Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not a state party to Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The Democratic Republic of Congo is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.^[1]Statement by Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, 77th United Nations General Assembly, 20 October 2022, … Continue reading The Democratic Republic of the Congo has not spoken independently on the need for a legally binding instrument.

At the 78th UN General Assembly in 2023, the Democratic Republic of the Congo voted in favour of resolution L.56 on autonomous weapons systems, along with 163 other states. Resolution L.56 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.

At the 77^th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, in a statement along with 69 other states, it said that it sees ‘an urgent need for the international community to further their understanding and address these risks and challenges by adopting appropriate rules and measures, such as principles, good practices, limitations and constraints.’ ^[2]Joint Statement on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, 21 October 2022, … Continue reading