Member States nominate well-qualified experts for the rosters. However, training activities provide these experts with additional knowledge and skills needed to operate as a cohesive UN team in challenging field conditions to carry out their mandate. UNODA coordinates on training activities with partners, including Member States and international organizations. In accordance with the current Guidelines and Procedures, “any interested Member State may designate to the Secretary-General relevant specialized training or courses available to qualified experts in support of their possible role on his behalf in carrying out investigations of possible use of chemical, biological and toxin agents, in order to facilitate achievement on a common basis of understanding and operation.”

The first-ever training course for nominated experts on the UNSGM roster was offered by the Government of Sweden and was conducted in cooperation with UNODA in Umea, Sweden from 25 May to 5 June 2009. Since then, in cooperation with UNODA, 20 training courses have been held in six countries (Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) as well as organized by two international organizations (INTERPOL, OPCW).

An overview of past training activities and exercises can be found below.

Member State/ Organization	Type	Dates
Sweden	Basic training and field exercise	25 May – 5 June 2009
France	Basic training	4-10 November 2012
Denmark	Table-top exercise	28-30 May 2013
Germany	Workshop (in preparation of field exercise)	28-30 January 2014
Sweden	First advanced team leader training and exercise	9-14 June 2014
United Kingdom	Command, control and investigation	22-26 September 2014
Germany	Field exercise	10-19 November 2014
France	Basic training	7-19 June 2015
OPCW	Advanced skills in negotiations and interviewing	7-10 September 2015
Sweden	Leadership skills	28 September – 3 October 2016
Australia	Basic training	17-28 October 2016
United Kingdom	Command and control	5-8 December 2016
France	Basic training	6-16 November 2017
UNODA	Expert consultant workshop	14-15 December 2017
United Kingdom	Command, control and communication	26 February -2 March 2018
INTERPOL	Evidence gathering and handling	5-9 November 2018
Germany	Hazardous environment awareness training	14-20 September 2019
Sweden	Leadership training	7-11 October 2019
UNODA	Expert consultant workshop (virtual)	3-4 November 2020
Germany	Table-top exercise (virtual)	9-13 November 2020
Germany	Table-top exercises (virtual)	24 August – 1 September 2021
Germany	Hazardous environment awareness training refresher	16-19 November 2021
South Africa	Basic training	20 June – 1 July 2022
Germany	Capstone (Field Exercise)	19-28 September 2022
INTERPOL & Canada	Biological crime scene management training	27 February – 3 March 2023
South Africa	Basic training	26 June – 7 July 2023
Germany & Canada	Sampling and transport of infectious substances training	19-23 September 2023
France	Basic training	25 September – 6 October 2023
UNDSS	Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE)	26 November – 2 December 2023
IICI, VERTIC & United States	Investigative Interview Skills	5-9 February 2024

Laboratory Quality Assurance Exercises (EQAEs)

UNSGM-designated laboratories may be called upon by the Secretary-General to participate in interlaboratory calibration studies or external quality assessment exercises (EQAEs) so as the establish the validity and accuracy of their analytical methods in order to ensure the expertise necessary, e.g., in the analysis of samples received from the site of the alleged use.

Further information on EQAEs for UNSGM-designated laboratories can be found below.

Member State/ Organization	Exercise	Dates	Status
Denmark and Sweden/ Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI)	Dry lab analysis of genomic sequence data from bacteria	2016-2018	Completed
Germany/Robert Koch Institute (RKI)	RefBio Project	2017-2027	Ongoing
Germany, United States, Denmark and Sweden/ RKI, DTU and FOI	Dry lab analysis of sequence data from viruses	2021-2022	Completed
China/State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (SKLID)	“Disease X” Exercise	2022	Completed
China/National High Containment Facilities for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Institute (HVRI)	“Future Pandemics Testing” Exercise	2023-2024	Ongoing