A/RES/79/62 GA

United Nations A/RES/79/62 General Assembly Distr.: General 10 December 2024 24-23093 (E) *2423093* Seventy-ninth session Agenda item 98 (ss) General and complete disarmament: lethal autonomous weapons systems Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 December 2024 [on the report of the First Committee (A/79/408, para. 114)] 79/62. Lethal autonomous weapons systems The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 78/241 of 22 December 2023, Affirming that international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law, applies in relation to autonomous weapons systems, Mindful of the serious challenges and concerns that new and emerging technological applications in the military domain, including those related to artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems, also raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives, Concerned about the possible negative consequences and impact of autonomous weapon systems on global security and regional and international stability, including the risk of an emerging arms race, of exacerbating existing conflicts and humanitarian crises, miscalculations, lowering the threshold for and escalation of conflicts and proliferation, including to unauthorized recipients and non-State actors, Recognizing the rapid development of new and emerging technologies, and recognizing further that they hold great promise for the advancement of human welfare and could, inter alia, help to better protect civilians in conflict in certain circumstances, Reaffirming that any weapon, including autonomous weapons systems, that cannot be used in compliance with international humanitarian law must not be used, Welcoming the interest and sustained efforts on these issues, in particular through the ongoing and valuable work of the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, established under the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of A/RES/79/62 Lethal autonomous weapons systems 24-23093 2/3 Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, 1 and in this regard underlining the significant progress made in these discussions as well as the various proposals presented, Mindful of the importance of addressing the impact of applications of artificial intelligence and autonomy in the military domain more comprehensively and of ensuring complementarity with discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems, Noting the adoption by consensus of Human Rights Council resolution 51/22 of 7 October 2022 on human rights implications of new and emerging technologies in the military domain,2 Acknowledging the important contribution of State-led international and regional conferences and initiatives, including the latest regional conferences hosted by the Philippines on 13 and 14 December 2023 and by Sierra Leone on 17 and 18 April 2024, the international conference hosted by Austria on 29 and 30 April 2024 and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain Summit hosted by the Republic of Korea on 9 and 10 September 2024, Recognizing the valuable contributions made by United Nations entities and international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, civil society organizations, academia, industry and other stakeholders in enriching international discussions on autonomous weapons systems, encompassing legal, ethical, human rights, societal and technological dimensions, Recognizing the efforts of the Secretary-General within the New Agenda for Peace initiative to address the issue of autonomous weapons systems, Noting the repeated calls by the Secretary-General to urgently conclude negotiations of a legally binding instrument with prohibitions and regulations for autonomous weapons systems, in line with a two-tier approach, Stressing the importance of the role of humans in the use of force to ensure responsibility and accountability and for States to comply with international law, Recalling the importance of comprehensive and inclusive discussions of the challenges and concerns related to autonomous weapons systems, and reaffirming the role of the General Assembly with regard to international peace and security and its near universal membership and wide substantive scope, Highlighting the importance of international cooperation and capacity-building to facilitate further discussions and engagements in international deliberations as well as to close the digital divides and support developing countries’ effective, equitable and meaningful participation and representation in forums on autonomous weapons systems by all States, 1. Notes with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General,3 submitted pursuant to resolution 78/241 on lethal autonomous weapons systems, which reflects a wide range of views of Member and observer States and international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, civil society, the scientific community and industry on ways to address the challenges and concerns lethal autonomous weapons systems raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives and on the role of humans in the use of force; 2. Welcomes the high number of submissions to the report of the Secretary- General, and notes the broadly shared view expressed therein on the need for the international community to address the aforementioned challenges and concerns with __________________ 1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1342, No. 22495. 2 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/77/53/Add.1), chap. III, sect. A. 3 A/79/88. Lethal autonomous weapons systems A/RES/79/62 3/3 24-23093 utmost urgency, in particular through the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems; 3. Highlights the importance of addressing the challenges and concerns posed by autonomous weapons systems in the context of the objectives and purpose of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, and encourages all Member States to actively take part in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts, including to consider taking part in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts as observers and adhering to the Convention; 4. Calls upon the Group of Governmental Experts to fulfil its mandate as agreed to by the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects in 2023 as soon as possible, preferably by the end of 2025, and also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Convention to spare no effort in this regard; 5. Invites the High Contracting Parties to the Convention to take into account the report of the Secretary-General in their work within the Group of Governmental Experts; 6. Underlines that a comprehensive and inclusive approach will be required to address the full range of challenges and concerns posed by autonomous weapons systems, including consideration of legal, technological, ethical, humanitarian and security perspectives, in order to safeguard international peace and security; 7. Decides to convene open informal consultations in 2025 to consider the report of the Secretary-General in full complementarity with and in a manner that supports the fulfilment of the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts in order to further the international community’s understanding of the issues involved by discussing the full range of views received, including proposals and relevant aspects raised in the report that may thus far not have been discussed in detail in the Group of Governmental Experts; 8. Invites the Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts to participate in the open informal consultations for the purpose of briefing the Member States of the work within the Group of Governmental Experts, its progress, and how it relates to the work of the General Assembly; 9. Decides that the open informal consultations should be convened in New York for a duration of two days in 2025 and that these consultations shall be open to the full participation of all Member States and observer States and international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society, including the scientific community and industry; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to facilitate the informal consultations and to provide the support necessary to convene them; 11. Requests that the open informal consultations be conducted, if possible, after a meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts for the purpose of complementarity and enriching its discussions; 12. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session the item entitled “Lethal autonomous weapons systems”. 44th plenary meeting 2 December 2024

UN Project. “A/RES/79/62.” UN Project, https://un-project.org/votes/resolution/A-RES-79-62/. Accessed .

Copy citation