

The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute has a very specific mandate: to develop innovative ideas to assist states in crime prevention and criminal justice. Federico Marcon elaborates on UNICRI, which is currently working in applied research to provide technical assistance to member states in fighting illicit trafficking of CBRN material. Furthermore, the institution seeks to promote a comprehensive CBRN program to improve state capabilities. The fundamental role of the Proliferation Security Initiative, as presented by Anupam Srivastava, is coordinating enforcement policy when nonproliferation itself as a preventative tool has failed. Srivastava shows examples from recent history to provide justification for interdiction – an activity, he stresses, open to any state that agrees with the principle of interdiction. He cites issues that have arisen from PSI, including the necessity of information sharing and public diplomacy, at which states are not particularly successful. Also, there is little time to respond to illicit shipping, and so countries must work together quickly. These challenges notwithstanding, PSI advances states' capacity to engage in value-added trade while at the same time helping members meet their national maritime security goals. The PSI is not alone. The Suppression of Unlawful Acts Convention and the 2005 Protocol to it are the first documents to recognize the new threat of nuclear terrorism and its relation to maritime law. The convention wants all state parties to criminalize transport of radioactive material knowingly onboard intended for harm. The protocol is significant in that concepts from the nonproliferation world migrated to the world of criminal law. Stefano Betti maintains that because of this, implementing this instrument is a multidisciplinary task that requires involvement of actors from varying fields of expertise.