Statement to Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, Geneva

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Fully autonomous weapons raise a host of moral, legal, security, and technological concerns, but I will focus my remarks today on those related to international humanitarian law (IHL). As indicated by its title and preamble, the CCW aims to promote compliance with IHL and in particular provisions related to the protection of civilians. To live up to its stated goal, CCW must address the possibility of a next generation of weapons technology that would apply force without meaningful human control and thus directly challenge IHL in several ways. First, fully autonomous weapons…

© Human Rights Watch - mardi 26 mars 2019