A/RES/80/57 GA

United Nations A/RES/80/57 General Assembly Distr.: General 5 December 2025 25-20009 (E) *2520009* Eightieth session Agenda item 99 (kk) General and complete disarmament: lethal autonomous weapons systems Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 1 December 2025 [on the report of the First Committee (A/80/534, para. 7)] 80/57. Lethal autonomous weapons systems The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 78/241 of 22 December 2023 and 79/62 of 2 December 2024, Affirming that international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, international humanitarian law and international human rights 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 international peace and security, including the risk of an emerging arms race, of exacerbating 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 growing 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 A/RES/80/57 Lethal autonomous weapons systems 25-20009 2/3 Systems, established under 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,1 and appreciating the substantial progress made in these discussions and the efforts of the Chair to capture this as part of a rolling text, which represents a significant milestone in the work of the Group towards the fulfilment of its mandate, Mindful of the importance of addressing artificial intelligence and autonomy in the military domain multilaterally, ensuring complementarity with discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems, and in this regard taking note of General Assembly resolution 79/239 of 24 December 2024 and Human Rights Council resolution 51/22 of 7 October 2022,2 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, Noting the calls by the Secretary-General to commence negotiations of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems, in line with a two-tier approach of prohibitions and regulations, and his remark that the work being done in the context of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons is moving in the right direction, 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 report of the Secretary General 3 and the importance of comprehensive and inclusive discussions of the challenges and concerns related to autonomous weapons systems, and in this respect, noting with appreciation the open informal consultations convened in 2025 pursuant to resolution 79/62, Highlighting the importance of international cooperation and capacity-building to facilitate further discussions and to close the digital divide and support developing countries’ effective, equitable and meaningful participation and representation in forums on autonomous weapons systems, 1. Underlines that a comprehensive and inclusive multilateral approach is 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, and encourages States to conduct further exchanges to that effect; 2. Stresses the urgent need to address 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 to further advance the universalization of the Convention; 3. Calls upon 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 to work towards completing the set of elements for an instrument being developed within the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, with a view to future negotiations; _______________ 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/80/57 3/3 25-20009 4. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session the item entitled “Lethal autonomous weapons systems”. 52nd plenary meeting 1 December 2025

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