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Human Rights Watch renews calls for a global treaty to ban ‘killer robots’ and ‘autonomous weapons’
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Human Rights Watch renews calls for a global treaty to ban ‘killer robots’ and ‘autonomous weapons’
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Noting that countries have been discussing a treaty banning autonomous weapons systems for nearly a decade “with no tangible results,” Human Rights Watch on Thursday renewed calls—and outlined alternative strategies—for a global agreement prohibiting the development of so-called “killer robots.”
The 40-page report, which was co-published with Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, posits that “rather than accepting continuing stagnation” while trying to reach a deal within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), proponents of a legally binding instrument for banning killer robots should try something new.
“The longer the killer robots issue stays stuck in the current forum, the more time developers of autonomous weapons systems have to hone new technologies and achieve commercial viability,” HRW senior arms researcher Bonnie Docherty said in a statement. “A new treaty would help stem arms races and avoid proliferation by stigmatizing the removal of human control.”
“A new international treaty that addresses autonomous weapons systems needs a more appropriate forum for negotiations,” Docherty, who is also associate director of armed conflict and civilian protection at the Human Rights Clinic, added. “There’s ample precedent to show that an alternative process to create legal rules on killer robots is viable and desirable, and countries need to act now to keep pace with technological developments.”
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