Bolivia

Bolivia is a member of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Bolivia Supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument. Bolivia is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, which supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. Bolivia has not spoken independently on the need for a legally binding instrument.

At the 79th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Bolivia voted in favour of Draft Resolution L.77 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Draft 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 December 2023, Bolivia 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.

As a part of the Non Aligned Movement, Bolivia ‘welcomed the efforts in relation to the need for new legally-binding provisions for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges posed by emerging technologies in the area of LAWS.’^[1]Statement by NAM, UNGA First Committee on Disarmament, 20 October 2023, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/20Oct_NAM.pdf

At the Sixth Review Conference of the CCW in December 2021, the Non-Aligned Movement stated that ‘there is an urgent need to pursue a legally binding instrument under the Convention that will contain prohibitions and regulations for addressing the humanitarian and international security challenges posed by emerging technologies in the area of LAWS.’^[2]Statement by the Non-Aligned Movement, Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 13 December … Continue reading

Bolivia participated in one of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons informal meetings on autonomous weapons systems in 2015. At this meeting, Bolivia stated that the right to life should not be ‘delegated to a machine.’^[3]Stop Killer Robots (2015), Report on Activities – Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons  second informal meeting of experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems United Nations Geneva … Continue reading