CBRN Legal Research and Regional Project Development

Mission and objectives

UNICRI is a United Nations entity established in 1968 and mandate to assist intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental organizations in formulating and implementing improved policies in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. The Institute strongly emphasizes action-oriented analysis and integrated technical assistance. The current priorities are justice reform, financial and emerging crimes and security governance. UNICRI, as part of the European Union’s (EU) CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CoE) Initiative, has leveraged the expertise outlined in the Prosecutors Guide on Chemical and Biological (CB) Crimes and the Prosecutors Guide on Radiological and Nuclear (RN) Crimes to craft a comprehensive capacity-building and training package. This initiative is designed to enhance investigative, prosecutorial, and adjudicative capabilities within the realm of CBRN crimes.

Context

Selected Online Volunteers will work closely with the UNICRI team under the supervision of the Regional Coordinator. Through their contributions, they will support meaningful and impactful work aimed at strengthening CBRN security, legal frameworks, and justice-related capacities across the region. The expected start date of the collaboration is 1 October 2026.

Task Description

Specifically, the Online Volunteer will assist in the following tasks: Task 1: Research and Analysis of Existing Legislation and Development of a Legal Framework Matrix (Volunteer 1)

• Conduct desk research on CBRN-related legislation, regulations, and legal frameworks in selected countries.
• One country will be identified during the implementation phase, following the selection of the UN Volunteers (UNV), and based on the needs and priorities of the IPA project.
• Identify national legislation governing the prevention, control, security, safety, transportation, storage, import/export, and use of CBRN materials.
• Collect open-source relevant legislation concerning CBRN non-proliferation, counter-terrorism, criminal offences, customs and border controls, and emergency preparedness and response.
• Identify relevant criminal-law and criminal-procedure provisions applicable to the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of CBRN-related offences, including key offences, evidentiary requirements, investigative powers, and prosecutorial procedures.
• Identify relevant provisions and articles of criminal codes, codes of criminal procedure, and other legislation applicable to CBRN-related prosecutions.
• Identify country’s adhesion to the relevant international and regional legal instruments addressing CBRN-related issues.
• Compile official sources and links to key legislation and legal instruments for use in CBRN training activities. Task 2: Transformation of National CBRN Project Proposals into Regional and Sub-Regional Projects (Volunteer 2 & 3)
• Support the transformation of national CBRN project proposals from the 10 countries of the SEEE region into regional and sub-regional projects.
• Review and analyse the existing proposals to identify common themes, objectives, priorities, and proposed activities.
• Group proposals addressing similar topics and shared objectives into thematic clusters.
• Identify opportunities for enhanced regional cooperation among countries with common needs and priorities.
• Where cooperation is relevant to a smaller group of countries, develop appropriate proposals as sub-regional projects.
• Promote opportunities for joint activities, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and the efficient use of available resources.
• Develop a coherent portfolio of regional and sub-regional CBRN projects based on the existing national proposals and aligned with identified regional priorities.

Competencies and values

Living conditions and remarks