C4ADS Launches Human Security Program

For Immediate Release: December 1, 2021

Washington, DC — C4ADS is thrilled to announce the initiation of the Human Security Program to focus on forced labor, human rights, and other threats to vulnerable individuals worldwide.

The Human Security Program will continue C4ADS’ existing work to expose the networks perpetrating and facilitating human rights crises and empower partners throughout government, private sector, and civil society to act decisively against violators of  human security.

Irina Bukharin will serve as Director of the Human Security Program. Previously a Senior Analyst in the Organized Crime and Grand Corruption Program, she produced analysis on forced labor, human rights, and proliferation issues. 

“The launch of the Human Security Program is an exciting opportunity for C4ADS to use our proven methodologies to help address crises that communities are facing globally,” Bukharin says. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and partners to improve global responses.” 

This Program will leverage C4ADS’ extensive experience investigating human security threats on topics such as forced labor in the fishing sector, bonded labor in India, oppression in Xinjiang, persecution in Myanmar, and North Korean labor exports. In 2021, the Human Security Program kicked off with the following investigations:

• Sold Out: An investigation into the companies and networks behind over 600 cases of bonded labor in India, which impacted over 13,000 victims. This investigation found that goods produced by bonded labor are present in international supply chains, and a lack of transparency in corporate and labor structures exacerbates the challenge of tracing these ties. Demonstrating the opportunity for stakeholders within supply chains to act against bonded labor, Sold Out shows how impact can be achieved by incorporating both public and private data.
• Long Shadows: A report exposing how companies perpetrating forced labor and human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China are enmeshed in global trade and finance, despite multilateral sanctions. In Long Shadows, we mapped the mechanisms through which abuse permeates international commerce. The report contains data on nearly 3000 perpetrating entities, as well as recommendations to aid companies and governments in identifying and removing forced labor from supply chains and financial transactions.

“The creation of a Human Security Program marks a historic moment for C4ADS,” says Executive Director of C4ADS David Johnson. “As threats from illicit actors continue to adapt to the digital age, international security simply cannot exist without human security. This new portfolio will allow us to better understand the context of global challenges and innovate for peace.”

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The mission of C4ADS is to understand and disrupt illicit networks. As a nonpartisan think tank, we are guided by the philosophy that technology and data can empower civil society to hold governments and illicit actors accountable. We seek to use our unique capabilities, skill sets, and data access to drive tangible outcomes against illicit actors.