Between May and July 2025, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) supported national training institutions in Moldova and Ukraine in delivering a series of pilot training sessions aimed at countering radiological and nuclear (RN) trafficking. These activities took place within the framework of the CONTACT-Black Sea project.
Developed and led by the training institutes and academies of the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Security Service of Moldova, and the Customs Service of Moldova, the pilot sessions marked a significant milestone in UNICRI’s long-standing cooperation with national institutions. The goal: to integrate RN trafficking training, with a specific focus on intelligence operations, into the regular curricula of participating security and law enforcement agencies.
A total of five pilot sessions were delivered, each rooted in the standardised CONTACT training curriculum but tailored to meet the specific operational needs and contexts of the respective institutions. This customization was made possible through the dedication and expertise of national instructors who had previously completed training under the CONTACT project.
Throughout the process, UNICRI provided technical guidance and methodological support, helping to shape effective, targeted courses and ensuring the application of best practices in knowledge transfer. These efforts led to the development of training programmes that not only strengthened institutional capacity but also laid the foundation for the long-term sustainability of counter-RN trafficking efforts through an intelligence-led approach in the Black Sea region.
From September 2022 UNICRI started implementing “CONTACT - Black Sea” Phase II, an extension of the “CONTACT - Black Sea” project. Among the activities within the framework of this project, it is envisaged that UNICRI will engage with the national training institutions to ensure the sustainability of counter RN trafficking training and to further improve the capabilities of state security and law enforcement officials by organizing additional advanced training sessions to reinforce and consolidate expertise and skills of project participants. The project is jointly funded by the United Kingdom Department of Energy Security and Net Zero( UK DESNZ) and the the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA).