UN and Red Cross demand binding treaty to restrict autonomous weapons

Joint call for binding restrictions

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric issued a joint declaration on Tuesday demanding a legally binding treaty to regulate autonomous weapons systems. The two leaders called on governments to establish clear bans and restrictions on weapons capable of selecting targets and using lethal force without human intervention. Their initiative renews an appeal from 2023 that urged the international community to adopt prohibitions by 2026, an objective that produced little concrete progress over the subsequent three years. Reading the statement in Geneva, UN spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci emphasized that military technology is developing rapidly and placing mounting pressure on international legal structures. Guterres and Spoljaric stressed that the gap between technical capability and normative restraint has widened, leaving civilian populations increasingly exposed.

We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: The autonomous targeting of humans by machines.

Operational risks and modern conflicts

The renewed push follows the expanding use of drones and algorithmic tools in active conflicts across Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan. UN materials referenced unconfirmed reports regarding artificial intelligence systems deployed on combat drones, including a reported strike on Monday where a drone killed three people in Ukraine. Laurent Gisel, head of the arms and conduct of hostilities unit at the ICRC, explained during a Geneva press briefing that autonomous systems escalate the risk of civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction. While experts consulted by international bodies confirm that no verified incidents of fully autonomous weapons directly targeting humans have been documented to date, officials warned that automated kill decisions remove human judgment from warfare. The statement reiterated that autonomous systems are no longer a distant theoretical concept because a race toward greater autonomy is already underway.

Diplomatic deadlock and engineering concerns

Multilateral deliberations on lethal autonomous weapons have continued for approximately ten years under the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). A dedicated group of governmental experts has met periodically in Geneva to evaluate international frameworks, yet governments have failed to agree on binding restrictions. Leading military powers, including the United States, Russia, and Israel, have consistently opposed formal treaties restricting autonomous military development. Guterres and Spoljaric argued that political courage is necessary to transition from gradual diplomatic consultations to decisive international action. They added that computer scientists and engineers constructing these technologies have raised their own alarms, cautioning against unrestricted deployment.

When the architects of this technology are calling for limits, states cannot afford to remain passive.

Pathway to the November Geneva conference

Diplomats and state delegations are scheduled to convene in Geneva next week for another round of discussions before the seventh CCW review conference takes place in November. Guterres and Spoljaric identified the November meeting as the clearest available path for governments to formally begin negotiations on an international treaty. The joint declaration emphasized that this year must mark a turning point before these weapons proliferate beyond regulatory control. The leaders warned that a lack of rapid and decisive action will inevitably cost lives and weaken international humanitarian law. They reminded state leaders of their responsibility to protect current populations from armed conflict and ensure future generations do not inherit an unregulated automated battlefield.