CCW Report, Vol. 13, No. 1

Time to Safeguard Humanity from Automated Harm
24 February 2024

Laura Varella | Reaching Critical Will, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

On 3–7 March, the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) will meet for its first session of 2025. This will be the third session under the three-year mandate of the Group, which was tasked to “further consider and formulate, by consensus, a set of elements of an instrument in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems.” The deadline to achieve this goal is approaching: the GGE will have to submit a consensus report to the Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 2026. Given the continuous advance of technologies and the urgency with which regulation is needed, many states have been calling for the GGE to conclude its mandate by the end of 2025. The closer we get to this date, the more is expected from the Group.

Brief recap

In the first two sessions of 2024, the GGE discussed several topics, including characterisation of LAWS, application of international humanitarian law (IHL), prohibitions and regulations, risk mitigation and confidence-building measures, accountability and responsibility, among others. In the first session, the GGE based its discussions on a summary of proposals compilated by the Chair, Ambassador Robert in den Bosch of the Netherlands. In the second session, the Chair put forward a rolling text, which was updated throughout that week of discussions. For the upcoming third session, the Chair proposed a new version of the rolling text, which comprises five sections. The Chair has remained responsible for Section I, and he now counts on the assistance of the “Friends of the Chair” to guide the discussions on the other sections of the text: Ms. Claudia Henfry of Australia and Ms. Christian Hope Reyes of the Philippines are covering Sections II and V, while Mr. Cláudio Leopoldino of Brazil and Mr. Reto Wollenmann of Switzerland are covering Sections II and V.

During the intersessional period, the Chair conducted three informal consultations with CCW High Contracting Parties and one with observers to the CCW (see below a report of the consultation with observers). These consultations allowed for progress in several aspects of the text, but more work is needed in crucial sections, particularly around prohibitions and regulations. The Group has extensively discussed characterisations—and it is expected to continue doing so in the upcoming meeting—even though several delegations stressed that a working definition would be sufficient for moving forward with negotiations of a legally binding instrument, which most of the Group supports. As Brazil stressed in March last year “a common understanding is desirable but not at the price of procrastinating progress indefinitely.”

Additionally, the Group has dedicated substantial time and energy reformulating existing law (Section II), while these efforts would have been more welcomed in refining specific rules and approaches needed regarding AWS, particularly around prohibitions and regulations (sections III and IV), which most states agree is the core of the rolling text, and any future treaty. It is clear that at this particular moment, when the Group is half-way through its mandate, the allocation of discussion time to crucial segments becomes a significant element for the GGE’s success.

Another issue faced by the GGE is the objection of Russia to the participation of observers. By refusing to confirm the rules of procedure unless certain restrictions are imposed on non-governmental organisations, Russia manages to not only stall discussions, but also to prevent the GGE from carrying out its work transparently and with input from civil society, academia, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Russia’s actions demonstrate the challenges of consensus-based bodies when states act in bad faith, taking the whole Group hostage to its own interests. It is not only observers and states in the room who are affected by this—the whole world will bear the impact if rules on autonomous weapons are not urgently agreed.

Outside the conference room, the world burns

In recent months, we have seen the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to cause widespread violence. The use of decision support systems like Lavender by Israel was instrumental in the destruction of infrastructure in Gaza and the killing of thousands of civilians. Weapons with concerning levels of autonomy are also being used in conflict, contributing to digital dehumanisation and the erosion of meaningful human decision-making and control.

The delay in regulating these technologies is allowing the industry to develop weapons without restriction, motivated by highly profitable government contracts. Just in the past few weeks, the US-based startup Anduril announced that it is building a new 1 billion USD factory that could “eventually produce tens of thousands of autonomous systems and weapons each year.” Anduril, which is closely connected to the new Trump administration, is not the only company deepening its ties with militaries. Microsoft and Google have been reportedly working with the Israeli Defence Forces, and Google has even removed the pledge to not use AI for weapons from its website.

This all indicates that an emerging military AI industry is thriving while governments fail to establish appropriate rules that can secure humanity from widespread automated violence. As Stop Killer Robots said, “The direction of travel for military AI use is startlingly clear. It’s long past time for the international community to take the necessary steps to create new international law to address autonomous weapons.”

New spaces for discussion

In the past year, there have been several state-led initiatives on autonomous weapons systems beyond the CCW. Austria convened the 2024 Vienna Conference on Autonomous Weapons, which resulted in a Chair’s summary supported by 40 delegations. Sierra Leone hosted the Regional Conference on the Peace and Security Aspect of Autonomous Weapons Systems: An ECOWAS Perspective, which produced a communiqué. The Republic of Korea (ROK), the Netherlands, Singapore, Kenya, and the United Kingdom co-hosted the REAIM Summit, which resulted in a Blueprint for Action.

Last October, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution deciding to convene an informal consultation in the General Assembly on LAWS. The consultation has been scheduled for 12–13 May in the United Nations in New York. This will be a great opportunity to discuss critical issues that remain missing from the current debate at the GGE, including the grave ethical concerns with AWS designed to target people, and serious implications for human rights. The consultation will also provide an inclusive space for civil society to participate actively, along with governments who do not have representation at the GGE in Geneva.

Hopefully the consultation will contribute to building political will towards the start of negotiations of a legally binding instrument on AWS. The majority of the world supports this, with only a small minority—mainly militarised states who aim to gain profit and power from AWS—standing against this goal. It is past time that states put humanity above national interests and begin negotiations of a treaty.

Recommendations

During the March session of the GGE on LAWS, states should:

Call for the start of negotiations of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.
Express support for a prohibition on autonomous weapon systems that do not allow for meaningful human control, as well as on systems that use sensors to target humans.
Support additional rules so that other autonomous weapon systems will be used with meaningful human control in practice.
Support the inclusion of ethical considerations, international human rights law, and international criminal law in the discussions of the GGE.
Express support for the participation of civil society in the CCW.
Welcome the upcoming informal consultations in the UN General Assembly and invite others to participate.

[PDF] ()