III.  ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS Other mechanisms that have been used to guarantee accountability and reparation to victims are international compensation commissions. For example, the United Nations Compensation Commission was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council. Its mandate was to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. This alternative form of justice provides a further mechanism to ensure that States that have sponsored or carried out serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law are held liable for their acts, and also enables victims to obtain reparation. Finally, another mechanism that has contributed to fulfilling the duty of States to investigate human rights violations is the creation of official commissions of inquiry with a human rights mandate. The names of these commissions, their composition, terms of reference, time frames and powers vary greatly. Although such inquiries are by definition established at the initiative of the Government authorities, they are most often a result of concerted demands by civil society and sometimes also by the international community. National commissions of inquiry are often set up to address victim-specific violations by being tasked to investigate the alleged abuses, give a detailed account of a particular incident or series of abuses, or recommend individuals for prosecution. In an effort by the State to prevent future violations or to strengthen the criminal justice system, a commission may also be given a broader mandate to report on the causes of the violation and to propose recommendations for institutional reform.132   S  ee “Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston” (A/HRC/8/3, paras. 12 ff). 132 91