Latvia

Latvia is a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Latvia has not yet declared its position on the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, Latvia 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, Latvia voted abstained from voting on 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 UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Latvia said that ‘International law, including IHL, applies to the use of autonomous weapon systems, and these systems must be developed and used in a manner that is compliant with international law.'^[1]Statement by Latvia, 79th UNGA First Committee, 24 October 2024

In December 2023, Latvia 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 on autonomous weapons at First Committee in 2023, Latvia stated that ‘New and emerging technologies, including AI, have the potential to both create opportunities and pose risks to security. Latvia supports further efforts to address these issues, including those related to lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) within the framework of the CCW. Latvia acknowledges that these matters demand more structured approach aimed at fostering international cooperation. Therefore, we welcome Secretary General’s New Agenda for Peace initiative with its concrete recommendations for countering global threats in the age of technology ^[2]Statement by Latvia, UNGA First Committee, 03 October 2023. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/3Oct_Latvia.pdf

At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting in October 2022, Latvia stated that it ‘supports efforts for tackling security challenges emerging from the new technologies, including those relating to lethal autonomous weapons systems, in the framework of the CCW.'^[3]Statement by Latvia, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 06 October 2022, https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1bl8m8o2l; please note that this link leads to the full recording & transcript … Continue reading