CCW LAWS

CCW LAWS refers to the ongoing intergovernmental discussions on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) held under the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the 1980 UN treaty that restricts weapons deemed excessively injurious or indiscriminate.

Informal expert meetings on LAWS began in 2014, and in 2016 the CCW Review Conference established a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on LAWS to examine the technology, military, legal, and ethical dimensions of weapons that can select and engage targets autonomously. The GGE has met regularly in Geneva since 2017.

In 2019 the GGE adopted 11 Guiding Principles, affirming that:

• International humanitarian law (IHL) continues to apply fully to all weapons systems, including potential LAWS;
• Human responsibility for decisions on the use of force must be retained, since accountability cannot be transferred to machines;
• Risk assessments and mitigation measures should be part of design, development, testing, and deployment.

State positions diverge sharply. A coalition of states — including Austria, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, and many African and Latin American countries, alongside the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots NGO coalition and the ICRC — supports a legally binding instrument prohibiting fully autonomous systems and regulating others, often framed around requirements of meaningful human control. Major military powers including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, India, and Israel have generally opposed a new treaty, preferring non-binding guidance or arguing existing IHL suffices. Russia in particular has repeatedly blocked consensus, which the CCW requires.

Frustration with the CCW's pace led the UN General Assembly First Committee to adopt resolution 78/241 in December 2023 on autonomous weapons, and the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President have jointly called for a legally binding instrument by 2026. Parallel tracks — including UNGA-mandated consultations and regional conferences such as the 2023 Belén Communiqué in Costa Rica — have emerged as states grow impatient with CCW deadlock.