The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have renewed calls for legally binding international rules governing autonomous weapons, warning that the rapid development of the technology is bringing the world closer to a point where machines could independently select and attack human targets.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric issued the warning on Tuesday, saying the risks associated with autonomous weapons had intensified since they first appealed to governments three years ago to establish clear prohibitions and restrictions.
“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” they said in a joint statement.
Autonomous weapon systems are generally understood as weapons that, once activated, can select and engage targets without further human intervention.
The ICRC said such systems raise humanitarian and legal concerns because their use can reduce human control over decisions involving the application of lethal force.
The organisations are not calling for a blanket prohibition on every form of autonomous technology. Instead, they are urging states to negotiate a legally binding instrument containing specific prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapons.
The renewed appeal comes three years after Guterres and Spoljaric called on governments to conclude such an agreement by 2026.
The ICRC said the gap between technological development and international regulation has widened as advances in weapon technology have accelerated.
The issue has gained greater urgency as artificial intelligence and autonomous capabilities become increasingly integrated into military systems.
The ICRC said in a position paper published earlier this year that autonomous weapons can select and engage one or more targets without further human intervention once activated, creating particular challenges for compliance with international humanitarian law.
The organisations’ warning comes as governments continue negotiations in Geneva under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which has been the main international forum for discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems.
A Group of Governmental Experts met in Geneva in March to consider possible elements of an international instrument and other measures addressing emerging technologies in lethal autonomous weapons systems. The discussions are expected to continue ahead of the CCW’s Seventh Review Conference in November.
The November conference is being viewed by the ICRC as an important opportunity to begin negotiations on a new protocol governing autonomous weapons.
The humanitarian organisation has argued that existing international humanitarian law applies to the use of such weapons but that additional rules are needed to address the specific risks posed by increasing autonomy.
The debate has also been complicated by the rapid expansion of autonomous and AI-assisted military technologies on contemporary battlefields.
Reuters reported that concerns have grown as such technologies have featured in conflicts including Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Iran and the Gulf region, although this does not mean that fully autonomous weapons capable of independently deciding to kill humans have been confirmed in those conflicts.
The distinction is significant. Autonomous functions already exist in some military systems, but the UN and Red Cross are particularly concerned about weapons operating without meaningful human control over decisions to use lethal force.
Guterres has previously called for human judgment to remain central to the use of force and has advocated a legally binding framework for lethal autonomous weapons operating without human control.
In their latest statement, the UN and ICRC said the international community must act before technological development makes effective regulation more difficult.
“Autonomous weapons systems are not part of a distant future: a race towards greater autonomy in weapons systems is already well under way,” they said.
The organisations also pointed to concerns raised by scientists and engineers involved in developing advanced technologies, saying their calls for limits should prompt governments to take action.
