WILPF Statement to the Informal Consultations on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

13 May 2025

The following is the WILPF Statement to the Informal Consultations on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, held under UN General Assembly auspices on 12-13 May 2025.

Thank you Chair.

I am speaking on behalf of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which is a member of the Stop Killer Robots Campaign.

WILPF reiterates the unwavering call for an immediate, legally binding international treaty to prohibit the development and use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS). These weapons, which operate without meaningful human control, pose profound threats to international humanitarian law, human rights, and global peace.

Our feminist and anti-militarist perspective compels us to highlight the gendered implications of AWS. These systems risk perpetuating and amplifying existing biases, including those based on gender, race, and disability. The absence of human judgment in critical decisions about life and death could lead to disproportionate harm to marginalized communities, particularly women and girls, who often bear the brunt of armed conflicts.

In countries like Lebanon and Palestine, the potential deployment of such technologies exacerbates existing vulnerabilities. Palestinians have endured decades of occupation, systemic violence, and displacement, facing unique challenges that are often overlooked in deliberations about weapons. The introduction of autonomous weapons in such contexts would further erode accountability and deepen the cycle of violence. We can see this already with the use of AI-enabled systems such as “Lavander” and “Where’s Daddy” to identify targets and direct bombing. Reporting on these systems indicates that humans only give a few seconds to confirm targets, and only check if the name is male. This is gender-based violence. Furthermore, the bombings that have occurred using these systems have been indiscriminate, unverified, and resulted in untold numbers of civilian deaths and injuries.

Similarly, Lebanon has experienced the devastating impacts of militarization and conflict. The proliferation of AWS in the region threatens to undermine efforts toward sustainable peace and security, particularly for women who are striving to rebuild their communities and assert their rights in post-conflict settings. Impact goes beyond the physical to also psychological and environmental impacts.

Autonomous weapons, and all of the technologies that go into them, will be developed in states with advanced military firms and technology companies. But they will be tested and used on countries of the Global South, and on marginalized populations in the Global North, to suppress protest, to further criminalise communities of colour, and to repress migrants. Many companies and governments will be complicit in this harm, yet as we heard yesterday, it will be challenging to hold any of them to account.

Therefore, we urge all states to:

1. Commence negotiations for a comprehensive treaty that bans AWS and ensures meaningful human control over the use of force. Impose a moratorium on the development of these weapons in the meantime, and do not invest in tech companies designing or building such weapons.

2. Integrate gender perspectives into all discussions and decisions related to autonomous weapons, recognizing the disproportionate impact on women and marginalized groups.

3. Support initiatives that amplify the voices of women from conflict-affected regions, ensuring their experiences and insights inform policy decisions.

Thank you.

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