The threat of radiological and nuclear (RN) trafficking and proliferation are among some of the most pressing concerns on today’s international agenda. Factors such as regional instabilities, on-going and frozen conflicts, and uncontrolled territories make it difficult to prevent and deter RN trafficking, which represents an appealing prospect to many smugglers due to a decades’ old fallacy that smuggling RN material is extremely valuable and profitable.
As the majority of countries has applied the social lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, violence against women and girls has intensified. According to UN Women, 243 million women and girls have suffered sexual and/or physical abuse committed by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. We believe that a gender perspectives should be included at all stages, during and following a crisis. A featured article by UNICRI's Programme Officer Alessandra Liquori O'Neill addresses national emergency response plans and gender issues in these challenging times.
As the 2019 year comes to a close, we want to share with you some highlights of our work. Our mission is to advance justice and the rule of law in support of peace, human rights, security and sustainable development.
UNICRI 2019-2022 Strategic Programme Framework, contains the tools and approaches used by UNICRI to carry out its activities, as well as the Institute six strategic priorities.
Reflecting the threats and challenges identified through research and needs assessments, and analyses of evolving trends, as well as feedback from partners, academics, civil society, policymakers and practitioners, our Strategic Programme Framework for the period 2019-2022, will focus on the following priorities:
The Policy Toolkit developed by UNICRI was launched by the Netherlands at the Fifteenth Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Coordinating Committee in Malaga on 13-14 March 2019.
The Toolkit was recently presented during the Joint special meeting on the nexus between international terrorism and organized crime held on 26 April 2019 by the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), the ISIL (Da’esh)/Al-Qaida Committee, and the Taliban Committee.
Promoting the rule of law, access to justice, and gender equality are key to enabling the development of just, equitable societies and the protection of human rights, both in conflict and in peace. Addressing challenges to the rule of law and providing access to justice for all is not only fundamental to tackling crime and building security, it also ensures institutional and individual protections of people’s rights, especially those who are vulnerable or marginalized.
Background of the CBRN risk