BRAMA, November 11, 2000, 3:00pm EST

German Compensation Fund for Former Forced Laborers

Next week IOM offices throughout the world will launch an information campaign to reach all potential claimants who may benefit for the new German Compensation Fund. The campaign will disseminate some 120,000 posters and 300,000 brochures in 23 languages. The material will be distributed in some 50 countries to the media, embassies, NGOs, international organizations, church groups and other associations, and via direct mail, in order to reach each and every potential claimant to be assisted by IOM.

Since end of August, IOM has been operating 19 telephone hotlines (Belgrade, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Luxembourg, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Geneva, The Hague, Helsinki, Ottawa, Paris, Pretoria, Rome, Sarajevo, Sofia, Vienna, Washington) answering individual queries and noting contact information of potential claimants. To date IOM has received over 60,000 calls, letters, email and/or faxes from potential claimants from 41 countries. Potential claimants will soon receive a claim form. The current IOM hotlines will also become helplines, for claimants who may need assistance when filling in the claim form. With these helplines IOM will provide assistance to claimants in their own country, language and time zone.

Over the last few weeks, television, radio and the print media have used an IOM Public Service Announcement (PSA) in more than 40 countries. IOM has contacted the German Foreign Ministry and Embassies abroad, NGOs, victims associations, and other organizations for help in disseminating the brochures and leaflets in countries where IOM is not present. IOM news releases and PSAs have been disseminated in more than 100 countries. IOM is designing a special Web Page to inform potential claimants.

IOM was designated by the German Government to be a partner organisation of the Federal Foundation handling claims and paying compensation to former forced and slave labourers under the Nazi regime. IOM is in charge of claims covering the so-called "rest of the world" category. This category comprises the non-Jewish victims living anywhere in the world except of Moldova, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These countries will be covered by other partner organisations, such as Reconciliation Foundations in the respective countries and the Jewish Claims Conference. The total budget for compensating the "rest of the world" cases amounts to DM540 million.

As the partner organization globally responsible for all property claims on a global basis under the German Foundation Act, IOM is in the process of drafting a specific claim form to be used by claimants to submit claims in this category.

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