The International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) is a key tool for preventing and suppressing terrorist and other criminal conduct involving nuclear or other radioactive material. The effectiveness of the Convention grows significantly with every step towards its universal adherence, and UNODC continues to spare no effort to promote adherence to, and effective implementation of, this Convention among Member States.

On 14 November 2023, the Republic of the Congo deposited its instrument of accession to ICSANT with the United Nations Secretary-General and will become the 123rd party to the Convention in thirty days. This event comes after more than five years of engagement between the CBRN Terrorism Prevention Programme of UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch and national authorities, aimed at highlighting the importance of the Convention and its benefits. In addition to frequent bilateral engagements with the Republic of the Congo, examples of relevant UNODC activities with high‑level participants from the country include: the 2023 online regional workshop on the universalization and effective implementation of ICSANT for French-speaking African countries not party to ICSANT, and the 2018 UNODC global workshop on the universalization of ICSANT, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment.

The cooperation between the Republic of the Congo and UNODC was made possible thanks to the support of the Government of Canada and the European Union.

For more information on ICSANT, please visit www.unodc.org/icsant