An elderly Rohingya Muslim man, arriving from Myanmar, carries his grandson as he walks near Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh, October 20, 2017. The exodus of Rohingya Muslims is a major humanitarian crisis and has sparked international condemnation of Myanmar. — AP Photo/Dar Yasin
Mass atrocities leave victims with profound pain and long-term requirements for support to rebuild their lives. Restitution and financial support are common, yet typically unmet, demands among those harmed by such crimes. Traditional accountability mechanisms, formal reparations awards, and humanitarian organizations can provide some redress and ongoing support to victims, but there is a yawning gap between the funds available and what is required to repair the harm inflicted on victims of mass atrocities.
Ambassador David Scheffer (in his capacity as a Simon-Skjodt Center Tom A. Bernstein Genocide Prevention Fellow), Dr. Caroline Kaeb, and Madeline Babin have examined a creative way to address this gap. Their report, Social Bonds: A Lifeline for Atrocity Victims, explores how social bonds—an innovative investment vehicle—can financially support victims and survivors of mass atrocities. Social bonds are financial instruments that raise funds for specific social projects while providing financial returns to investors.
The authors explain how humanitarian investing—private sector investment to pursue humanitarian goals—is a growing field with the potential to benefit those harmed by mass atrocities. The social bond market, one area of humanitarian investing, grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, social bonds have funded diverse efforts including reducing prison recidivism rates, reducing homelessness, and promoting immunization and other public health goals. The authors argue that social bonds hold particular promise as a long-term solution to provide funds for victims and survivors of mass atrocities.
The report outlines the current state of funding for the needs of victims of mass atrocities and explains the imperative of finding new financial mechanisms to meet these needs. The authors carefully analyze the idea of a social bond mechanism for the benefit of mass atrocity victims. The report describes next steps, including five potential pilot projects in which a social bond mechanism could be deployed, offering practical ways to implement the authors’ proposal. Potential projects noted in the report that could benefit from social bonds include the Global Survivors Fund, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, support for mental health needs of victims, the International Criminal Court, and the Trust Fund for Victims.
The coauthors write strictly in their personal and academic capacities. All views expressed by the coauthors in this report are their own and do not represent the policies of or bind any institution with which any coauthor is affiliated.