In the early hours of September 5, a UN disarmament meeting in Geneva concluded three years of work on autonomous weapons systems, colloquially known as\u00a0killer robots. While the final report was significantly watered down, it left the door open for more concrete action in November, with a\u00a0record number of states now supporting negotiations on legally binding rules.
The stakes could not be higher, given growing reports that autonomous weapons are already being deployed on the battlefield. These systems, which select and engage targets without human intervention, pose a host of legal, ethical, accountability, and security concerns.\u00a0
During the final session of the\u00a0Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, many states demonstrated a commitment to complete their mandate\u2014to develop a \u201cset of elements of an instrument\u201d\u2014and advance toward negotiations of a legally binding instrument, which would govern the use of autonomous weapons. In total, 76 states have now expressed their support for moving to negotiations. As reported by\u00a0Stop Killer Robots, 70 of these states are High Contracting Parties, meaning they are voting members of the CCW. This makes up a majority of the Convention\u2019s Parties, marking the strongest political momentum yet for a CCW treaty process.
The UN\u2019s final report has some positive elements. It includes a characterization of lethal autonomous weapons systems, affirms that human control and judgment are required for compliance with international law, and incorporates restrictions on systems that cannot comply with that law. \u00a0
The final report does not, however, fully reflect the breadth of progress achieved at the GGE. Certain states, including\u00a0Russia and the\u00a0United States, weakened the text by insisting on changes to widely supported provisions. The final version removes references to design and development; narrows the scope of the treaty from all international law to only international humanitarian law; and cuts the reference to ethical considerations. It also removes references to predictability, reliability, explainability, and traceability. \u00a0
Nevertheless, the adopted final text provides a sufficient foundation for launching negotiations. The\u00a0November CCW Review Conference is now a decisive moment where states should adopt a mandate to begin negotiations on a new law. The need for meaningful human control is urgent. States now have the opportunity to turn over a decade of work into concrete legal progress.\u00a0
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