OUR
WORK
The Full Story of
OUR WORK
The Conflict Awareness Project (CAP) works to disrupt criminal networks, illegal supply chains, and illicit financial activity that fuel armed conflict and human suffering. Our work spans three critical areas: Arms Trafficking & International Crimes, Environmental & Wildlife Crimes, and Sanction Violations & Financial Crimes. In each of these areas, CAP combines groundbreaking research with legal and policy action to hold perpetrators accountable and help foster a more just, peaceful, and resilient world.
At CAP, we are committed to making a difference at home and abroad. By focusing on projects that address community needs as well as international challenges, we ensure that our work resonates both in the U.S. and across borders. Whether it's empowering local initiatives or collaborating on global solutions, we strive to create lasting, positive change wherever it's needed most.
Arms Trafficking & International Crimes
The Conflict Awareness Project (CAP) investigates, documents, and helps bring to justice major arms traffickers, war profiteering networks, and transnational criminal operations that fuel conflict, human rights abuses, and violations of international law. Our Executive Director Kathi Lynn Austin has long been on the forefront of building evidence-based dossiers and pursuing accountability for bad actors enabling atrocities. Beyond advancing legal cases, CAP advocates for enhanced arms control measures, multi-level accountability regimes, and targeted enforcement action against traffickers.
Environmental & Wildlife Crimes
Natural resource exploitation and wildlife crimes stoke conflict, terrorism, and environmental devastation with the illegal trade in gold, diamonds, cobalt, timber, and endangered species providing funds for arms, troop support, and child soldiers. To counter these destructive trends, CAP builds cases against the companies, individuals, and corrupt officials engaged in the trafficking of conflict minerals and wildlife and then spotlights their detrimental activities to raise awareness. Our championing of holistic initiatives to protect people and their ecosystems also helps mitigate biodiversity loss and climate change.
Sanction Violations & Financial Crimes
Financial crimes — including corruption, money laundering, santions-busting, and illicit offshore financing — enable violence, the illegal arms trade, and natural resource exploitation. CAP seeks to disrupt these networks, hold them accountable, and secure legal remedies for their victims. By building high-level cases against transnational organized crime networks, CAP aims to dismantle the economic structures that enable violence, social injustice, and environmental exploitation.
