Diplomats from around the world met in Geneva last week for the United Nations’ third Informal Expert Meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), commonly dubbed “killer robots.”
Their aim was to make progress on deciding how, or if, LAWS should be regulated under international humanitarian law.
A range of views were expressed at the meeting, from Pakistan being in favor of a full ban, to the U.K. favoring no new regulation for LAWS, and several positions in between.
Despite the range of views on offer, there was some common ground.
It is generally agreed that LAWS are governed by international humanitarian law. For example, robots cannot ignore the principles of distinction between civilians and combatants, or proportionality in the scale of attack.
