Norway

Norway has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapons systems. Norway supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

During the March 2026 session of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE on LAWS), Norway stated ‘we were part of a joint statement last year in which we said that the rolling text, while not perfect, of course, contained a set of elements that we believe is a sufficient basis for negotiations of instrument on LAWS in the CCW. And in our estimation, like Brazil and others, we believe the current version of the rolling text still merits that description.’ ^[1]Statement by Norway, CCW GGE on LAWS, 2 March 2026, … Continue reading

In December 2025, Norway 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 CCW GGE on LAWS in September 2025, Norway joined a group of 42 states delivering a joint statement calling for the group to begin negotiations of an instrument on the basis of its ‘rolling text,’ and stating that they were ready to do this.

At the 79th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, Norway co-sponsored and 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, Norway noted that ‘autonomy in weapons systems poses serious legal, ethical, humanitarian and military concerns. Systems that can target humans raise particular questions’, and emphasised that ‘it is urgent to clarify and elaborate norms and rules before this technology fully matures. We must ensure meaningful human control.'^[2]Statement by Norway, 79th UNGA First Committee, 24 October 2024, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com24/statements/24Oct_Norway.pdf

Norway made a submission to the UN Secretary-General pursuant to Resolution 78/241 on autonomous weapons systems in May 2024.

At the first 2024 meeting of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, Norway stated that ‘International engagement on military use of AI, including LAWS, is growing. In December, the UN General Assembly took its first action on LAWS. In order for our efforts under the CCW to remain relevant, this GGE should aim to progress at an accelerated pace and produce recommendations before the end of next year. We should move quickly to substantive issues. Along with several High Contracting Parties, Norway continues to strongly believe in the usefulness of the two-tier approach. We have therefore taken note of the call of the Secretary General of the UN to conclude, by 2026, a legally binding instrument to prohibit lethal autonomous weapon systems that function without human control or oversight, and which cannot be used in compliance with international humanitarian law. It is quite clear to Norway that international law, and in particular humanitarian law, already prescribes limits on the employment of autonomous weapons systems. The elements of an instrument to be elaborated by this GGE should contribute to clarifying those limits. In order to heed the call of the Secretary General, they should be clarified in a manner suitable for inclusion in a legally binding instrument.’^[3]Statement by Norway, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 04 March 2024, … Continue reading

In December 2023, Norway 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 78th UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, Norway has said that it ‘will continue to pursue a two-tier approach to achieve comprehensive and effective regulation of the development and use of autonomous weapons systems.^[4]Statement by Norway, 78th UN General Assembly First Committee, 03 October 2023, https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com23/statements/3Oct_Norway.pdf

At the 77th UN General Assembly First Committee meeting in October 2022, Norway said that ‘We should also take necessary steps to regulate the development of autonomous weapons systems.'^[5]Statement by Norway, 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 In a subsequent statement at the same forum, Norway also said that ‘Autonomy has significant potential. At the same time, it raises serious legal, ethical and military concerns. It challenges our conceptions of control and responsibility. We must ensure that weapons systems featuring autonomy remain under meaningful human control. We have a window of opportunity to address these challenges by clarifying and elaborating adequate norms and rules before the technology fully matures.'^[6]Statement by Norway, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 19 October 2022, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/19Oct_Norway.pdf

At the 2021 GGE on LAWS, Norway said that it was ‘becoming increasingly clear that the human machine interface, notably the need to ensure meaningful human control, is the very core issue to ensure that emerging technology in the area of LAWS be compliant with international law, ethical and moral concerns’.^[7]Statement by Norway, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 13th August 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-13-08-2021-PM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading