Avoiding Direct Confiscation: A Bond-lien Guarantee Mechanism to Help Ukraine
Instead of confiscating Russian assets, Western governments can use them as security for loans of equal value immediately to support Ukraine.
Bad governance that too often causes forced displacement is almost always associated with corruption. Grand corruption weakens and distracts governments, making it less likely that they will meet their responsibility to protect their own population. And the theft of international aid discourages donors, compounding the difficulty in funding efforts to assist refugees and the internally displaced.
The World Refugee & Migration Council (WRMC) addressed the scourge of corruption in Un llamado a la acción: Transformar el sistema global de refugio, stressing accountability and proposing that when stolen funds are found offshore, they ought not only to be frozen but also confiscated and re-purposed for the benefit of the displaced, as Canada has now done under its Special Economic Measures Act. That legislation is based on the proposed Frozen Assets Repurposing Act advanced by the WRMC with the Hon. Ratna Omidvar.
The Task Force has three key priorities:
Instead of confiscating Russian assets, Western governments can use them as security for loans of equal value immediately to support Ukraine.
New Policy Brief outlines the creation of a mechanism to issue ‘Social Bonds’ for Ukraine’s reconstruction to mobilize the vast resources of the private sector for Ukraine’s reconstruction in the near term.
This paper by Robert Currie, Fen Hampson and Allan Rock examines the precedent-setting nature of Canada’s new legislation on foreign-owned asset forfeiture and some of the legal issues raised following the adoption of this new legislation. It also discusses policy and legislative initiatives underway in other countries following upon Canada’s ground-breaking legislation
Alison Lawton & Lauren Casey Discussion paper produced as part of the World Refugee & Migration Council’s Canadian Task Force Against Global Corruption. Abstract According to international law, Russia must provide full reparations and compensation to Ukraine for the harm inflicted during an undeclared war. In response, Canada has enacted legislation allowing
New discussion paper from Sabine Nölke outlines specific ways to more effectively implement anti-corruption measures by strengthening existing frameworks and institutions.
Developing an Effective System for Reparations and Compensation for Ukraine and Ukrainians for Damage Caused by the Russian Federation
Write us at info@wrmcouncil.org with inquiries or to receive updates about the work of the Task Force.
Chair, World Refugee & Migration Council
Viscount Bennett Professor of Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
President, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform, Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
Global Governance Forum and Convenor of the Climate Governance Commission
President, World Refugee & Migration Council and Chancellor’s Professor, Carleton University
Founder and Executive Director, Mindset Foundation and Founder and CEO, Mindset Venture Group
Integrity Initiatives International (observer)
Former Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs
Former Canadian Senator and president of York and Wilfrid Laurier Universities
Ambassador (Ret.)
Human Rights and Migration Advocate
Former President of the International Development Research Centre
Counsel to Justice Canada, Lawyer and Criminologist (Ret.)
CEO & Founder, Angus Reid Global
Former Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Justice
Member of the Board, Integrity Initiatives International
Director of Public Affairs, World Refugee & Migration Council
Integrity Initiatives International and Senior United States District Judge (ex officio)