On 15 and 16 November 2023, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) held its first Regional table-top exercise (TTX) on radiological and nuclear (RN) incident prevention, detection and response.
During the two-day meeting, 18 participants from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine engaged in the exercise with the purpose of assessing their countries preparedness to detect and respond to RN security incidents in the region; enhancing methods and techniques of detection by intelligence and conducting undercover operations; promoting inter-agency coordination across national RN stakeholders; and fostering regional cooperation between participating countries in the field of RN security. The TTX aimed to explore and assess tools and mechanisms related to the exchange of information and cooperation available to countries both at the national and regional levels.
The scenario of the exercise, which is based on a cross-border attempt to sell radiological material, focused on the need to share intelligence information, and examined the mechanisms and types of information that is typically shared, both among countries and with international actors.
Participants also identified the challenges their countries are facing with regard to prevention, detection and response to RN trafficking cases in the fields of information exchange, investigative capabilities and planning and execution of undercover operations. Training of operatives in the field of countering RN trafficking and enhancing information exchange procedures were identified as key areas of action.
This event is part of the series of regional events conducted under the umbrella of the CONTACT project third Work Package focused on regional cooperation.
About CONTACT: On 1 June 2020, UNICRI officially launched the project “CONTACT - Black Sea: Enhancing capacities to prevent the trafficking of radiological and nuclear material in the Black Sea region”. The CONTACT - Black Sea project aims to enhance the capacities of security and law enforcement officials in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to prevent and counter trafficking of radiological and nuclear material and foster regional cooperation and exchange of information on RN trafficking-related incidents. The project is implemented by UNICRI and jointly funded by UK DESNZ, DSA and DTRA.
