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UNODC CBRN Terrorism Prevention Programme

ICSANT Universalization Youth Academy: On 7-10 July, UNODC conducted the Second International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) Universalization Youth Academy in Vienna, Austria. The event brought together 12 participants up to 35 years of age (including eight women) from 11 States not yet party to the Convention, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Estonia, Guyana, Honduras, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Uganda, as well as an observer from Indonesia, a State already party to ICSANT. The participants, selected through a competitive application process, represented a range of national authorities that play active roles in each country’s treaty adherence process. Building on its successful launch in 2024, the UNODC ICSANT Youth Academy aims to raise awareness on the importance of becoming party to, and fully implementing, the Convention and to build a network of national champions to advocate for adherence to ICSANT within their respective governments. The initiative was implemented under 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”.

General Conference Side Event: On 17 September, on the margins of the 69th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference (GC) held in Vienna, UNODC co-organized jointly with the Kingdom of Morocco, the IAEA, and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism a high-level side event to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and ICSANT. As co-organizers, Ambassador Azzeddine Farhane (Morocco), IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly,  and UNCCT/UNOCT Director Mauro Miedico provided opening and introductory remarks. The event highlighted the continued importance and complementarities of these instruments, efforts made to achieve universal adherence and full implementation, and the support provided by the IAEA, UNODC and UNOCT to this end.

A high-level panel with Ambassador Gustavo Rodolfo Zlauvinen (Argentina), Ambassador Alison Grant (Canada), Ambassador Tsengeg Mijiddorj (Mongolia), Ambassador Juan Francisco Facetti (Paraguay), Ambassador Matteo Fachinotti (Switzerland), and Ambassador Carl Hallergård (European Union) emphasized the enduring relevance of these legal instruments in light of evolving threats and underscored the importance of international cooperation in strengthening nuclear security.