IRAQ: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DISCUSSES FAIR COMPENSATION FOR IRAQI VICTIMS OF U.S. ACTIONS IN IRAQ
Record ID:
649100
IRAQ: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DISCUSSES FAIR COMPENSATION FOR IRAQI VICTIMS OF U.S. ACTIONS IN IRAQ
- Title: IRAQ: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP DISCUSSES FAIR COMPENSATION FOR IRAQI VICTIMS OF U.S. ACTIONS IN IRAQ
- Date: 10th January 2004
- Summary: (EU) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (JANUARY 10, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV CONFERENCE WITH SPEAKER ON PODIUM 0.06 2. SLV/SV DELEGATES LISTENING (2 SHOTS) 0.15 3. MCU (English) PAOLA GASPAROLI, HEAD OF OCCUPATION WATCH SAYING: "They try not to respect the legal procedures, for instance they are allowed to give sympathy money to the people, the sympathy money is 2500 dollar U.S. and doesn't mean they recognize that they did a mistake." 0.35 4. SV/MCU DELEGATES LISTENING (2 SHOTS) 0.45 5. SV MAN ADDRESSING DELEGATES 0.50 6. CU MAN HOLDING UP PHOTOGRAPH OF VICTIM 0.57 7. MCU (Arabic) HADI DUIEA WISAMS, FATHER OF AN IRAQI BOY WHO WAS KILLED BY U.S. ARMY SAYING: "They are occupiers and they killed my son, tell me who is responsible? Iraqis can't lose their sons for nothing." 1.15 8. MCU (English) GASPAROLI SAYING: "I think that this problem of compensation starts to become very huge. To take care of this situation, to change the law that they are using, to give much more attention to Iraqi needs and Iraqi tradition perhaps may help in managing this town. A lot of people are asking why the Americans are not so beloved. I think that this is a piece of why." 1.46 9. SV WOMAN HOLDING PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN 1.52 10. SV BOY WITH INJURED LEG ON BENCH AT CONFERENCE 1.58 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 25th January 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD,IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA3YWRSJ8DVOGJ5PZA52L1VA3L8
- Story Text: International human rights group discusses fair
compensation for Iraqi victims of U.S. actions in Iraq.
Occupation Watch, an international human rights
group, said on Saturday (January 10), that the U.S.
military is negligent in dealing with Iraqis seeking
compensation for relatives killed or maimed by U.S. troops.
Occupation Watch, an international group of peace and
justice organisations set up to monitor the conduct of
occupying forces in Iraq, said the process for Iraqis to
make claims was purposely opaque and U.S. treatment of
families pursuing claims was often offhand and bordering on
the cruel.
After major combat was declared over in Iraq on May 1,
the U.S. military said it would hear claims from Iraqis
whose family members were killed or wounded in incidents
involving U.S. troops as long they took place in non-combat
circumstances.
To be successful, claims also have to refer to
incidents that have occurred since May 1 and have to
clearly demonstrate that U.S. forces took wrongful action
or behaved negligently.
According to Human Rights Watch, the U.S. military had
received nearly 5,400 claims as of mid-September, 4,148 of
which had been adjudicated and 1,874 denied. The military
says it has paid out several million dollars in
compensation.
There are no clear figures on how many Iraqi civilians
have been killed since the end of major hostilities, but
Iraq Body Count, a U.S.-British research group, estimates
between 7,900 and 9,800 have died of war-related causes
since the invasion.
In a 30-page report covering three months of research,
Occupation Watch lists several of the most serious cases
among the 77 claims it has followed. None of those claims
has so far been successful.
Paola Gasparoli Head of Occupation Watch said, "I think
that this problem of compensation starts to become very
huge. To take care of this situation, to change the law
that they are using to give much more attention to Iraqi
needs and Iraqi tradition perhaps may help in managing this
town. A lot of people are asking why the Americans are not
so beloved. I think that this is a piece of why".
But Hadi Dueia Wisams, father of an Iraqi boy killed by
the U.S. army said, "They are occupiers and they killed my
son, tell me who is responsible? Iraqis can't lose their
sons for nothing."
Gasparoli said the biggest problem with the claims
process was its lack of clarity. There is no clear
definition of a non-combat situation, she said, and because
the U.S. military's rules of engagement are a secret, it is
impossible to make a strong claim that a soldier acted
negligently when he fired.
The U.S. military was not immediately available to
respond to Occupation Watch's allegations on Saturday.
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