# CE2004078EN.01084301.xml

| 27.3.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 78/843 |
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27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 78/843

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(2004/C 78 E/0896)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3649/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject:   Serious delays in payments by the International Organisation for Migration in Geneva relating to the German forced labour compensation programme

Subject:

| 1. | Is the Commission aware of the delays in disbursing the EUR 5 billion which was made available by the German Government and German businesses in June 2000 as a contribution to compensation payments for unpaid slave labour performed under degrading conditions during the Second World War? |
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1.

Is the Commission aware of the delays in disbursing the EUR 5 billion which was made available by the German Government and German businesses in June 2000 as a contribution to compensation payments for unpaid slave labour performed under degrading conditions during the Second World War?

| 2. | Is the Commission furthermore aware that this money is being managed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Geneva with a view to making payments of a maximum of EUR 7 700 per person, in the form of the ‘IOM/German forced labour compensation programme’? |
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2.

Is the Commission furthermore aware that this money is being managed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Geneva with a view to making payments of a maximum of EUR 7 700 per person, in the form of the ‘IOM/German forced labour compensation programme’?

| 3. | Has the Commission heard that, of the 600 000 Dutch forced labourers who worked in Germany, 15 443 have claimed compensation and that so far only 1928 have been awarded it? |
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3.

Has the Commission heard that, of the 600 000 Dutch forced labourers who worked in Germany, 15 443 have claimed compensation and that so far only 1928 have been awarded it?

| 4. | Has the Commission also heard that the reasons for this delay are that claimants are required to communicate in languages other than those they have learned themselves, that attempts to telephone the organisation lead only to a voicemail box where it is possible to leave a message, that letters are left unanswered and that documentary evidence has to be submitted which does not exist? |
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4.

Has the Commission also heard that the reasons for this delay are that claimants are required to communicate in languages other than those they have learned themselves, that attempts to telephone the organisation lead only to a voicemail box where it is possible to leave a message, that letters are left unanswered and that documentary evidence has to be submitted which does not exist?

| 5. | Does the Commission also know of similar complaints from former forced labourers living in countries other than the Netherlands concerning the poor functioning or complete breakdown of this IOM programme? |
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5.

Does the Commission also know of similar complaints from former forced labourers living in countries other than the Netherlands concerning the poor functioning or complete breakdown of this IOM programme?

| 6. | Is it a satisfactory outcome that payment of this compensation to people whose average age is 80 should be delayed for many years to come or that the compensation should not be paid at all? |
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6.

Is it a satisfactory outcome that payment of this compensation to people whose average age is 80 should be delayed for many years to come or that the compensation should not be paid at all?

| 7. | What can the Commission do to help find a quick and equitable solution to this problem, which is not confined to any one country? |
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7.

What can the Commission do to help find a quick and equitable solution to this problem, which is not confined to any one country?

Source: TV Nederland 1, ‘Netwerk’, 25 November 2003 (www.netwerk.tv).

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