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UN countries agree on text defining lethal autonomous weapons

From The Express Tribune · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources New plan
  • Representatives of 128 countries agreed on a text defining lethal autonomous weapons systems, a first step toward possible treaty negotiations.
  • The text has not been published, and campaign groups accused major powers of weakening or delaying international rules.
  • UN member states will decide in November whether to move toward negotiations under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

Nearly 130 countries have agreed on wording defining lethal autonomous weapons systems, known by critics as “killer robots.” The agreement marks a first step toward talks on a possible international treaty regulating the weapons.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen announced Saturday that 128 countries had agreed on the text. The Netherlands has overseen the discussions, but the text itself has not yet been made public.

Countries are already developing and using weapons that can select targets and use force without human intervention. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that “the unconstrained development and use of autonomous weapon systems pose serious legal, ethical and humanitarian challenges.”

The unconstrained development and use of autonomous weapon systems pose serious legal, ethical and humanitarian challenges.

· International Committee of the Red CrossThe ICRC warned about the risks of developing and using autonomous weapons without binding restrictions.

The ICRC and campaign groups have called for binding international rules to restrict and regulate the systems. Nicole van Rooijen, executive director of Stop Killer Robots, accused the United States, Russia and their allies of trying to weaken the agreed text. Lex International said the United States, Russia, India and Israel were among the main opponents of negotiations, while Brazil, Ireland and Norway were leading efforts to start them in November.

UN member states will decide at November talks under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons whether to move toward an international treaty.

The United States, Russia, India and Israel are amongst the key opponents of negotiations.

· Lex InternationalThe Geneva-based group identified countries it said were opposing negotiations on an international treaty.
About this summary

Originally published by The Express Tribune in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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