Topic: Autonomous Weapon Systems
Country: Afghanistan
Delegate Name: Michaela Zewde
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Afghanistan position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
With recent technological advances in robotics, the concept of warfare has completely changed. By using autonomous weapon systems, a human pilot is no longer necessary in order to interact in combat. This new form of attack has increasingly become popular among countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, who send AWSs to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and more. Though international law and regulations concerning AWSs already exist, the United Nations must now reconsider the ethics of these attacks, as well as future proceedings concerning the use of robotics in military endeavors.
Being as Afghanistan is one of the few nations frequently attacked by autonomous weapon systems, the country has a more complex viewpoint on the issue. Due to the presence of the Taliban as well as the Islamic State, drone strikes are needed to eliminate members of the fundamentalist terrorist groups. It has also become ubiquitous that the use of unmanned drones leads to high numbers of civilian casualties. However, if the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles occurs without a nation’s consent, it is an infringement on sovereignty. Given the current, lenient laws regarding the use of drone strikes, Afghanistan is pushing for more comprehensive action to be taken place to protect not only itself but other nations as well.
Often times, civilian casualties occur as a result of faulty intelligence or indiscriminate attacks. Though these casualties can not always be prevented, they can be massively reduced by precise intelligence. Hence, international law must be put in place to protect the rights of nations consenting to drone strikes during and after the agreed upon time frame. In addition, Afghanistan desires further research into the use of robotics in warfare, as well as the establishment of international law regulating which circumstances drone strikes may be utilized. Seeing as the formation of a highly technological society is inevitable, it would be illogical to restrict the use of AWSs. Afghanistan is looking to those involved in the Resolute Support Mission to endorse its efforts to create a safer environment for the entire world population.
