Effective protection of nuclear and other radioactive material - to ensure that they are not misused for criminal purposes - needs to rest on a robust legal foundation. The International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) is a key legal instrument in this regard, but lacks universal adherence nonethless.

With a view to promoting universalization of this Convention, UNODC conducted a country visit to Iceland on 22-23 November 2022. UNODC staff met with representatives of relevant institutions, including from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, Radiation Safety Authority.

The meeting offered  a platform to familiarize Iceland‘s national stakeholders with the key provisions of ICSANT, benefits of adherence, and UNODC‘s available technical and legal assistance. Iceland‘s officials also had the opportunity to brief UNODC staff on the internal treaty adherence processes and relevant entities involved, and to engage in a discussion on the way forward towards ratification of ICSANT.

The country visit took place within the framework of the project “Union support to promote universalization and effective implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism”, funded by the European Union.