2. … The UK’s clear position is that IHL and Article 36 Weapons Reviews are the applicable legal framework for the assessment and use of all weapons systems in armed conflict, including new and novel weapons technologies, in order to ensure their effects are thoroughly assessed and understood.
3. The UK has published its weapons review procedures online. The UK welcomes engagement and comments on its process. To this end, the UK has hosted two International Weapon Review Fora to discuss how lawyers charged with Article 36 reviews might discharge their responsibilities, including in the context of highly automated or autonomous technologies. These Fora were attended by a broad mix of states, academics from science and law, interested NGOs and by the ICRC.
4. The UK is aware that despite the large numbers of States being signatories to the first Protocol, not all formally conduct legal weapons reviews. Conversely there are States that are not signatories to the Protocol which conduct Article 36-type legal weapons reviews. We hope that sharing our approach may encourage other states to publish theirs, or at least begin implementing such protocols if they do not do so already.
7. … We encourage the universalisation and enhancement of Article 36 legal weapons reviews and greater compliance with IHL. IHL is a more agile metric for assessing all emerging lethal capabilities on a case-by-case basis than the pre-emptive instrument of a ban. Trying to impose a legal prohibition without understanding what is being regulated will lead to such an instrument becoming redundant, requiring revision, and risks causing unintended consequences on civilian developments. Such an approach risks undermining the integrity and utility of existing review processes and setting a poor precedent for bespoke legislation of other capabilities.
8. When thinking about the way ahead, the UK is always willing to work with any interested states to share best practice — including on how better to incorporate AI and autonomy specific considerations into our Article 36 legal weapons reviews in a way that reflects emerging technology. The UK would also be open to considering the establishment of a technical group of experts to keep emerging technologies under constant review under the auspices of the GGE discussions on LAWS in the CCW. …
Statement by the United Kingdom under agenda item 6(d): Possible options for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges (13 April 2018)
