ASHGABAT,  Turkmenistan –

A workshop for Central Asian Countries on Non-Proliferation and International Legal Co-operation against Biological, Chemical and Nuclear Terrorism took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It was jointly organized by the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), in cooperation with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

For two days, prosecutors, law enforcement representatives and judicial experts involved in prosecution of terrorist cases and related international judicial co-operation, will have an opportunity to discuss universal conventions and protocols related to nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism and relevant international and regional instruments pertaining to non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Special focus will be on international co-operation in criminal matters relating to biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism, including the rule of law aspects of extradition and mutual legal assistance in terrorism related criminal cases.

As Amb. Miroslav Jenca, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of UNRCCA, noted in his opening remarks "the issues to be discussed during the workshop are directly linked to preventive diplomacy since implementation of respective international commitments in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation contribute to maintaining global and regional peace and security".

"Non-proliferation is also an issue of criminality. We need to keep the world's most dangerous weapons out of the most dangerous hands" underlined Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC Executive Director, from UNODC Headquarters in Vienna.

Experts from Central Asian states, Afghanistan, USA, Russia and Slovak Republic are participating at the workshop. Representatives of eleven international and regional organizations are scheduled to participate and speak about non-proliferation and combating biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism. Some of these include representatives of the Commonwealth Independent States, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), INTERPOL, the Provisional Secretariat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Security Council's "1540 Committee".

The event offers an outstanding opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience in the area of non-proliferation and combating biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism and work out practical recommendations.