US Mission Geneva

The 18th Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II (Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps, and other Devices) to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects U.S. Delegation Opening […]

The United States recognizes that it is important that the CCW discussions take up the moral or ethical issues related to the use of autonomous capabilities in weapon systems. However, we must be very clear in distinguishing between what constitute ethical considerations on the one hand and legal requirements on the other.

We would like to take this opportunity to share our views on what a comprehensive weapon review process should entail for weapons with autonomous functions. To be clear, when I refer to a weapon review process, I am referring to more than a legal review of a weapon system.

We would like to take this opportunity to explain what we mean by “appropriate levels of human judgment” as well as aspects of our policy that ensure appropriate levels of human judgments are capable of being exercised in the use of autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems, including potential LAWS.

The United States remains very supportive of discussing LAWS in the CCW. Like we said earlier, we think we are making good, incremental progress, but it is important to continue increasing our understanding about LAWS rather than trying to decide possible outcomes. We believe that LAWS is a complex subject that requires in-depth, substantive discussions.

The United States has been a strong supporter of the decision by the States Parties to CCW to adopt a mandate to discuss lethal autonomous weapons systems or LAWS. We continue to believe that CCW, an IHL forum with its mix of policy, military, and technical experts, is the appropriate venue to consider this complex and important topic.

The United States is committed to ensuring the utmost respect for and adherence to human rights when it comes to the development, use, or export of any weapons system, includingany potential future LAWS.

The U.S. delegation is prepared to participate fully in this week’s discussions and while we will make specific comments during the upcoming sessions, we want to take this opportunity to provide some initial thoughts about the work ahead of us.

The United States places great value in the CCW as an IHL framework that brings together States with diverse security interests to discuss issues related to weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or that have indiscriminate effects.