Analysing the ‘protection of civilians’ as a policy agenda – ...

In a new paper released today, Article 36 examines the ‘protection of civilians’ as a global policy agenda, using an analysis of states’ contributions to the 2019 UN Security Council ‘open debate’ to look at the current state of discussion. The purpose of this is to look at where the entry points might be for future policymaking initiatives – particularly around weapons – that can contribute effectively to the wider goal of protecting civilians. Protecting... Read more

The draft political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas: key com...

On 17 March 2020, Ireland released the first draft for a political declaration on protecting civilians from the use of explosive weapons, a process that they have been leading since last year. This paper contains the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW)’s key comments on the draft political declaration text. These comments highlight the most significant changes that INEW would like to see in the next version in order to provide stronger humanitarian protections. Based... Read more

From “pink eyed terminators” to a clear-eyed response? UK policy on autonomo...

In this new paper, Article 36 analyses UK contributions to the discussion on ‘autonomy’ in weapons systems at the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. The UK’s political position that existing law is sufficient and no new regulation in this area is necessary obscures a policy orientation dispersed through its statements that has a strong emphasis and useful detail on human control over systems that apply force on the basis of sensors and machine calculations. Brought... Read more

Autonomy in weapons systems – considering approaches to regulation

This new short paper aims to assist thinking about the relationship between regulatory options and our conceptualisation of the subject matter in discussions on autonomy in weapons systems. The international discussion on autonomy in weapons systems is rendered challenging by diverse starting assumptions about both the parameters of the subject matter and the types of regulation that are being sought. The adoption of the wording ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ (LAWS) as an organising term in the... Read more