Progress on rules for lethal autonomous weapons urgently needed, says chair of Geneva talks

Urgent progress on lethal autonomous weapons regulations is needed as 128 states meet in Geneva for crucial discussions.

Progress on a potential international framework to prohibit and restrict Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) is urgently ​needed, as talks on the matter in Geneva enter a crucial phase, ‌their chair said.

From this week to the mandate's end ​in September, 128 states will discuss whether to agree ⁠by consensus on a non-binding text that could pave the way for future negotiations on prohibitions and regulations on LAWS.

Since 2014, more than a hundred states ‌party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons have met in the Swiss city to discuss banning LAWS that ‌do not comply with existing international law while regulating others.

"If we ‌wait, ⁠then it almost gets to a stage where ⁠you're too late. We will be overtaken by technological developments." Robert in den Bosch, the Dutch Disarmament Ambassador in Geneva and Chair of the CCW Group of Governmental ​Experts on LAWS, told Reuters.

There are ‌mounting concerns over the role of AI-assisted semi-autonomous weapons that have been used in conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Iran, and the Gulf. While states agree that international humanitarian law (IHL) applies to ‌LAWS, specific internationally binding standards for these systems remain virtually ​non-existent.

Russia and the United States, among others, oppose new legally binding instruments, arguing existing laws suffice.