Croatia

Croatia has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons meetings on autonomous weapons systems. In a statement at the 2021 CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS), Croatia said that the ‘exponential technological development and use of new technologies for military purposes, can have an extremely negative effect on civilians and their political infrastructure. Therefore, it is necessary to intensify discussions on the use of new technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). We believe that the human factor is irreplaceable in terms of decision making and responsibility for the implementation of such systems.’^[1]Statement by Croatia, Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 13 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/RCHCP6-13-12-2021-PM_mp3_en.html; please note … Continue reading

Croatia has not yet declared its position on the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. Though it has not independently spoken on the issue, it has aligned itself with the European Union regarding the need for normative and operational framework on autonomous weapons systems. In a statement at the United Nations General Assembly First Committee in 2020, the European Union said that it ‘will support the GGE in the clarification, consideration and development of aspects of the normative and operational framework for emerging technologies in the area of LAWS.’^[2]Statement by the European Union, United Nations General Assembly First Committee, 09 October 2020, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/9Oct_EU.pdf