CCW GROUP OF GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE AREA OF LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS SYSTEMS TO MEET FROM 25 TO 29 MARCH IN GENEVA

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons’ Group of Governmental Experts on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems will meet in Geneva from 25 to 29 March 2019.

The Fifth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons established the Group of Governmental Experts on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems in 2016. The group held meetings in 2017 and 2018 at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

At their 2018 Meeting, the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons agreed that the Group of Governmental Experts on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems shall meet again in 2019 for a duration of seven days in Geneva. The first part of the 2019 session will take place from 25 to 29 March 2019. The second part is scheduled to take place from 20 to 21 August 2019. The Group is chaired by Ljupèo Jivan Gjorgjinski, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of North Macedonia in Geneva.

The overarching issues in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems that will be addressed at the 2019 session of the Group of Governmental Experts include: (i) an exploration of the potential challenges posed by emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems to international humanitarian law; (ii) consideration of the human element in the use of lethal force; aspects of human machine interaction in the development, deployment and use of emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems; (iii) review of the potential military applications of related technologies in the context of the Group’s work; (iv) characterization of the systems under consideration in order to promote a common understanding on concepts and characteristics relevant to the objectives and purposes of the Convention; and (v) possible options for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges posed by emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems in the context of the objectives and purposes of the Convention without prejudicing policy outcomes and taking into account past, present and future proposals

Participation is expected from a wide array of stakeholders, including many of the Convention’s States parties, as well as representatives of international organizations, civil society, academia, and industry.

The 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects entered into force on 2 December 1983.

The Convention is a major International Humanitarian Law treaty which prohibits or restricts the use of specific types of weapons that are considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately. The structure of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons – a chapeau Convention and annexed Protocols – was adopted in a manner to ensure future flexibility. The Convention itself contains only general provisions while all prohibitions and/or restrictions on the use of specific weapons or weapon systems are the object of the Protocols annexed to the Convention. The Convention currently has 125 States Parties.

For more information pertaining to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, kindly consult the official website of the CCW at: www.unog.ch/ccw .



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DC/19/23E