Regional Tabletop Exercise in Tashkent: Enhancing Central Asia’s Capacity to Combat Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism
Over three days, participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan worked through a simulated radiological incident scenario. The exercise emphasized the importance of cross-border cooperation and the necessity of clear communication channels between national and regional entities when addressing nuclear terrorism threats. It provided a unique platform for national security officials, law enforcement agencies, nuclear regulators, and prosecutors to assess and improve their capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to incidents involving radiological and nuclear material.
The event benefited from the expertise of representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Union Centres of Excellence on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Initiative, and the European Union’s Joint Research Centre. It successfully demonstrated how regional collaboration through international legal frameworks and enhanced interagency coordination is essential to preventing the misuse of nuclear and radiological material by terrorists. The exercise also leveraged capacity-building activities conducted for nuclear and radiological security stakeholders across Central Asia under the “CONTACT-Central Asia” project implemented by UNICRI.
The event was conducted within the framework joint project of the United Nations and the European Union on Supporting Universalization and Effective Implementation of ICSANT. The ICSANT project is funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by UNOCT and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). UNICRI’s project "CONTACT – Central Asia: Enhancing Capacities to Prevent the Trafficking of Radiological and Nuclear Material in the Central Asia Region," is funded by the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA).
ICSANT was adopted in 2005 by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly, entered into force in 2007, and has 127 States Parties as of December 2025.
In December 2023, the General Assembly reiterated its concern about the growing risk of linkages between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) (A/RES/78/43). In particular, the General Assembly recognized that terrorists may seek to acquire WMD and appealed to all Member States to consider adherence to ICSANT while encouraging States Parties to review their implementation.