How Did Rifles With an American Stamp End Up in the Hands of African Poachers?
The question is at the heart of investigations by Congress and federal agencies into whether an American gun manufacturer is entangled in the shadowy world of arms smuggling and wildlife poaching.
Read the Article
Four-year probe cracks rhino-poaching gun racket
A gun manufacturer in the Czech Republic is implicated in flooding Africa with thousands of high-calibre hunting hunting rifles. Now poachers are even more deadly
Read the Article
The Pillage of Eastern Congo Gold:
A Case for the Prosecution of Corporate War Crimes
A CAP Briefing Report by Kathi Lynn Austin
Results of Ms. Austin's nine-year international investigation of an unlawful conflict gold enterprise originating in the eastern DRC. Foreign companies have taken advantage of armed conflict to make millions of dollars in illegal profit, while incentivizing war and widespread atrocities.
Download the Report
She Hunted History’s Worst Arms Dealers. Now She’s Taking on Rhino Poachers.
Kathi Lynn Austin is on a global chase to stop the flow of guns threatening to wipe the rhinoceros off the face of the Earth.
Read the Narratively Story
Doc Film Follows the International Trail of "Dirty Gold"
Follow CAP ED Kathi Lynn Austin as she visits gold mines in DRC, collects evidence from smugglers in Uganda, and works to bring a legal case against Swiss processors and other parties.
Watch the free trailer or see the complete doc for a small fee, and support this important work.
Watch the Film
"A Short Film About Guns" Wins
Best Short at Tribeca
Directed by Minos Papas, the film features CAP founder Kathi Lynn Austin, former child soldier Ishmael Beah, war photographer Paul Conroy, and Rear Admiral (ret.) Stuart Platt, who recount their experiences with the black market trade in areas of conflict and how the unlawful flow of weapons across the globe facilitates loss of life and devastation.
View 2013 TFF Winners
UK Authorities Called to Act on “Blood Gold” Case Following Ruling
February 5, 2014 – A key ruling by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court gave momentum to a war crimes case against Swiss refining giant, Argor-Heraeus SA, alleged to have laundered millions of dollars of looted gold from the DRC. The three NGOs behind the case, call on the UK and Jersey Channel Island authorities to swiftly investigate the two British firms that were the primary traders of the gold at issue.
Download the Media Release
UN and Control Arms Fete Passage of Landmark Arms Trade Treaty
CAP ED Kathi Lynn Austin was honored to be selected by Control Arms for inclusion in their 50 Celebrating 50 initiative, featuring photos and quotes from 50 political leaders, survivors, and campaigners who have worked to make the ATT a reality. The exhibit was displayed at UN headquarters in New York in Fall 2014, and is currently available for viewing online.
See the Exhibit
NY Times OP-ED: Stopping the
Trade in Death
CAP ED Kathi Lynn Austin discusses her role in helping put notorious international gun trafficker Viktor Bout behind bars, as well as the state of arms trafficking.
Read the Op-Ed
INTERVIEW: Intl Weapons Trafficking Ring Exposed in Mauritius
CAP ED Kathi Lynn Austin speaks about an international gunrunning operation, centered in Mauritius, which was found to covertly transport weapons and ammunition into UN-sanctioned conflict zones. Austin discusses CAP’s investigation into this gunrunning ring, as well as the steps the government of Mauritius took to disrupt traffickers’ operations, launch its own investigation, and cooperate with other countries to prevent dealers from setting up elsewhere.
Listen to the Interview
INTERVIEW: Bongani Bingwa speaks to Kathi Lynn Austin, Executive Director of Conflict Awareness and Arms Trafficking investigator
Not much is known about small arms trafficking, a global industry worth billions of dollars that feeds into many criminal syndicates. One woman has been tracking the dangerous network of illegal weapons for over 20 years … and her recent three-year investigation has revealed a huge network of illegal firearms that supply poachers with guns in the Kruger.
Published Jun 25, 2018 2:30 AM
Listen to the Interview
REPORT: Corporate War Crimes: Prosecuting the Pillage of Natural Resources
Professor and CAP Board Member Emeritus James Stewart's guide provides a blueprint for prosecutors, advocates and others who wish to revive the prosecution of the war crime of pillage and hold accountable companies that illegally trade in conflict commodities.
Read the Report