|

Judicial Seminar: On 16-17 July, UNODC conducted a National Training Seminar on the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) for Nigeria, the second within a series of national seminars for judicial and prosecution training centres, funded by the European Union. The seminar brought together some 40 representatives from 14 national institutions that would play a role in preventing, detecting, suppressing, investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating ICSANT-related offences. They included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, National Judicial Institute, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, and other relevant law enforcement and security authorities.

Mozambique: On 25 September, Mozambique deposited its instrument of ratification of ICSANT at the 2024 Treaty Event “Strengthening the Multilateral Treaty Framework” on the margins of the 79th  Session of the UN General Assembly and will become the 125th party to the Convention on 25 October.

This event comes after over ten years of engagement between UNODC’s CBRN Terrorism Prevention Programme and national authorities, aimed at highlighting the importance of the Convention and its benefits.  

On 13 August, UNODC conducted a national workshop to promote adherence to and implementation of ICSANT in Maputo, Mozambique. The event brought together 21 representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, National Atomic Energy Agency, Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Customs, Centre of State Communications, and Police. In addition, on 13-15 August, UNODC held bilateral high-level meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, National Atomic Energy Agency, General Directorate of Customs, and Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, respectively, and discussed technical and legislative assistance that UNODC could further provide to Mozambique with regard to adherence to, and implementation of, ICSANT. The activities took place within the context of the Canada-funded project “Strengthening the Global Fight Against CBRN Terrorism Through Raising Awareness and Promoting Adherence to and Implementation of International Legal Frameworks related to Nuclear Security”.

ICSANT Universalization Youth Academy: On 10-13 September, UNODC conducted its pilot ICSANT Universalization Youth Academy in Vienna, Austria. The event brought together 17 young participants (including 10 women) from 15 States not yet party to the Convention (Andorra, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Ecuador, Gambia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Republic of Tanzania). The participants were selected through a competitive application process and hold roles relevant to adherence to ICSANT in their respective countries, representing, inter alia, prosecutors’ offices, ministries of foreign affairs, justice, defence, and national regulatory bodies. The event aimed to raise participants’ awareness about the importance of ICSANT and foster a new generation of ICSANT advocates who will work for their respective countries’ adherence to, and effective implementation of, the Convention. The initiative was implemented within the context of the Canada-funded project “Strengthening the Global Fight Against CBRN Terrorism Through Raising Awareness and Promoting Adherence to and Implementation of International Legal Frameworks related to Nuclear Security”.

Webinar Series: On 5 July, UNODC conducted the third event of its Webinar Series on ICSANT, funded by the European Union. The event focused on nuclear forensics and its role under ICSANT. On 6 September, UNODC conducted the fourth event, which focused on the same topic and was held in Russian. Recordings of both events as well as earlier webinars of the series are available on the UNODC ICSANT website.

Ecuador: On 21-22 October, UNODC conducted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador a legislative drafting workshop in Quito to support the country in bringing its existing counter-terrorism legislation and regulations in line with the international legal framework against terrorism, including by incorporating the obligations under the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT).

Republic of Moldova: On 8 November, UNODC conducted a National Judicial Training on ICSANT for the Republic of Moldova as a segment of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Research Institute’s (UNICRI) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) table-top exercise (TTX) and criminalization workshop on strengthening the CBRN investigation, prosecution and adjudication capabilities of the Republic of Moldova, which took place in Chisinau on 5-8 November 2024. This was the third within a series of UNODC’s national seminars for judicial and prosecution training centres, funded by the European Union. The event brought together over 25 participants from 14 national institutions involved in preventing, detecting, suppressing, investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating ICSANT-related offences.

ICSANT Webinar Series: On 8 November, UNODC hosted the fifth event of the Webinar Series on ICSANT, funded by the European Union, that gathered some 90 participants. It focused on the role of nuclear forensics in the context of ICSANT and discussed a real case study involving radioactive material discovered during an investigation by showcasing how nuclear forensics helped analysing its makeup and attempting to determine its origin. The recording of the webinar is available on the UNODC ICSANT website.

Regional ICSANT Mock trial: On 26-28 November, UNODC held a Mock Trial on ICSANT in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, bringing together 30 representatives from criminal justice, law enforcement, security, and other relevant institutions of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Through a fictional scenario, the mock trial aimed to strengthen the capacity of national stakeholders in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating crimes related to ICSANT, and to raise awareness on the importance of adhering to, and fully implementing the Convention. The event was co-hosted with Uzbekistan with the financial and in-kind support of Canada.

Seychelles: On 3 December, Seychelles deposited its instrument of ratification to ICSANT and became the 126th party to the Convention on 2 January 2025.This ratification follows several years of assistance by UNODC with Seychelles participating in a number of focused training activities and receiving further advisory assistance to raise awareness on the benefits of adherence amongst key national officials to support the process.

Suriname: On 6 December, UNODC conducted a national workshop on facilitating adherence to and implementation of ICSANT in Suriname, funded by the Government of Canada and co-hosted with the Government of Suriname. It built on UNODC’s cooperation with the Suriname Non-Proliferation Authority (SNA) under the Ministry of Defence. The workshop, opened by Suriname’s Minister of Defence, contributed to raising awareness on ICSANT of over 20 stakeholders representing relevant key national authorities, including the Directorate of National Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice and Police, the National Assembly (Parliament), the National Armed Forces (Military Police), and the Office of the Attorney General.