Botswana

Botswana is not currently a State party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Botswana is a member of the African Group and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), both of which support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, Botswana 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.’

At the 79th UN General Assembly, Botswana voted in favour of 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 December 2023, Botswana 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.

On 29 October 2018, at the UNGA First Committee meeting, Botswana stated that ‘we need to examine challenges related to emerging technologies in the area of (LAWS)…and we acknowledge the necessity for nations to possess conventional arms for legitimate protection of their territories, interests and maintenance of global peace and stability. We are, however, concerned that such weapons are deadly as they cause pain and suffering with far-reaching consequences. Recent developments such as use of armed unmanned air vehicles and autonomous weaponry further compound this problem. It is doubtful if the use of these weapons meets standards of public international law, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and international human rights law’.^[1]Statement by Botswana at the UN General Assembly, 29 October 2018,https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com18/statements/29Oct_Botswana.pdf

At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee meetings on 27 October 2015^[2]Statement by Botswana at the UN General Assembly, 27 October 2015, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com15/statements/27October_Botswana.pdf and 20 October 2017, Botswana welcomed ‘the appointment of a Group of Governmental Experts who will amongst others examine challenges related to emerging technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS)’.^[3]Statement by Botswana at the UN General Assembly, 20 October 2017, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/23Oct_Botswana.pdf