GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, August 20, 1991 - Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was in error when he stated in a visit to Japan last May that the rights of Canadian PoWs for compensation from Japan had been extinguished by the Japanese-Canadian peace treaty, according to a submission made today before the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, by representatives of The War Amps of Canada.

This statement was made today by Cliff Chadderton, The War Amps Chief Executive Officer, in explaining the details of the brief prepared for a hearing before the Human Rights Commission by Ottawa lawyer Brian Forbes and McGill University Human Rights consultant John Humphrey, who are attending the mid-summer sessions of the Commission in Geneva.

"Our lawyer and our consultant must necessarily clarify the issue regarding the peace treaty, so that our claim can go forward on behalf of the International PoW organizations," Chadderton said.

"The UN procedures are specific in stating that, before filing a claim against the government of another country, a non-governmental organization must exhaust all domestic remedies regarding possible payment," Chadderton continued.

The War Amps Task Force came to the conclusion, in 1986, that it would be necessary to pursue the claim for former prisoners of war held by the Japanese in World War II through the United Nations, on the understanding that the Canadian government was not responsible, and that the only procedure open was to file a submission against Japan through the Human Rights Centre in Geneva.

"There is a distinct possibility that the suggestion made by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, while in Tokyo last May, to the effect that if Canadian PoWs were seeking compensation, they should "look to their own government" might be interpreted by the Human Rights Commission to mean that Canada would consider payment of the claim. In the absence of any commitment from the Canadian government, however, The War Amps representatives must continue their efforts to seek reparations through the international human rights body," Chadderton stated.

"It should be clearly understood," Chadderton continued, "that the claim has its roots in international law as set out in the Geneva Convention Articles 21 and 34 state that PoWs who are forced to work for a detaining power are entitled to payment; and that if arrangements cannot be made to this effect during war time, it is the responsibility of the detaining power to provide payment through legislation enacted after the war."

The essential material being filed with the Secretary General of the Centre for Human Rights states that the formal apology tendered by the Prime Minister of Japan to the Prime Minister of Canada with respect to atrocities and slave labour can be equated to an admission of guilt and should be taken into consideration in determining the question of compensation by Japan.

The submission states further that the fundamental human rights of Allied PoWs do not fall under the jurisdiction of government control, and that such rights cannot be expunged by a treaty signed by the Japanese and Canadian governments.

The War Amps representatives will also file information on the payment of reparations and compensation by the Federal Republic of Germany, which has paid out nearly 60 billion dollars in compensation to those whose human rights were violated by the National Socialist regime in World War II.

It is expected that the Human Rights Commission meeting in the 1991 summer sessions will review a further report from Mr. Theo van Boven of the Netherlands who was appointed by the Commission to prepare a study of the compensation issue. Professor van Boven, in a preliminary report at the 1990 session stated, in effect, that the Geneva Convention would be applicable in that it had become a part of customary "international law," therefore, no state (in this case Japan), should be allowed to absolve itself from the consequences of gross violations of human rights.

The preliminary van Boven study also clarified the issue of time, in stating that no moratorium could exist in regard to the effect of such breeches; and that the present government of Japan, being an extension of the detaining power which ordered the slave labour and was responsible for atrocities and other violations of human rights could be held accountable for the payment of compensation.

The submissions made at the 1990 summer sessions were circulated to Japan with a request that a response be made, but officials of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva have advised The War Amps that, to date, no reply has been forthcoming from the Japanese government.

Chadderton, who was named Coordinator of the International Task Force representing PoW groups in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada has called a meeting in Ottawa on September 17th to assess the position of the international PoW organizations following any developments arising out of the August meetings of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

The international PoW group is considering calling for a public boycott of Japanese-import automobiles, if Japan gives no indication that it is prepared to consider the claim, which requests the sum of $22,000 (US) for each survivor or widow of the Japanese PoW camps.