HC Deb 04 March 1952 vol 497 c45W
Major Beamish

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what consideration has so far been given to the method of distribution of the assets to be made available for ex-prisoners of war of the Japanese under Article 16 of the Peace Treaty; and how much he estimates each individual will get.

Mr. Nutting

Under Article 16 of the Japanese Peace Treaty, Japan will transfer its assets in neutral and ex-enemy countries to the International Committee of the Red Cross which will liquidate such assets and distribute the resulting fund to appropriate national agencies for the benefit of former prisoners-of-war and their families on whatever basis it may determine to be equitable.

The method of distribution of these assets will, therefore, be a matter for determination by the International Committee of the Red Cross after the Peace Treaty has come into force.

Until this method has been decided it will not be possible to estimate how much each individual will obtain of these assets.