WATCH: Ratna Omidvar on Using Seized Assets to Help Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

There are many well-documented cases of corrupt dictators secretly moving money offshore. Although developed nations have robust legal frameworks for seizing such assets, once seized, those assets often sit untouched, while the humanitarian need in their countries of origin only grows.

In this video, Canadian Senator and World Refugee Council Member Ratna Omidvar explains how countries — including Canada — can enact laws that would allow governments to repurpose corrupt foreign leaders’ the assets for the benefit of refugees, internally displaced persons and others who have been harmed by their actions. This recommendation (action 46) is one of many practical solutions found in the World Refugee Council’s report, A Call to Action: Transforming the Global Refugee System.

Click here to read about repurposing frozen assets in the World Refugee Council’s final report.