UN Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed his call for a global ban on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), declaring that machines capable of killing without human intervention are “politically unacceptable” and “morally repugnant.”
Speaking at an informal United Nations meeting in New York focused on the risks and regulation of autonomous weapons, Guterres warned:
“There is no place for lethal autonomous weapon systems in our world. Machines that have the power and discretion to take human lives without human control should be prohibited by international law.”
The two-day meeting, which convened UN Member States, academic experts and civil society organizations, aimed to build momentum toward a legally binding agreement on the regulation and prohibition of such technologies.
Growing global concern
Though there is no universal legal definition of autonomous weapon systems, they are generally understood as systems, including certain advanced drones, that can select and engage targets without direct human instruction.
Guterres emphasized the necessity of maintaining human oversight in warfare, warning of the humanitarian and legal risks of delegating lethal decision-making to machines.
“Human control over the use of force is essential,” he said. “We cannot delegate life-or-death decisions to machines.”
Critics argue that autonomous weapons risk violating international humanitarian and human rights laws by removing human judgment from critical decisions on the battlefield.
Path toward regulation
Since 2014, UN Member States have debated the future of LAWS under the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which governs weapons that pose excessive or indiscriminate harm. The September 2024 ‘Pact for the Future’ further demonstrated the international community’s commitment to curbing the misuse of emerging technologies in warfare.
The recent meeting in New York signalled a shift from broad discussion toward concrete policy frameworks. Nicole van Rooijen, Executive Director of Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of more than 270 civil society groups, described recent progress as promising but insufficient.
“We are seeing consensus emerge around a two-tiered approach – prohibitions on some autonomous systems, and regulations on others,” Rooijen said. “That’s a huge improvement. But we’re still only in the consultation phase. We are not yet negotiating. That is a problem.”
Key challenges remain unresolved, including how to legally define an autonomous weapon system and what constitutes “meaningful human control” in practice.
An urgent timeline
Guterres has urged Member States to agree on a legal framework by 2026, warning that delays will only increase the dangers posed by rapid advances in artificial intelligence and algorithm-driven weapons systems.
“The cost of our inaction will be greater the longer we wait,” Rooijen said. She also cautioned that falling development costs could accelerate proliferation, including among non-state actors.
“The fate of humanity cannot be left to a ‘black box,’” Guterres stated. “Time is running out to take preventative action.”
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