Cuba

Cuba is a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Cuba took part in the 2013 UN Human Rights Council session on autonomous weapons systems, and has participated in all CCW meetings on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Cuba supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. Cuba is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, which supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument.

During the March 2026 session of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE on LAWS), Cuba stated ‘the expected goal of this process, in Cuba’s view, would be, at the end of the day, to adopt a legally binding international instrument which would prohibit the possession, manufacturing of totally autonomous weapons and that would establish regulations for semi-autonomous weapons. We think this is the only way of actually meeting the goals of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.’ ^[1]Statement by Cuba, CCW GGE on LAWS, 4 March 2026, https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1en0e4pn1?kalturaStartTime=209; please note that this link leads to the full recording & transcript of the … Continue reading

In December 2025, Cuba 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.’

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

Cuba made a submission to the UN Secretary-General pursuant to Resolution 78/241 on autonomous weapons systems in May 2024.

In April 2024, Cuba 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, Cuba 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.

Speaking at First Committee in 2023, Cuba stated that ‘We support the adoption, as soon as possible, of a legally binding international instrument within the framework of the United Nations, prohibiting the manufacture, possession and use of fully autonomous weapons and to establish specific regulations for the use of semi-autonomous weapons. It is also necessary for the military dimension of artificial intelligence to have a monitoring framework at the United Nations, involving all Member States, with a view to produce a global outcome on the use on the use of this technology.'^[2]Statement by Cuba, UNGA First Committee, 6 October 2023, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/6Oct_Cuba.pdf, Translated with DeepL.com

At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2022, Cuba advocated for ‘the prohibition of lethal autonomous weapons as soon as possible.'^[3]Statement by Cuba, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 21 October 2022, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k19/k19sr7owch; please note that this link leads to the full recording & transcript of … Continue reading Cuba also reiterated its appeal for ‘the timely adoption of a protocol which prohibits autonomous weapons systems.'^[4]Statement by Cuba, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 11 October 2022, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k11/k114kbe31x; please note that this link leads to the full recording & transcript of … Continue reading

At the Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in December 2021, Cuba stated that ‘we are convinced that it is very important to agree on a new legally binding protocol through which the use of fully autonomous weapons will be prohibited, and other categories of semi-autonomous weapons will be regulated. Such restrictions will prevent a very dangerous proliferation of such weapons. We also reiterate our commitment to reaching a legally binding instrument.’^[5]Statement by Cuba, Sixth Review Conference of the CCW, 14 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/RCHCP6-14-12-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full recording … Continue reading

Further, the Non-Aligned Movement in its general statement at the Sixth Review Conference, 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.’^[6]Statement on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Other States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) by the Delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the … Continue reading

During the third session of the 2021 GGE on LAWS, in December 2021, Cuba stated that ‘while international humanitarian law is fully applicable to potential lethal autonomous weapons, it is not sufficient and therefore other legal measures need to be adopted.’^[7]Statement by Cuba, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 07 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS3-07-12-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading At the 2021 UN General Assembly First Committee, Cuba called for the ‘adoption, as soon as possible, of a protocol prohibiting lethal autonomous weapons. In addition, there must be regulations in place for the use of partially autonomous weapons’.^[8] Statement by Cuba, UN General Assembly First Committee, 06 October 2021, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1s/k1s14zkohj; please note that this link leads to the full recording of the relevant meeting.

At the 2020 UNGA First Committee, Cuba said that it ‘will continue to advocate the adoption, as soon as possible, of a Protocol banning lethal autonomous weapons, even before they are manufactured on a large scale. In addition, regulations are required for the use of weapons with certain autonomous capabilities; in particular military combat drones, which are causing a high number of civilian casualties.’^[9]Statement by Cuba, UN General Assembly First Committee, 12 October 2020,
https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/12Oct_Cuba.pdf