Cuba

Cuba took part in the 2013 UN Human Rights Council session on autonomous weapons systems, and has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts meetings on lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE on LAWS). In its commentary to the GGE on LAWS eleven guiding principles, Cuba said that ‘the use of lethal autonomous weapons would not be able to ensure compliance with and observance of the rules and principles of international law.’^[1]Cuba’s commentaries on the operationalization of the 11 guiding principles on lethal autonomousweapons systems (LAWS) at a national level, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on … Continue reading

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. At the 2023 CCW GGE on LAWS, Cuba said that discussions at the GGE should ‘help us move towards a legally binding instrument’ on autonomous weapons systems.^[2]Statement by Cuba, CCW GGE on LAWS, 6 March 2023, https://conf.unog.ch/digitalrecordings/index.html?guid=public/61.0500/FB7945F1-0C2B-4DC1-88CA-3EBA72D3530D_15h14&position=2084&channel=ENGLISH

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

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.’^[6]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’.^[7] 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. 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.’^[8]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

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