security Council (UNSC) Res. 687 (3rd April 1991), para. 16; G Townsend, ‘The Iraq Claims Process: A Progress Report on the United Nations Compensation Commission & (and) U.S. Remedies’ (1995) 17(4) Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 973. UN Security Council (UNSC) Res. 674 (29th October 1990), para. 8; However, ‘although this is not expressly spelled out it means losses arising out of Iraq’s violation of jus ad bellum. The UNCC therefore does not look at whether a loss was caused by a violation of international humanitarian law. However, it is possible that the circumstances of the invasion and occupation, that many of the claims for which compensation is awarded, such as death, torture, personal injury, mental pain and anguish, hostage-taking, and loss and damage to real and personal property, are factually based on violations of international humanitarian law’ in EC Gillard, ‘Reparation for violations of International Humanitarian Law’ (2003) 85(851) International Review of the Red Cross 529. G Townsend, ‘The Iraq Claims Process: A Progress Report on the United Nations Compensation Commission & (and) U.S. Remedies’ (1995) 17(4) Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 973. This is due to the fact that Iraq’s liability had already been determined by the UNSC. See CR Payne & PH Sand, Gulf War R ­ eparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Environmental Liability (1st, Oxford University Press, 2011); United Nations Secretary G ­ eneral, Report of the Secretary General pursuant to paragraph 19 of Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) UN. Doc. S/22559, para 20. FE McGovern, ‘Dispute System Design: The United Nations Compensation Commission’ (2009) 14 Harvard Negotiation Law Review 171. C McCarthy, Reparations and Victim Support in the International Criminal Court (1st, Cambridge University Press, 2012), at 22. C Evans, The Right to Reparation in International Law for Victims of Armed Conflict (1st, Cambridge University Press, 2012), at 141. G Townsend, ‘The Iraq Claims Process: A Progress Report on the United Nations Compensation Commission & (and) U.S. Remedies’ (1995) 17(4) Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 973; H Van Houtte, H Das & B Delmartino, ‘The United Nations Compensation Commission’ in P De Greiff (ed) The Handbook of Reparations (Oxford University Press, 2006), at 362. D Campanelli, ‘The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC): Reflections on its Judicial Character’ (2005) 4(1) The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 107. C McCarthy, Reparations and Victim Support in the International Criminal Court (1st, Cambridge University Press, 2012), at 22. C Whelton, ‘The United Nations Compensation Commission and International Claims Law: A Fresh Approach’ (1993) 26 Ottawa Law Review 607. UNCC Governing Council, S/AC.26/1991/5 (23 October 1991), at 4.