25-10-09

UNICRI is organising the 2nd Mentoring Service for national experts in Belgrade, Serbia on 2-3 December 2009 to assist participating States to develop methodology ,CB Data Collection and CBRN Risk Assessment.

The design and implementation of an effective strategy to prevent non-state actors from developing and using chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons is an extremely complex task. International and national agencies have already developed valid strategies and instruments to mitigate the risks, but there are still some areas where further work needs to be done. Among countries that are involved in the project, it is noticed that Serbia has best practice in bringing together different stakeholders to discuss CBRN policy.

An important step, in this regard, is to bring together different stakeholders, including the scientific community, civil society and governments, to discuss the challenges involved in efficient and reliable data collection and assessment. In the field of radiological and nuclear incidents, the IAEA illicit trafficking database (ITDB) is considered a reliable instrument for the collection and analysis of data. However there is no equivalent for the collection of chemical and biological (CB) incidents.

Furthermore a second important step is to explore, together with the different stakeholders, the best methodology for the development of a risk assessment. A risk assessment is an important contribution to the protection of civilians; it helps focusing on the risks that really matter. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks. Good methodology is the first condition for creating a sensible risk assessment.