Poland

Poland has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapon (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapons systems. Poland does not support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, Poland abstained from voting on 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, Poland 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.’

In December 2023, Poland 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 CCW GGE on LAWS in 2021, Poland stated that the forum ‘is not ready yet to elaborate an international instrument which would in any form put legal controls over weapons systems originating from emerging technologies in the area of autonomous weapons systems. Such an instrument and its far-reaching implications could seriously undermine technological advancements and the search for innovations in the commercial sector that benefit economic growth and the quality of human life.’^[1]Statement by Poland, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 December 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS3-03-12-2021-PM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading Poland is a member of the European Union which supports a ‘normative and operational framework’ for autonomous weapons systems.^[2]Statement by European Union, United Nations General Assembly First Committee, 09 October 2020, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/9Oct_EU.pdf

At the CCW GGE on LAWS in 2019, Poland said that it is ‘aware of existing advanced artificial intelligence that is being developed and used for other purposes. One should not ban technology that can save lives, but should reflect on possible use of it in combat.’^[3]Statement by Poland, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 25 March 2019, https://conf.unog.ch/digitalrecordings/index.html?embed=-h&mrid=51FC08C4-6844-4C99-B90C-2F50815D580A#linkto-10376