To illustrate the importance of adhering to and effectively implementing the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), UNODC held a high-level side-event in the margins of the International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 22 May 2024. The event highlighted innovative training approaches developed under synergistic projects funded by the Government of Canada and the European Union (EU), respectively: a mock trial and a seminar for judicial education and training centres on ICSANT.
In his opening remarks, His Excellency Mr. Troy Lulashnyk, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in Vienna, emphasized that the “threat of nuclear terrorism transcends borders” and “a country that does not have legal provisions in place to address nuclear terrorism could be a staging ground for an act of nuclear terrorism,” thus undermining global security as countries are “collectively only as strong as the weakest link in the security chain”. The Ambassador further specified that:
“Since 2018, Canada has been collaborating with UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch, to strengthen the global fight against weapons of mass destruction terrorism through raising the awareness of nuclear security instruments and promoting their universalization and effective legislative implementation. Our work with UNODC has evolved over the years to move from awareness raising activities, to supporting Member States with becoming party to the instruments, to now developing and providing tools and resources to support their effective implementation.”
The importance of the international legal framework, including ICSANT, for preventing and suppressing nuclear terrorism was also underlined by His Excellency Mr. Carl Hallergard, EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation to the International Organizations in Vienna. He added that:
“The work of the UN organisations such as UNODC remains indispensable in times as these when the rules-based international order is under tremendous pressure. With the help of UNODC, States are in a better position to establish a robust legal national framework which is required for an effective criminal justice response to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate cases.”
Mr. Roberto Arbitrio, Chief of UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch, thanked donors and participants and lauded UNODC’s collaboration with the IAEA, INTERPOL, Montenegro, Netherlands, Romania and other international partners in promoting effective implementation of ICSANT. He added that “it is only through cooperation and joint efforts that we can maximize our efforts and fast-track the achievement of results.”
Following these high‑level remarks, the event then focused on two key training tools: an abridged version of a mock trial on ICSANT and an interactive presentation on UNODC seminars for judicial educational and training centres on ICSANT.
The mini-mock trial, the first session of the high-level event, built upon the pilot mock trial conducted in Vienna on 29 November–1 December 2022 with the financial and in‑kind support of the Government of Canada. Participants at the side‑event explored, in the context of a fictional yet realistic scenario, cross‑border issues and challenges that can arise during the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of crimes related to ICSANT. In particular, the mini-mock trial demonstrated the added value of ICSANT in the following areas: criminalising offences involving radioactive material, devices and nuclear facilities; establishing jurisdiction over such offences; and facilitating international cooperation. The latter topic included nuclear forensics, extradition of suspects, mutual legal assistance, and safe and secure handling of radioactive material, devices or nuclear facilities seized after the commission of an ICSANT‑related offence.
UNODC will conduct six more regional mock trials between 2024-2026, under the current project funded by the Government of Canada.
The second session of the event focused on an interactive presentation on UNODC seminars for centres of judicial education and training in States parties to ICSANT. Aimed to enhance the capacity of national criminal justice systems to prevent, detect, suppress, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate ICSANT‑related offences, these seminars are conducted under the framework of the current UNODC project funded by the EU that spans from 2023-2026. The first of the seminars was held on 11‑12 December 2023 in Montenegro.
To serve as a basis, the seminars use materials developed by UNODC under the previous EU‑funded project that ran between 2019-2023, such as the manual on fictional cases related to offences under ICSANT, a website on ICSANT, and an eLearning module on ICSANT, among others.
The following experts guided participants in an interactive manner through the mini‑mock trial and conducted the presentation on the seminars for centres of judicial education and training: Mr. John Buchanan, Coordinator, Radiological Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Unit, INTERPOL; Mr. Simon Minks, National Coordinating Advocate-General Contra Terrorism, Violent Extremism and (Other) International Crimes, Netherlands; Mr. Andrei Apostol, Head, Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation, RoPower, Romania; and Ms. Tamara Djurović, National Liaison Point for ICSANT, Head of Department for Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation, Nuclear and Radiation Security, Directorate for Ecology, Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Region Development, Montenegro.
