In late 2020, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) held an online forum on “COVID-19, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Priorities: A Spotlight on Vulnerable Groups” which sought to frame the emerging threats and trends resulting from the pandemic and to look at vulnerable populations through the lens of crime prevention, justice, human rights, rule of law and development. The forum report highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has been integrated into terrorist groups’ narratives and propaganda, how these narratives have spread across social media platforms, and how young people – with increased time spent online – have been impacted by extremist ideas. It further draws attention to the fact that the threat posed by dangerous CBRN agents and materials remains high and that the risk of hostile misuse of CBRN agents continues to pose serious concerns for governments and threaten civilian populations worldwide. The report calls for expanding CBRN risk mitigation communication with regard to biological threats to include society at large and to involve children, as one of the most vulnerable social groups.
The full text of the report is available here.