After waiting for nearly 15 years, 8,615 Indians who fled Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War are going to get compensation.
In the last one decade, compensation claims of 1,53,125 Indians who fled Kuwait and Iraq were tossed between the United Nations Compensation Commission and the Special Kuwait Cell of India's Ministry of External Affairs.
The war, which resulted in the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq in 1991, had forced many Indians to return from Kuwait, Iraq and other Gulf countries.
Following this, the Indian government set up a Special Kuwait Cell under the Ministry of External Affairs.
The cell, headed by a joint secretary, has been coordinating operations with the UNCC to facilitate compensation for the losses suffered by Indian citizens, business establishments and organisations.
According to the officials at the Special Kuwait Cell, UNCC has approved payment of compensation to eligible claimants. The ministry has now approved and published a list containing 8,615 Indians who can claim money from UNCC.
What should the claimants do now?
- Persons whose name has been approved should write to Director, Special Kuwait Cell, Ministry of External Affairs, IInd Floor, ISIL Building, 9 Bhagwandas Road, New Delhi-110001, mentioning their present address and enclosing photocopy of the first four pages of their passport.
- The envelope and the letter should bear the notation "UNTRACED CLAIMANTS". On proper identification, the detailed prescribed formalities will be communicated to them and on completion thereof, the disbursement of their approved claims will be processed.
But a Special Kuwait Cell officer said that the applicants whose claims were found successful by the UNCC were individually intimated by the ministry as well as by the four designated banks.
However a number of successful claimants did not contact the ministry or the designated bank for completing the stipulated formalities for disbursement of the approved claim amounts to them and consequently the amounts had been returned to UNCC.
UNCC was established in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security Council to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damages suffered as a direct result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
Since 1991, UNCC has received approximately 2.6 million compensation claims in excess of $ 300 billion from nearly 100 governments, corporations and multinational companies.
According to MEA officials, the 1,53,125 Indian claimants like others have been divided into five categories - Claim A, B, C, D and E. There are 1,12,026 Indians under Claim A submitted by individuals who had to depart from Kuwait or Iraq between August 2, 1990 and March 2, 1991.
Under Claim B are individuals who suffered serious personal injury or whose spouse, child or parent died as a result of the Gulf War. There are only 258 Indians in this category.
Category C claims are from 25 types of losses that include loss of personal property, bank accounts, stocks and other securities. 39,644 Indians fall in this category.
There are 1,065 Indians under Category D claims from individuals who could claim compensation for damages above US $100,000.
Category E claims are claims from corporations, other private legal entities and public sector enterprises. There are 132 Indians under this category.
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