Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a member of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and has participated in most CCW meetings on autonomous weapons systems. Nicaragua has raised concerns over the possibility of ‘refining, developing and using lethal autonomous weapons systems, otherwise known as killer robots, that would have the capacity to detect, select and attach a target without any human intervention at all.’^[1]Statement by Nicaragua, Fifth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 12 December 2016, … Continue reading It has also emphasised that ‘human control is to be kept in the most important decision of armed conflict, which include all decisions related to the selection of targets to be attacked. Machines are no replacement for human beings when qualitative aspects are involved.’^[2]Statement by Nicaragua, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 13 April 2018, https://conf.unog.ch/digitalrecordings/index.html?embed=-h&mrid=6026D2B0-A933-4353-949C-5777F60A117D

Nicaragua supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. At the 2018 CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS) meeting, Nicaragua stated that ‘we believe that we have the necessary elements so as to move from an explanatory debate to a more focused approach; given that it is essential for us to adopt practical options that would allow us to make headway, as swiftly as possible, towards a legally binding instrument’ on autonomous weapons systems.^[3]Statement by Nicaragua, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 13 April 2018, https://conf.unog.ch/digitalrecordings/index.html?embed=-h&mrid=6026D2B0-A933-4353-949C-5777F60A117D Nicaragua is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, which supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. The NAM has 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.’^[4]Statement by the Non-Aligned Movement, Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 13 December 2021, … Continue reading