Australia

Australia has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons meetings on autonomous weapons systems since 2016.

Australia does not support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. At the 2021 meeting of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS) Australia stated that ‘we do not believe there is a need at this time for a new legal instrument.’^[1]Statement by Australia, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-03-08-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading

Australia has further stated that it considers that ‘autonomous technology has distinct benefits’,^[2]Statement by Australia, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 05 August 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-05-08-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading Australia is involved in the development, testing and use of weapon systems with autonomous functions.^[3]See, for example, PAX (2021), Increasing autonomy in weapon systems: 10 examples that can inform thinking, … Continue reading