Myanmar

Myanmar is not a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). However, it has participated in a number of CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS) meetings since 2017. Myanmar 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, Myanmar 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, ASEAN, of which Myanmar 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.’ ^[1]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, Myanmar 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.’

In December 2023, Myanmar 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.

At the Sixth Review Conference of the CCW in December 2021, the Non-Aligned Movement stated 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.’^[2]Statement by the Non-Aligned Movement, Sixth review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 13 December … Continue reading

At the 2019 United Nations General Assembly First Committee meeting, Myanmar stated that ‘there are growing concerns on new types of weapons such as lethal autonomous weapons systems and their destructive power’, and thanked the members of the GGE on LAWS for their hard work.^[3]Statement by Myanmar, UN General Assembly First Committee, 25 October 2019, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com19/statements/25Oct_Myanmar.pdf

Myanmar has described autonomous weapons systems as a security issue that warrants ‘our serious consideration.’^[4]Statement by Myanmar, UN General Assembly First Committee, 10 October 2017, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com17/statements/10Oct_Myanmar.pdf