Topic: Autonomous Weapon Systems
Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: June Battjes
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Ukraine position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The reason autonomous weapons are currently raising concern across the globe is because of their ethical, technical, military and political implications. As a form of artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons are oblivious to human norms and values. Currently these weapons are being developed in countries like the United States and China. These countries claim that autonomous weapons would be safe under human regulation, yet many other countries are skeptical and seek for a strict international regulation. Many countries, such as France and Brazil, are asking for the involvement of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). It is necessary that The United Nations create a strong resolution to solve this issue for the sake of humanitarian safety.
The Ukraine is highly interested in solving this issue in order to avert the suffering of civilians. As a member of the United Nations, Ukraine cares about possible humanitarian implications that autonomous weapons might cause. The Ukraine questions the accuracy of these machines, their ability to make life-or-death decisions and the complications these weapons have with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Autonomous weapons interfere with IHL due to the likeliness of them striking civilians and combatants. Ukraine is already a supporter of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and various other groups that are urging for limits on autonomous weapons.
The Ukraine would propose solving this issue by strengthening International Humanitarian Law to control the use of autonomous weapons. Countries that do not follow these regulations will be held legally responsible. Also, Ukraine requests that regulations be set by CCW. The Ukraine is interested in improving the understanding of these machines so we are aware of and can prevent possible dangers. If countries are allowed to further develop these technologies their work should be highly supervised. It is necessary to set these precedents in the interest of safety in our world. We would expect countries such as France and Brazil to support our efforts.
