Algeria

Algeria participated in the first debate on autonomous weapons systems at the UN Human Rights Council in May 2013 and has participated in all Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapon systems.^[1]Statement by Algeria, UN Human Rights Council, 30 May 2013, http://stopkillerrobots.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/KRC_ReportHeynsUN_Jul2013.pdf

Algeria supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. At the 2023 meetings of the CCW GGE on LAWS, Algeria underscored the need for ‘new legally binding provisions to meet the humanitarian, ethical and international security challenges’ posed by autonomous weapons, and said that a legally binding instrument ‘seems to be the only way to crystallise the expectations, common understandings and commitments’ that have arisen through the work of the GGE.^[2]Statement by Algeria, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 6 March 2023,  … Continue reading

77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting in October 2022, Algeria stated that ‘the rapid technological development and possible use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in armed conflict is deeply alarming. Algeria supports the work of the GGE LAWS and looks forward to strengthening its mandate, in the context of the objectives and purposes of the CCW, to pursue a legally-binding instrument on LAWS for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges posed by the emerging technologies in the area of LAWS.'^[3]Statement by Algeria, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting, 21 October 2022, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/21Oct_Algeria.pdf

At the third session of the 2021 CCW GGE on LAWS, Algeria said that ‘the aim of negotiations is to adopt a legally binding instrument’.^[4]Statement by Algeria, CCW Group of Government Experts on LAWS, 03 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS3-02-12-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading Algeria further stated that ‘autonomous weapons must remain under the control, direct control of humans in line with international law, including international humanitarian law as well international human rights law. In addition, human control of weapons systems must be permanent during the entire life cycle. We need to identify the criteria which will allow us to improve the quality of the interaction between humans and machine and set down the basic ground rules which have to be part of a international legal binding instrument’.^[5]Statement by Algeria, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 6 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS3-06-12-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading

Algeria is a member of the African Group and Arab Group within the United Nations, and is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The African Group, the Arab Group and the NAM support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

During the 76th session of the UN General Assembly Thematic discussions of the First Committee, Algeria stated ‘As far as the rapid technological development and possible use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in armed conflict is deeply alarming… and stresses the urgent need to pursue a legally-binding instrument on LAWS for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges posed by the emerging technologies in the area of LAWS’.^[6]Statement by Algeria,  UN General Assembly First Committee, 12 October 2021, https://documents.unoda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ga-76-fc-td-algeria-fr.pdf