Indonesia

Indonesia is not a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Indonesia supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. Indonesia is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), both of which support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, Indonesia 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.’

During the 80th Session of the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2025, Indonesia stated it ‘underscores the urgent need for a legally binding international instrument to regulate LAWS. We believe that meaningful human control in the use of force is indispensable and that international law must remain the guiding framework.’^[1]Statement by Indonesia, UNGA First Committee, 24 October 2025, https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k14/k14dyxl79i?kalturaStartTime=2015; please note that this link leads to the recording and transcript of … Continue reading Also at the 80th Session of the UNGA First Committee, ASEAN, of which Indonesia is a member, delivered a joint statement expressing concern ‘about the possible negative consequences and impacts of autonomous weapon systems on global security, as well as regional and international stability, including the risk of an emerging arms race, lowering the threshold for conflict and proliferation, including to non-state actors.’ The statement went on to underscore ‘the importance of continued inclusive dialogue to address these challenges, including the development of a robust, future-proof, and legally-binding instrument to address these challenges.’ ^[2]Statement by ASEAN, delivered by Cambodia, UNGA First Committee, 23 October 2025, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com25/statements/23Oct_ASEAN.pdf

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

Speaking at the UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Indonesia reiterated that it supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems, and underlined its belief that ‘maintaining meaningful human control over the use of force is essential’.^[3]Statement by Indonesia, 79th UNGA First Committee, 24 October 2024

In December 2023, Indonesia 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 the 78th UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, Indonesia said that it welcomes ‘inclusive multilateral efforts in addressing new types of conventional weapons such as the discussions on a legally binding instrument on LAWS.'^[4]Statement by Indonesia, 23 October 2023, https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k17/k17af7v4g1; please note that this link leads to the full recording of the relevant meeting.

At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting in October 2022, Indonesia stated that ‘challenges posed by the autonomy in weapons systems also deserve serious attention. We believe that machines should not kill people and therefore reject the automation of killing.'^[5]Statement by Indonesia, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/3Oct_Indonesia.pdf

The Non-Aligned Movement has stressed 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 by Non-Aligned Movement, 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-AM_mp3_en.html; … Continue reading

Indonesia delivered a statement on behalf of the NAM at the UN General Assembly First Committee in 2020, which stated that autonomous weapons systems raise a ‘number of ethical, legal, moral, technical, as well as international peace and security related questions, which should be thoroughly deliberated and examined in the context of conformity to international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.’^[7]Statement by Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, 09 October 2020, UN General Assembly First Committee, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1p/k1p80apgp6; please note that this link leads to … Continue reading