Building towards a common solution: Article 36 statement to talks on autonomous ...

Though disagreements over the format and possibilities for participating in the meeting looked like they might stop it going ahead, states gathered this week in Geneva (and online) for five days of meetings on autonomous weapons, under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. There is not consensus within this forum to negotiate a treaty on autonomous weapons – but we are seeing significant positive developments in terms of the substantive contributions being made by many states,... Read more

Autonomous weapons: How states’ commentaries help build towards international ...

With states gathering in Geneva (and online) for a week of meetings on autonomous weapons under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons this week, this analysis was first published in Reaching Critical Will of the WILPF’s CCW Report. For states considering the issue of “emerging technology in the area of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS)” there are two key problems to solve: firstly, whether some of the real or hypothetical weapon systems or configurations within... Read more

Why won’t the UK protect civilians from unexploded bombs?

The UK is the only permanent member of the Security Council that doesn’t support an international law to protect civilians from explosive remnants of war By Richard Moyes It is nearly a full 17 years since the international community adopted a legal instrument that works to protect conflict-affected communities from the threat of unexploded and abandoned bombs and ordnance.  Protocol V of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) provides international rules to ensure that states... Read more

New publications on protecting civilians: protecting health, protecting educatio...

Protecting civilians should be conceived of as a wide goal of conflict prevention and sustainable development, which gives attention to the health and wellbeing of people, the social structures that ensure justice and dignity, and the environment. Its objective should be the highest standards of public health; evidence and transparency in analysis for policymaking; accountability in governance; and environmental protection. As such, it is a goal towards which more can always be done. In three... Read more