UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon “energized” by students’ “serious discussions” on autonomous weapons systems

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addresses National Model UN conference in the General Assembly Room, 26 March 2015. Photo: NMUN.

In less than two weeks, diplomats from around the world will gather at the United Nations in Geneva to discuss potential global regulations on “lethal autonomous weapons systems” that would be able to select and attack targets without direct human control.

But last week, at the National Model UN conference in New York, attended by some 2,500 undergraduate students from all over the world, a simulation of the UN General Assembly passed three resolutions calling for states to take action to prevent the threat of these “killer robots” to security, human rights and humanitarian law.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told students he was “energized by this dynamic gathering” and its “serious discussions” on “cutting-edge issues on the international agenda”, such as “lethal autonomous weapons systems.”

“You are not just leaders of the future – you can start to lead right now,” he told them, “now is the time for your generation to build human solidarity around the world.”

The NMUN NY resolutions defined lethal autonomous robots as “weapons that can select and attack targets independently – without meaningful human input or control”, suggested all countries immediate adopt a national moratorium on such weapons, and urged the negotiation of an international ban through an additional Protocol VI at the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (NMUN NY 2015A/GA1-1-1).

Model UN is a simulation of diplomacy, negotiation and decisionmaking by international organizations. Students play the role of diplomats from Member States of the UN and discuss issues at the top of the global policymaking agenda. NMUN NY is one of the biggest undergraduate Model UN conferences in the world.

The students assigned to simulate the General Assembly First Committee – which deals with issues of disarmament and international security – spent several months learning about their countries’ policy positions, the General Assembly and the politics of killer robots. (See for example, their background guide). After debate and drafting in the First Committee, the resolutions were passed by students representing the full plenary body in the actual General Assembly Room at the UN in New York.

The resolutions also called attention to the “work and expertise” of civil society, particularly the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) (NMUN NY 2015A/GA1-1 -1, GA1-1-2 and GA1-1-3).

In a briefing, Dr. Matthew Bolton, Model UN advisor for Pace University New York City and member of ICRAC, told students at the conference that when new weapons technologies are not adequately addressed by existing regulations, the Marten’s Clause in international law requires states to be guided by “the principle of humanity and the dictates of public conscience.”

“Avoid the temptation to think this simulation is a meaningless game,” said Bolton, “A statement of strong concern from you could be considered an expression of public conscience – a challenge to policymakers in the real world to take action against killer robots.”

ICRAC member Dr. Matthew Bolton, presenting a statement on disarmament at the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Tuesday. Photo by Shant Alexander for Control Arms.

On behalf of global civil society organizations, International Committee for Robot Arms Control member Matthew Bolton calls for disarmament and arms control “driven by the needs and rights of people most affected by armed violence.” The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots also spoke, calling for fully autonomous weapons to “be prohibited through an international treaty, as well as through national laws and other measures.” To watch video footage of the NGO speeches, click here.

Dr. Matthew Bolton, a member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC),  addressed the United Nations General Assembly First Committee Tuesday afternoon, on behalf of Article 36 and other international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on disarmament, peacebuilding and humanitarian issues.

“We call for an approach to disarmament that is driven by the needs and rights of people most affected by armed violence, not by the discretion of states and organizations most responsible for it,” said Dr. Bolton to representatives of the 193 UN member states, as well as UN agencies and NGOs. The First Committee has responsibility for disarmament and international security.

The NGO statement, read by Dr. Bolton and endorsed by 11 organizations, congratulated states on “some noteworthy progress” in recent international discussions on the elimination of nuclear weapons, the recent Security Council resolution on small arms and light weapons as well as the Arms Trade Treaty, signed by over 100 states since June.

Despite these developments in global policy making on controlling weapons, however, Dr. Bolton asserted that “now is not the time for resting on laurels.” The NGO statement identified numerous concerns, including the abuse of the consensus rule in disarmament forums, exclusion of meaningful civil society participation, lack of equal opportunities for women in decisionmaking and the marginalization of the voices of victims and survivors of armed violence.

“Creativity and new human-centered approaches must be a requirement for all states advocating nuclear disarmament, conventional arms control and reduced military expenditure,” said Dr. Bolton, reading the NGO statement. “We can and must replace stalemate and watered-down outcomes with alternatives that advance human security and social and economic justice.”

The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots also delivered a statement in the same session, calling for a prohibition on fully autonomous weapons.

“Our campaign believes that human control is essential to ensure the protection of civilians and to ensure compliance with international law,” said Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch, delivering the statement on behalf of the campaign. “We seek a comprehensive and preemptive ban on weapons systems that would be able to select and attack targets without meaningful human intervention. These fully autonomous weapons or ‘lethal autonomous robots’ must be prohibited through an international treaty, as well as through national laws and other measures.”

Dr. Bolton is an expert on global disarmament policy and assistant professor of political science at Pace University. He is author of Foreign Aid and Landmine Clearance: Governance, Politics and Security in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan (I.B. Tauris, 2010) and a forthcoming travelogue Political Minefields (I.B. Tauris, 2014). He has written widely on the politics of landmines, cluster munitions, the Arms Trade Treaty and fully autonomous military robotics (“killer robots”). He recently co-authored an ICRAC Working Paper on regulating robotic weapons with the Arms Trade Treaty.

ICRAC is an international committee of experts in robotics technology, robot ethics, international relations, international security, arms control, international humanitarian law, human rights law, and public campaigns, concerned about the pressing dangers that military robots pose to peace and international security and to civilians in war.