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Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission

The International Bureau is serving as Registry for this Commission established pursuant to the December 12, 2000 Agreement between the Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Government of the State of Eritrea, with a mandate: "to decide through binding arbitration all claims for loss, damage or injury by one Government against the other, and by nationals (including both natural and juridical persons) of one party against the Government of the other party or entities owned or controlled by the other party that are (a) related to the conflict that was the subject of the Framework Agreement, the Modalities for its Implementation and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, and (b) result from violations of international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions, or other violations of international law."

The members of the Commission are:
Professor Dr. Hans Van Houtte (Chairman)
Mr George Aldrich (appointed by Ethiopia)
Mr John Crook (appointed by Eritrea)
Dean James Paul (appointed by Ethiopia)
Ms Lucy F. Reed (appointed by Eritrea)

Pursuant to article 5(8) of the December 12th Agreement, the deadline for submitting claims to the Commission is one year from the effective date of that agreement, i.e. 12 December 2001. Claims are to be submitted to the Commission by each of the parties on its own behalf and on behalf of its nationals, including both natural and juridical persons. The December 12th Agreement further provides that the Commission shall endeavor to complete its work within three years of the closing date for filing claims.

General information on the activities of the Commission was provided by the Chairman for inclusion in the first report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Security Council. Progress report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea: UN Doc. S/2001/608, June 19, 2001