UNICRI – United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

🇺🇦 Ukraine continues to strengthen its legal and institutional capacity to address evolving CBRN threats.

🛡️ Bringing together prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officials, government representatives and technical experts, UNICRI delivered a CBRN Criminalization Workshop in Uzhhorod under the THEMIS project, supporting Ukraine's capacity to address Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)-related offences.

🔖 Through expert presentations, practical exercises and interactive discussions, participants explored:
🔹 International and national legal instruments and standards governing CBRN security
🔹 Human rights considerations in investigations and prosecutions
🔹 International judicial and law enforcement cooperation, as well as inter-agency coordination
🔹 The growing nexus between CBRN risks and emerging hybrid threats

The workshop also provided a platform to identify priorities for future capacity-building, strengthen institutional cooperation, and support the continued development of Ukraine's CBRN governance.

We are grateful to our partners and donors for their continued support: 🇨🇦 Canada’s Foreign Policy—Global Affairs Canada | 🇳🇴 Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority - Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet | 🇺🇦 General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine I Training Centre of Prosecutors of Ukraine | 🇪🇺 EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative
➡️ https://bit.ly/4wbtL2O

🛡️ The strongest response to crime begins long before an offence is committed.

🏙️ Building safer communities requires more than reactive law enforcement. It calls for stronger institutions, effective partnerships, and meaningful engagement with the people they serve.

Developed by 🇸🇦 Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS), through the Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Chairs Program for the Development of Crime Prevention Methods in the Training Fields, in partnership with 🇺🇳 UNICRI, the new guidance document Preventative Policing in Practice provides a framework for designing, implementing, and sustaining a preventative approach to crime.

Drawing on international good practices, the publication highlights:
🔹 Six complementary pillars of crime prevention: community engagement, intelligence, physical security, environmental design, situational problem solving, and technical solutions.
🔹 Clear governance and coordination across national, regional, and local levels.
🔹 Professional capabilities, partnerships, and community engagement as the foundation of sustainable prevention.
🔹 A flexible framework to be adapted to different legal systems, institutional capacities, and cultural contexts.

🧭 Preventing crime means addressing today's challenges while creating the conditions for safer, more cohesive communities for generations to come.
➡️ https://bit.ly/456ysAb

Saudi Mission to the United Nations I وزارة الداخلية السعودية
I I I I I I I I

🇺🇦 Ukraine strengthens institutions against CBRN threats through the THEMIS Project

🧭 Ukraine continues to enhance its capacity to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate CBRN crimes while integrating specialized expertise into national institutions.

During the national Tabletop Exercise, judges, prosecutors, investigators, law enforcement officers and forensic experts strengthened their capacity and inter-agency coordination.

The exercise reflected the growing national ownership of the programme, with Ukrainian experts now training and mentoring their peers.

🔹Maksym Riabenko, General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine: "THEMIS is helping Ukraine respond to current challenges while laying the foundations for stronger, more resilient institutions capable of addressing future risks."
🔹Chrystiane Roy, Embassy of Canada to Ukraine: "Investments in professional development and international cooperation are essential to addressing evolving security challenges while contributing to regional and global stability."
🔹Iryna Chechetka, Training Centre of Prosecutors of Ukraine: "The implementation of programmes such as this reflects our shared commitment to a safer and more secure future, where peace, justice and the rule of law prevail."

We are grateful to our partners and donors for their continued support:

I🇨🇦 Canada’s Foreign Policy—Global Affairs Canada | 🇳🇴 Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority - Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet | Prosecutor's General Office 🇺🇦 Офіс Генерального прокурора I Prosecutor's Training Center of Ukraine Тренінговий центр прокурорів України I 🇪🇺 EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative I Embassy of Canada to Ukraine

➡️ https://bit.ly/4yTHwps

⚠️ Trafficking for forced criminality is one of the fastest-growing and least understood forms of human exploitation.

🇺🇳 Today, on the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, UNICRI joins the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) in calling for stronger action to address trafficking in persons for forced criminality, particularly in the context of rapidly evolving scam operations.

💻 Behind online fraud are victims who have been deceived, trafficked and coerced into committing crimes under threats, violence and other forms of exploitation. They must be recognized first and foremost as victims, not offenders.

🔎 To support evidence-based responses, UNICRI is launching new research on how scam-centre-style ecosystems may be emerging across selected African countries, with a focus on recruitment pathways, victim profiles, operational models and practical recommendations to strengthen victim identification, prevention and law enforcement responses.

⚖️ Understanding emerging threats is the first step towards protecting victims and disrupting the criminal networks behind them.

➡️ https://bit.ly/4hohCUP

️UNODC - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime I International Labour Organization I IOM - UN Migration I UNICEF I UN Women I UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

🇺🇳 🇺🇦 Ukraine strengthens operational capabilities to counter radiological and nuclear trafficking.

⚙️ UNICRI delivered the third practical training course under the CONTACT–Black Sea project, bringing together representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine at the United Nations Campus in Turin.

☢️ Through realistic operational scenarios and hands-on exercises, participants strengthened their skills to prevent, detect and investigate the illicit trafficking of radiological and nuclear materials.

Key focus areas:
🔹 Criminal intelligence operations targeting RN trafficking
🔹 Real-life operational exercises and behavioural techniques
🔹 Decision-making under operational pressure
🔹 Practical use of radiation detection and identification equipment

The programme also benefited from the support of the 🇺🇸 FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 🇮🇹 the First Intervention Unit of Carabinieri and ORTEC.

🙏 Our thanks to all participants and partners, and to the 🇸🇪 Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten), 🇬🇧 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and 🇳🇴 the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority - Direktoratet for strålevern og atomsikkerhet - for supporting this initiative.

🌍 As the war in Ukraine continues, strengthening capabilities to prevent the illicit trafficking of RN materials remains a global security priority.

➡️ https://bit.ly/4fDNoup

❓ What happens when food insecurity intersects with violent extremism❓

🌐 Food insecurity is first and foremost a humanitarian and development challenge. Yet in fragile contexts affected by conflict, climate shocks, weak governance and economic instability, it can also create vulnerabilities that violent extremist groups exploit to expand their influence, recruit supporters and undermine community resilience.

📘 UNICRI's new report, Food Insecurity and Violent Extremism: UNICRI's Strategic Response, explores this complex and context-specific nexus and introduces a practical strategic framework to help integrate food security considerations into efforts to prevent violent extremism.
🔹 Understanding the relationship between food insecurity and violent extremism
🔹 Identifying the drivers and vulnerabilities that shape the nexus
🔹 Examining how violent extremist actors exploit disrupted food systems
🔹 Highlighting high-risk contexts and current policy gaps
🔹 Presenting six actionable pillars for integrated, evidence-based prevention

⚖️ Importantly, the report emphasizes that strengthening prevention efforts must go hand in hand with preserving humanitarian principles and avoiding the securitization of food assistance.

🧭 Strengthening food security means strengthening resilience. Through integrated, people-centred approaches, we can help reduce vulnerabilities, support sustainable peace and make it harder for violent extremist groups to exploit communities in times of crisis.

➡️ https://bit.ly/3TnmCiw