How does the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) improve national, regional and international security? What role does it play in detecting and identifying smuggled radioactive material and otherwise deterring terrorists and other criminals from using these substances? How is the Convention instrumental in enhancing international cooperation to reduce the likelihood of protection for such acts and the impunity of their perpetrators?
UNODC discussed these questions and illustrated them through concrete examples during a visit to Sao Tome and Principe on 4‑6 March 2024. The country signed ICSANT in 2005 but is not yet party to it. At the high‑level bilateral meetings with Mr. Jorge Amado, Minister of Defence and Internal Administration, Mr. Gilberto De Ceita, Director of the Immigration and Border Service, and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the customs and the Prosecutor’s Office, UNODC also seized the opportunity to provide an overview of its ICSANT‑related tools, as well as the tailored technical and legislative assistance that it can offer to Sao Tome and Principe with regard to the country’s adherence to, and implementation of, ICSANT.
The country visit was conducted under the European Union-funded project “Supporting the Universalization and Effective Implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism” on the margins of a UN Office for Disarmament Affairs national awareness-raising workshop on the Biological Weapons Convention and UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004).
