The United Nations Compensation Commission is expected to settle by current month the claims of 14.000 people affected by the Iraq-Kuwait war. reports BSS.
Executive Secretary of the l oinmission Carlos Al Jamore ■informed Secretary. Labour and Manpower, during a meeting held in Geneva recently that of the 31.000 individual claims falling under A category, cases of 14,000 will be settled by this year. The decision on the remain ing cases is expected by next March, a PID handout said.
A total of 71.222 claims were filed under five cater
gories seeking compensation from the UN Compensation Commission.
Form "A" which deals with individual compensation has the maximum 62.352 claims, the handout said. It men tfoned that out of the 63.303 persons who returned from Kuwait and Iraq in the wake of war. 22.000 have already gone back with employment.
Till last month, the commission accepted 68 out of 97 petitions of claims for seriously injured or dead and so far sanctioned 287.500 US dollars. The amount has been deposited with a bank In New York under the account of Bangladesh permanent mission. The authorities are working for proper distribution of the fund among the claimants.
The handout said despite commission's advice to deduct 1.5 per cent of the claim amount, the government. because of humanitarian ground, was not doing that Rather the government is applying separately in "F" form to get full compensation from the commission. The Labour Secretary was further told by the Compensation Commission that 11 claims under "B" category (that deals with seriously injured or dead) will be finalised by the current month.
Compensation under "C" form dealing with massive individual or business loss will be in April next year. Under this category the number of claims is 8.770.
The handout, however, mentioned that distribution of compensations under 'A' and 'C are subject to availability of the fund. Since huge sums would be needed to meet the claims under these categories. It would take some more time.
It said the government has been very sincere from the very beginning to realise the compensation. All have been asked to refrain from Issuing statements which might create confusions and misunderstanding
The handout said that news items published recently in some dallies In thia regard are baseless and travesty of truth. The govern ment has never received 17.5 million US dollars tn category A aizl another 51.5 millton .ollars in category B'. Be sides. the report of formation of task force in this regard Is also baseless, the handout added.