The risk of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons, or related materials, being used by non-State actors for terrorist or other criminal purposes is one of the gravest concerns of our time. To prevent and counter this threat, the international community has pursued a common legislative framework.
Over recent years, UNODC has increasingly scaled up its support to Member States by:
Seven of the nineteen international legal instruments against terrorism deal, to varying degrees, with CBRN terrorism:
Website on the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT). The website on ICSANT is intended to serve as a repository of all relevant resources on the Convention at the disposal of UN Member States.
UNODC cooperates with relevant international organizations to increase awareness and promote universalization of the international legal instruments that deal with chemical and biological terrorism:
Amid mounting concerns over the potential use of biological agents by terrorist groups, UNODC held an online event on the international legal framework against biological terrorism in September 2020. The event aimed to raise awareness on the existing international legal instruments addressing the threat of biological terrorism, and to discuss their synergies and complementarities.
December 2021
On 13 and 14 December 2021, UNODC contributed to
an IAEA
Regional Workshop to Promote the Universalization of the A/CPPNM for Africa.
November 2021
From 11-12 November 2021, UNODC and the IAEA held their first ever
joint event to promote the universalization of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (A/CPPNM)
and ICSANT.
September 2021
UNODC delivered an online national workshop
on ICSANT together with the Government of Grenada. The event was a follow-up to the regional
workshop for selected CARICOM countries, which was held in Barbados in February 2020.
March 2021
International legal approaches and criminal justice responses to the threat of
chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism were the focus of
a webinar series conducted by UNODC between 2020-2021.
December 2020
UNODC delivered a webinar on “The
Implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT): The Experience of
Cameroon”. The webinar was conducted in French and focused on one Member State’s experience with the adherence to and
national implementation of the convention.
November 2020
UNODC delivered an
online workshop for English-speaking African countries which are not yet party to ICSANT in order to promote the universalization
and effective implementation of the Convention.
September 2020
UNODC delivered an
online awareness-raising event on the International Legal Framework Against Biological Terrorism.
UNODC conducted two webinars, held in French and Spanish, on countering chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism. The webinars focused on UNSC resolution 1540 and its relationship to three instruments which are key components of the international legal framework on nuclear security: the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment.
July 2020
The Chief of UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch,
Mr. Masood Karimipour, virtually
briefed the Council of Europe’s Working Party on Non-Proliferation (CONOP) on the progress made by UNODC on the implementation
of Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1939 on Union Support for the Universalization and Effective Implementation of the International
Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT).
March 2020
UNODC, in cooperation with the IAEA, organized a
country visit to Uganda
to facilitate adherence to and implementation of the 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism (ICSANT) and the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (A/CPPNM).
February 2020
UNODC delivered a
national workshop on the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) in Manila,
the Philippines.
UNODC and the Government of Barbados co-hosted, in Bridgetown, a regional workshop for selected CARICOM countries on the universalization and effective implementation of the 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its 2005 Amendment (ACPPNM).
UNODC hosted a side event on its contribution to the prevention of nuclear terrorism. The event took place on the margins of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) International Conference on Nuclear Security: Sustaining and Strengthening Efforts (ICONS 2020), at the Vienna International Centre.
September 2019
UNODC delivered a
cross-regional event on countering the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (by
non-State actors) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
June 2019
UNODC delivered a
regional workshop to promote the universalization and effective implementation of the International Convention for the
Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and
its 2005 Amendment for selected Latin American and Caribbean countries in Panama City.
May 2019
UNODC and UNOCT launched
a project to promote the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) in Vienna.
April 2019
UNODC launched
an e-Learning module on the international legal framework against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism
February 2019
UNODC held a
national workshop on the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on
the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment in Luanda, Angola.
March 2018
A global
workshop on the universalization of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and its Amendment was held in Vienna.
December 2017
Representatives of Governments and international
organizations, including the UNODC, as well as experts gathered in Vienna to mark the
10th anniversary of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT).
May 2017
UNODC announces the
publication of a training module The International Legal Framework against Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear
Terrorism, in the six official languages of the United Nations, which is part of UNODC’s counter-terrorism legal training
curriculum.
January 2017
The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism
(GICNT), in partnership with Canada and UNODC, held the Vigilant
Marmot Legal Frameworks Workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia.
December 2016
UNODC participated in IAEA's International
Conference on Nuclear Security: Commitments and Actions held in Vienna, Austria.
May 2016
The Amendment
to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material entered into force.
October 2015
UNODC, in cooperation with the IAEA, held a High-Level Workshop on the
Promotion of the Entry into Force of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.
August 2015
UNODC holds an Expert
Group Meeting on the Development of a Training Tool on the International Legal Framework against Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism.
April 2015
UNODC participated in a
regional dialogue on nuclear smuggling prosecutions, organized by the United States Department of State in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
December 2014
Senior officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Palau, Philippines, Tajikistan and Tonga
gathered at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss two key international legal instruments
against nuclear terrorism at a UNODC-organized workshop.
For more information on UNODC’s activities and available assistance in this area, please contact unodc-cbrn@unodc.org
