Supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument.
Austria is a member of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Austria participated in the first debate on autonomous weapons systems at the UN Human Rights Council in May 2013, and has engaged in all CCW meetings on autonomous weapons systems since 2014. Austria supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.
During the March 2026 session of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE on LAWS), Austria stated ‘The [rolling text] draft that we have in front of us is in well shape, and it’s going in the right direction. And our delegation is fully committed to work together to fulfill the mandate of the Group to elaborate a set of elements for a future instrument within the CCW. And on this basis to adapt a negotiation mandate in the [Review Conference] with a view to establish the necessary rules and limits to regulate autonomous weapons systems and assure a legally based level playing field in this area. After more than ten years of deliberations and accelerating developments in the world outside this room, time is ripe for negotiations.’ [1]Statement by Austria, CCW GGE on LAWS, 2 March 2026, … Continue reading
In December 2025, Austria co-sponsored and voted in favour of UN General Assembly Resolution 80/57 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Mindful of the challenges and concerns autonomous weapons systems raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives, Resolution 80/57 stresses the urgent need for the CCW to address the challenges and concerns posed by autonomous weapons systems, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the CCW to ‘work towards completing the set of elements for an instrument being developed within the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts, with a view to future negotiation.’
During the 80th Session of the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2025, Austria stated ‘all AI use must respect international humanitarian and human rights law. Autonomous weapons require a new regulatory framework to ensure meaningful human control.’ [2]Statement by Austria, UN General Assembly First Committee, 27 October 2026, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com25/statements/27Oct_Austria_Other.pdf
At the CCW GGE on LAWS in September 2025, Austria joined a group of 42 states delivering a joint statement calling for the group to begin negotiations of an instrument on the basis of its ‘rolling text,’ and stating that they were ready to do this.
At the 79th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Austria tabled Draft Resolution L.77 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Resolution L.77 raises concerns about the ‘negative consequences and impact of autonomous weapon systems on global security and regional and international stability’ and stresses ‘the importance of the role of humans in the use of force to ensure responsibility and accountability and for States to comply with international law.’ It also notes ‘the repeated calls by the Secretary-General to urgently conclude negotiations of a legally binding instrument with prohibitions and regulations for autonomous weapons systems, in line with a two-tier approach.’ The Resolution will convene open informal consultations in 2025 over two days in New York, ‘to consider the report of the Secretary-General in full complementarity with and in a manner that supports the fulfilment of the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts in order to further the international community’s understanding of the issues involved by discussing the full range of views received, including proposals and relevant aspects raised in the report that may thus far not have been discussed in detail in the Group of Governmental Experts.’
In 2024, Austria hosted the the 2024 Vienna conference ‘Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation’, and endorsed the Chair’s Summary. The Chair’s Summary affirms the ‘strong commitment’ of the endorsing states to ‘work with urgency and with all interested stakeholders for an international legal instrument to regulate autonomous weapons systems.’
Austria made a submission to the UN Secretary-General pursuant to Resolution 78/241 on autonomous weapons systems in May 2024.
In December 2023, Austria voted in support of UN General Assembly Resolution 78/241 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Resolution 78/241 stressed the ‘urgent need for the international community to address the challenges and concerns raised by autonomous weapons systems’, and mandated the UN Secretary-General to prepare a report, reflecting the views of member and observer states on autonomous weapons systems and ways to address the related challenges and concerns they raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives and on the role of humans in the use of force.
Introducing the LAWS resolution to the UNGA First Committee, Austria stated that ‘Autonomous weapons systems, which we discuss under the Conventional Cluster, specifically raise concerns and challenges from a humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspective.’ Austria reiterated that it supports the ‘two-tier approach’ which entails ‘that certain systems that are legally or morally unacceptable should be prohibited and other systems should be subject to international regulations.’ Austria also emphasized ‘that there is urgency for the international community to act on the many and profound questions autonomous weapons systems raise. It is nothing less than our responsibility. The window for preventative international action is about to close.’ Further, Austria welcomed the ‘urgency expressed by the Secretary General in addressing autonomous weapons systems within the “New Agenda for Peace” as well as the joint call of the Secretary General and the President of the ICRC of 5 October.’[3]Statement by Austria, UNGA First Committee, 23 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/23Oct_Austria.pdf
Earlier in the 78th session of the UNGA First Committee, Austria noted that the ‘increasing integration of autonomy into weapon systems raises serious concerns from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives’, including questions such as ‘what is the role of humans in the use of force? What is the future of armed conflict and how can we ensure compliance of autonomous weapon systems with international law and what are the implications for human responsibility and accountability?’. Austria underscored that ‘we need to address these issues with urgency as the research, development and deployment of autonomous weapon systems is progressing at a much more rapid pace than the international efforts to regulate have progressed so far. This is an important issue for the United Nations.’[4]Statement by Austria, UNGA First Committee, 04 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/4Oct_Austria.pdf
At the 2023 CCW GGE on LAWS, Austria emphasised that ‘a legally binding instrument is urgently need as the current framework of international law is not sufficiently developed to address the emerging challenges of autonomy in weapons systems.’ Austria also stated that ‘only a legally binding instrument can effectively address the challenges and risks posed by autonomous weapon systems.'[5]Statement by Austria, CCW GGE on LAWS, 6 March 2023, … Continue reading
At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting in October 2022, Austria said that ‘Autonomous weapons systems raise serious concerns from a humanitarian, legal, security, technological and above all ethical perspective. It is our clear view that the current legal framework needs to be strengthened, to ensure human responsibility and accountability in the use of force. We need to address these issues with urgency as we are facing research, development and deployment of new weapons technologies progressing at a rapid pace.'[6]Statement by Austria, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 04 October 2022, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/4Oct_Austria.pdf At the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2021, Austria stated that ‘there is still time to prevent humanity from crossing a very dangerous threshold by adopting legally binding norms to safeguard human control over autonomous weapons systems.’ [7]Statement by Austria, 76th UN General Assembly First Committee, 06 October 2022, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com21/statements/6Oct_Austria.pdf
At the third session of the 2021 meeting of the CCW GGE on LAWS, Austria said that ‘technology deciding over choosing targets and attacking them without meaningful human control is morally, legally and politically unacceptable. To avoid such a scenario new international law is urgently required. Work on such an instrument should start without further delay.’ [8]Statement by Austria, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 02 December 2021
https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/ccw/2021/gge/statements/2Dec_Austria.pdf
Austria believes that ‘the moral, ethical and legal concerns’ stemming from the development of autonomous weapon systems which could select and attack targets independently, without any human control, are ‘among the most pressing challenges facing disarmament efforts today.’ [9]Federal Ministry of the Republic of Austria, ‘Autonomous Weapons Systems’,
https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/european-foreign-policy/disarmament/conventional-arms/autonomous-weapons-systems/ In a written contribution to the GGE on LAWS in 2020, Austria stated that it ‘considers the necessity of developing specific international law in the context of autonomous weapons systems without meaningful human control over the selection and engagement of a target as an urgent matter to be dealt with by the international community’, with the development of such law being ‘key to preserve human moral dignity, the rule of law and international security as a whole.’ Austria further highlighted in this contribution that ‘the absence of clear legal norms regulating LAWS might ultimately challenge many of the previous achievements in international law, international humanitarian law, the ethical principles enshrined as a minimum standard in the Martens clause and human rights law.’ [10]Written contribution of Austria to the Chair`’s request on the Guiding Principles on emerging technologies in the area of LAWS, … Continue reading
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