OTTAWA, ON, May 27, 1989 - The claim of Canada's thalidomide victims for compensation from the federal government has been submitted to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations. Cliff Chadderton, chairman of The War Amps of Canada Thalidomide Task Force, made this announcement today in time for it to be discussed at a symposium on human rights to be held here on May 29 and 30 at the Congress Centre.

Chadderton has been asked to make a formal presentation at the symposium on the rights of disabled children damaged by thalidomide. His address is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. on Monday.

The Thalidomide Task Force submitted a "Notice of Intent" with the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, Switzerland. The notice was filed under the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an adjunct to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The covenant, of which Canada is a signatory, contains several articles dealing with the rights of children and the family.

"We believe that the federal government, in licensing thalidomide for sale in Canada, failed to uphold these rights," states Chadderton. "Specifically, as referred to in the Covenant: 'every child ;shall have . . . the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the state.'"

The Thalidomide Task Force submitted a lengthy two-volume study on the state of the victims to Perrin Beatty, Minister of National Health and Welfare, on February 14. Beatty then met with Chadderton and some of the thalidomide victims on March 30. At that time Beatty said he could not make a special case for thalidomide victims, stating their claim would have to be considered among others currently before his department.

On May 5, the task force and representatives from the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada decided to take the matter directly to the Minister of Health and sent a letter to Prime Minister Mulroney, asking that their concerns be referred to a parliamentary committee. Chadderton states their request has yet to be acknowledged.

"A committee of the House of Commons representatives would expose the facts of the thalidomide tragedy that have been hidden from public view," states Chadderton. "The task force is asking for a trust fund of $10 million in order to meet the needs of Canada's victims.

"We understand that the Human Rights Committee cannot consider our claim unless it has been ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted," adds Chadderton. "It has been some 26 years since the tragedy occurred and the federal government has yet to give an indication that the special needs of the victims will be met through compensation."

The victims suffer from birth defects malformed limbs, loss of hearing, severe gastro- intestinal problems caused by the anti-nausea pill known generically as thalidomide. It was manufactured in the United States and licensed for use in Canada by the food and Drug Directorate of the Department of National health and Welfare in the early sixties.

"Of the 70 communications considered by the Human Rights Committee to the end of 1980, seven concerned Canada, " stated Chadderton. "One of the most prominent was a case involving a native woman and how she was denied her Indian status after marriage and thus the right to live on a reservation.

"The Human Rights Committee agreed that the Covenant, which guarantees the right of ethnic minorities to enjoy their own culture 'in community with other members of their group', had been breached," stated Chadderton.

"We are hopeful that the Committee will see that our government failed to uphold the rights of these children when it licensed the importation and use of thalidomide. The government had the legislative responsibility to ensure that this drug was safe."