Autonomous weapons: UN and Red Cross urge bans

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric urged governments on August 25 to set international rules for autonomous weapons, warning that machines could soon be used to target humans without human intervention.

In a joint statement, they renewed a 2023 call for countries to agree specific bans and restrictions by this year. They said the risks around autonomous weapon systems had intensified and that the world was “dangerously close” to “the autonomous targeting of humans by machines.”

Lethal autonomous weapon systems are generally understood as systems that select targets and apply force without human intervention.

Laurent Gisel, head of the ICRC’s arms and conduct of hostilities unit, said autonomous weapon systems are already being used on battlefields and in broader environments, increasing the risk to civilians. Experts cited by AFP said there has so far been no confirmed use of fully autonomous weapons to directly target humans.

Countries are due in November to decide whether to open full treaty negotiations after years of discussions. Guterres and Spoljaric called for “political courage” and warned that failure to act quickly would cost lives.

Gisel said the ICRC was not seeking a ban on all autonomous weapon systems. He said bans were needed for two categories: unpredictable autonomous weapons, where operators cannot adequately predict the effects of force, and anti-personnel autonomous weapons systems, which directly target human beings.

The UN and Red Cross chiefs said some scientists and engineers involved in developing weapons systems had raised alarms themselves, and said states could not afford to remain passive.