Uruguay

Uruguay has participated in a number of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapons systems.

At the 78th UN General Assembly First Committee in 2023, Uruguay voted in favour of resolution L.56 on autonomous weapons systems, along with 163 other states. Resolution L.56 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.

Uruguay supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. At the Sixth Review Conference of the CCW in December 2021, Uruguay delivered a statement on behalf of a group of thirteen states, which stated that ‘our understanding is that the mandate that was approved by this Conference implies the development of measures for a legally- binding instrument. The reference to the objectives and purpose of the Convention, and the examples of the existing Protocols within the CCW, demands the fulfilment of the Convention’s raison d’être of developing and codifying new international law, including the formulation of prohibitions and regulations that will address autonomous weapons systems.’ The statement further warned that ‘Time is of the essence. If nothing is done, and we continue to delay progress in dealing with these concerns, technological developments in this area will outpace our deliberations, and the window for action would be closed.’^[1]Statement by Uruguay on behalf of Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Palestine, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Sierra Leone, Uruguay and Argentina, Sixth Review … Continue reading