Malta

Malta has participated in some Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapons. It spoke for the first time at the 2021 CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (GGE on LAWS) meeting, stating that it ‘remains concerned with the rapid technological advancement especially in AI, where as a result, lethal autonomous weapons systems are today capable of functioning with a lesser degree of human control or none.’^[1]Statement by Malta, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, August 2021, https://documents.unoda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Malta-GGE-LAWS-3-13-August-2021.docx In the same meeting, Malta also expressed concern over ‘such developments especially for world security, for unlike traditional arms, LAWS can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions.’^[2]Statement by Malta, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, August 2021, https://documents.unoda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Malta-GGE-LAWS-3-13-August-2021.docx 
Malta supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapon systems. At the first session of CCW GGE on LAWS in 2021, it said that ‘unpredictable autonomous weapon systems should be prohibited, it would be important for other autonomous weapons systems to be regulated.’^[3]Statement by Malta, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, August 2021, https://documents.unoda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Malta-GGE-LAWS-3-13-August-2021.docx At the 2022 CCW GGE on LAWS, in a statement along with 22 other countries, Malta said that there is an ‘urgent need for adequate rules and limits on the development, deployment, and use of autonomous weapon systems to ensure sufficient human involvement and oversight.’^[4]Working Paper on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems(LAWS) on behalf of Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Ireland, Kazakhstan, … Continue reading