This background briefing was prepared for “We Want Our Money Back,” a civil society side-event at the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development, Addis Ababa, in July, 2015.

The Justice Initiative is supporting a criminal complaint against a Swiss gold refiner, which accuses the company of illegally processing gold pillaged from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Eight case studies look at how legal empowerment projects can reduce poverty and help people realize their rights; with a forward by George Soros.

A 15-point summary of the Tshwane Principles, which address the question of how to ensure public access to government information without jeopardizing legitimate efforts to combat national security threats.

A question-and-answer introduction to the new Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information.

The Tshwane Principles offer global standards on how to ensure the fullest possible public access to information, while protecting legitimate national security concerns.

Erica Razook, of the Open Society Justice Initiative, told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that large-scale money-laundering is a threat to human rights and the rule of law.

Of the nearly ten million people in detention around the world, those held before trial or conviction are most at risk of torture.