Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems: During the 23rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, the U.S. delegation expressed its view that “lethal autonomous weapons may present important legal, policy, and ethical issues” but that these issues “go beyond the Human Rights Council's core expertise.” The U.S. delegation therefore urged that discussion of lethal autonomous weapons systems “take place in an appropriate forum that has a primary focus on international humanitarian law issues, with the participation of States that have incorporated or are considering incorporating automated and autonomous capabilities in weapon systems.”

Some Aspects of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

At the meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the U.S. delegation stated that it supported discussion of lethal autonomous weapons systems in that forum. The U.S. delegation's opening statement at the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties, delivered on November 14, 2013 by Michael W. Meier, is available at (link resource) geneva.usmission.gov/2013/11/15/u-s-opening-statement-at-the-meeting-ofparties-to-the-ccw/.

Ultimately, the High Contracting Parties decided to convene in 2014 “a four-day informal Meeting of Experts . . . to discuss the questions related to emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems.

Resources

Notes

1. Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law