An international human rights watchdog on Tuesday called on more than 70 countries to work toward a prohibition of fully autonomous weapons.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2018) An international human rights watchdog on Tuesday called on more than 70 countries to work toward a prohibition of fully autonomous weapons.
The press release issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) comes ahead of a meeting of over 70 governments at the United Nations in Geneva on August 27-31 on the challenges related to lethal autonomous weapons systems.
"Countries participating in an upcoming international meeting on such "killer robots" should agree to negotiate a prohibition on the weapons systems development, production, and use," the press release read.
According to senior arms researcher at HRW, Bonnie Docherty, authorizing the use and development of "killer robots" would undermine "established moral and legal standards."
HRW has released a report titled Heed the Call: A Moral and Legal Imperative to Ban Killer Robots, arguing that fully autonomous weapons would breach the Martens Clause, which first appeared in one of the 1899 Hague Conventions. It establishes a basis of protection for individuals caught up in armed conflict in cases not covered by international agreements.
