Cambodia

Cambodia is a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Cambodia supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. Cambodia is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), both of which support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, Cambodia 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, ASEAN, of which Cambodia is a member, delivered a joint statement expressing concern ‘about the possible negative consequences and impacts of autonomous weapon systems on global security, as well as regional and international stability, including the risk of an emerging arms race, lowering the threshold for conflict and proliferation, including to non-state actors.’ The statement went on to underscore ‘the importance of continued inclusive dialogue to address these challenges, including the development of a robust, future-proof, and legally-binding instrument to address these challenges.’ ^[1]Statement by ASEAN, delivered by Cambodia, UNGA First Committee, 23 October 2025, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com25/statements/23Oct_ASEAN.pdf

At the 79th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Cambodia 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.’

Speaking at the UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Cambodia stated that developments in autonomous weapons systems ‘present new ethical and legal challenges, particularly with regard to accountability and the unpredictability of such weapons.'^[2]Statement by Cambodia, 79th UNGA First Committee, 08 October 2024

In 2024, Cambodia endorsed the Chair’s Summary of the 2024 Vienna conference ‘Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation’ . 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.’

In December 2023, Cambodia 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.

In a statement by the Non-Aligned Movement in the second session of the 2021 GGE on LAWS, the group 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 autonomous weapon systems.^[3]Statement by the Non-Aligned Movement, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 28 September 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-28-09-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link … Continue reading

At the 2017 CCW GGE on LAWS meeting, Cambodia stressed that autonomous weapons systems ‘should be utilised at the helm of meaningful human control in assurance to accountable and ethical judgement for preliminary deployment.’ Further elaborating on meaningful human control, Cambodia has stated that ‘machines should not be making life and death decisions for humanity under any circumstances.’^[4]Statement by Cambodia, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 13 November 2017, https://conf.unog.ch/digitalrecordings/index.html?embed=-h&mrid=988D8826-A7BB-41CD-ABCE-78C8AFAD5FCA#linkto-7756