CCW Member States Reach Consensus on Autonomous Weapons

Member states of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons reached a consensus agreement on Saturday in Geneva to regulate autonomous weapons systems. The non-binding document concludes more than a decade of discussions regarding weapons capable of identifying and engaging targets with varying degrees of autonomy.

While the agreement establishes a foundation that could lead to formal treaty negotiations, the United States and Russia opposed legally binding international rules. Both nations expressed a preference for national guidelines, with Washington specifically seeking flexibility regarding the application of human judgment.

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots criticized the final text, arguing that definitions of autonomous weapons and measures to protect civilians were weakened during the final hours of the negotiations. Executive Director Nicole van Rooijen stated that the work performed by states over the last three years was substantially diluted.