- Events
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Office of Counter-Terrorism (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵOCT), through its United Nations Centre for Counter-Terrorism (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵCCT), and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICRI), in partnership with INTERPOL, concluded the first Global Training on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Transformations for Security Sector Actors, held from 14 to 18 September 2026, in Rome, Italy.
Hosted by the Department of Public Security of the Ministry of the Interior of Italy, the training was delivered jointly under two complementary European Union-funded initiatives:
- CT TECH+, which is implemented by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵOCT in partnership with INTERPOL, to strengthen national policy and operational capacities to counter the use of new technologies for terrorist purposes, and
- AI-POL, which is implemented by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICRI in partnership with INTERPOL to support responsible AI governance and institutional leadership in law enforcement.
The five-day training programme brought together law enforcement and counter-terrorism officials from Brazil, C?te d'Ivoire, Ghana, India, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman and the Philippines.
The programme drew on expertise from the European Commission, INTERPOL, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Cybersecurity Agency of Italy, the Guardia di Finanza, the Polizia di Stato, the Carabinieri, Thales, the Stimson Center, the London School of Economics, and Northeastern University's AI Ethics Lab, among others.
Participants examined the capabilities, limitations and risks of AI systems. They discussed international standards and governance frameworks for responsible AI; legal and human rights considerations in digital transformation; and practical approaches to institutional AI strategy development. The programme included a visit to the Cyber Police Headquarters of Italy, case studies on AI implementation from Italy, Malaysia and Nigeria, and group exercises through which participants developed AI strategies and implementation roadmaps tailored to their own institutions.
Prefect Vard¨¨ Annunziato, Director of the Office for the Coordination and Planning of Italian police forces, stated: "We need to keep up with an always changing terrorist threat, stemming from individuals to organized groups, without borders. We need to strengthen international cooperation to fight against terrorism because it's in this framework that terrorists work."
"Artificial intelligence is transforming how security institutions operate, from data analytics to threat detection," said Mr. Mauro Miedico, Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵCCT, in his opening remarks. "But technical capability alone is not sufficient. Responsible AI integration demands institutional readiness, strategic leadership, and governance frameworks grounded in human rights and the rule of law."
Since the seventh review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in 2022, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵOCT is mandated to support, jointly with other relevant Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, innovative measures and approaches to build the capacity of Member States, upon their request, for the challenges and opportunities that new technologies provide in preventing and countering terrorism.
The joint training reflects broader efforts to strengthen coherence and collaboration across the United Nations system, consistent with the direction of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 initiative. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵOCT, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICRI, and INTERPOL leveraged complementary mandates and pooled their expertise to deliver coordinated and coherent support to their benefitting Partner States.