https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/news/dynamic-consultations-demonstrate-...
From 12-13 May, 96 States participated in the first international meeting specifically on autonomous weapons systems held at the United Nations in New York. These informal consultations, mandated by resolution 79/62 adopted by the General Assembly last December, brought states, international and regional organisations, civil society, academia, and industry together to consider ethical, humanitarian and legal concerns posed by autonomous weapons, among other issues raised in the report of the Secretary-General. In their recorded opening statements, both the UN Secretary-General, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), reiterated the urgent call to action and to conclude a legally binding instrument by 2026.
This was the first time all states had a seat at the table to discuss the risks posed by autonomous weapons in an inclusive and comprehensive manner. This New York meeting concentrated on issues that have received less attention so far at the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva, including the consideration of international human rights law and international criminal law, as well as broader ethical, technological, and security considerations. The two-day informal meeting was packed with expert panel presentations which provided more details on these different considerations.
Many States took the floor, raising questions and putting forward compelling arguments in support of the ICRC’s two-tier approach, on prohibitions and regulations on autonomous weapons systems. Many States, particularly from the Global South, emphasized the risks of rapid proliferation of such weapons, including to non-State armed actors and the associated risks of lowering the threshold to armed conflict as well as the potential for exacerbating asymmetric warfare.
Stop Killer Robots campaign members raised the urgent need for states to negotiate a treaty that contains both prohibitions on killer robots designed to target humans and systems that do not allow for meaningful human control, and regulations to govern the design, development, and use of other autonomous weapons systems. Our campaign members took the floor to highlight the dire risks of digital dehumanisation, algorithmic and other forms of bias, human rights violations, and legal accountability gaps including: Amnesty International, Article 36, Campaign to Stop Killer Robots Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch, InterAgency Institute, International Committee for Robot Arms Control, PROTECTION, Red de Seguridad Humana para América Latina y el Caribe (SEHLAC), TEDIC, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Stop Killer Robots also hosted a side event, ‘A hazard to human rights: autonomous weapons systems and digital decision-making’, which featured a presentation of a new report by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, through a panel discussion with speakers from Stop Killer Robots, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Speakers addressed the human rights implications of autonomous weapons and the need for prohibitions on both antipersonnel systems and systems that do not allow for meaningful human control. It also explored examples and impacts of component technologies like remote biometric surveillance and predictive tools, already in use, and the implications of their use within autonomous weapons systems on human rights.
As stakeholders met in New York for the first time, we are reminded that this issue concerns the future of multilateralism, of international law, and of our shared humanity. The use of autonomy in weapons will not be confined to the battlefield — it will affect law enforcement, border control, and other domains of public life. That is why inclusivity and the participation of all states is so essential, and why action under international human rights law must go hand in hand with international humanitarian law.
This is a shared responsibility. Every state has a stake in preventing digital dehumanisation and ensuring that emerging technologies are governed by ethics, human rights, and the rule of law. The choices we make today will shape the future of global security, international cooperation, and human dignity.
Stop Killer Robots urges states to meet again in New York under the UN General Assembly (UNGA) auspices and to prepare another UNGA resolution on autonomous weapons systems that is more ambitious in setting the goal of negotiating a new international treaty on autonomous weapons systems in 2026. The dictates of the public conscience are clear: we need an international treaty that will ensure meaningful human control over all weapons systems, ban systems that can’t be properly controlled, and ban systems that target people.
The world is watching. Let us rise to meet this moment — with courage, clarity, and conviction — to build a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.
