ICRC on new technologies and warfare

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has issued a new edition of its quarterly journal International Review of the Red Cross, focused on new technologies and warfare and featuring articles by several members of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots: Dr. Peter Asaro of ICRAC on banning autonomous weapons systems, Prof. Noel Sharkey of ICRAC on autonomous robot warfare, and Richard Moyes and Thomas Nash of Article 36 on the role of civil society in the development of standards on new weapons. The accompanying editorial is entitled, “Science cannot be placed above its consequences.”

The ICRC is considering its position on fully autonomous weapons, including by consulting with stakeholders on the international humanitarian law (IHL) implications of these weapons. An ICRC representative participated as an observer in the first NGO Conference of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots in London on 22 April 2013.

The ICRC is a valued partner of civil society initiatives to advance humanitarian disarmament, including through its work in support of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.

UPDATE: On 2 September, the ICRC issued a Frequently Asked Questions paper on autonomous weapons that urged states to “assess the potential human cost and international humanitarian law implications of these new technologies of warfare.”

For more information, please see:

• International Committee of the Red Cross website
• International Review of the Red Cross (Summer 2012, Vol.94, No. 886) on new technologies and warfare (PDF)