… in relation to article 36 weapons reviews and processes, we are strongly supportive of efforts to increase scrutiny over the development and use of weapons, means and methods of warfare, including in the context of legal reviews under additional protocol I. We think this week’s discussion clearly shows that the legality, morality and desirability of pursuing autonomous weapons is highly contested within the international community. This means different states will have widely varying approaches to legal reviews of such systems.
Against that background we think that rather than a specific discussion in relation to autonomous weapons systems, it would be more sensible to start with discussion on the broader practice of legal reviews of weapons, means and methods of warfare. This course of action has been previously recommended by a number of delegations at the CCW, including before the CCW took up work on autonomous weapons. We look forward to contributing to specific CCW work on the wider issue of legal reviews of weapons, means and methods of warfare.
Statement by Article 36 on the way forward (17 April 2015)
