El Salvador

El Salvador has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons meetings on autonomous weapons systems since 2014. El Salvador has ‘condemned the use’ of autonomous weapons systems and stated that giving a machine the responsibility ‘to decide about a person’s life is of great concern, and raises great ethical and legal challenges.’^[1]Statement by El Salvador, UN General Assembly First Committee, 29 October 2018, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1g/k1ggqp6nt7; please note that this link leads to the full recording of the relevant … Continue reading El Salvador supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2022, El Salvador stated that ‘It is concerning for El Salvador that after long years of discussions on systems of LAWS we still do not have a comprehensive framework of restrictions on the use of this kind of technology.'^[2]Statement by El Salvador, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 07 October 2022, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1ea906xnp; please note that this link leads to the full recording of the … Continue reading.

At the United Nations General Assembly First Committee meeting in 2018, El Salvador stated that it aspires to achieve ‘the approval of a legally binding instrument that allows its (autonomous weapon systems) control, and that guarantees respect for human rights and the well-being of humans.’^[3]Statement by El Salvador, UN General Assembly First Committee, 29 October 2018, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1g/k1ggqp6nt7; please note that this link leads to the full recording of the relevant … Continue reading

El Salvador has also been part of multiple collective statements in the CCW on the issue of autonomous weapons systems. In a group statement during the 2021 session of theCCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS), El Salvador expressed its concern that ‘autonomous weapons systems could lead to a vacuum in accountability, (as) artificial intelligence has no agency and moral obligations. Only humans could be held accountable and responsible for the use of force under international law.’^[4]Statement by Philippines on behalf of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Sierra Leone, Uruguay and Palestine, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021, … Continue reading