Independent Canadian Senator and WRMC member Ratna Omidvar has retabled the Frozen Assets Repurposing Act in the Canadian Senate. The Act advances the WRMC’s call for governments of countries in which regimes have deposited financial assets to develop appropriate legal measures to confiscate and repurpose such assets for the benefit of the people in the country of origin, including forcibly displaced persons.

If passed, this bill would authorize Canadian courts to take the frozen assets of foreign officials whose misrule creates forced displacement and other humanitarian needs. These funds could then be sent to organizations helping those victimized such as UNHCR. Read.

The WRMC hosted a conference reviewing the current state of vaccine distribution and how to ensure that vaccine nationalism doesn’t result in the world’s most vulnerable being shut out of pandemic responses. During the event, panelists also examined Jordan’s approach to vaccinating refugees in the country as an example for other host countries. Watch.

In the opening remarks at the WRMC’s panel discussion “Vaccine Equity for the Forcibly Displaced”, WMRC Honorary Chair HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal made the case for equitable access to vaccines for refugees, states putting aside historical enmity to work together and the need to focus on confronting the new challenges like climate change as a united society. Read.