View previous stories
	Killer Robots: Urgent need to fast-track talks by Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, agencies   Aug. 2021   Killer Robots: Urgent need to fast-track talks.   Governments should make up for lost time by moving urgently to begin negotiations on a new treaty to retain meaningful human control over the use of force, Human Rights Watch said in a report released this week.   Representatives from approximately 50 countries will convene on August 3, 2021 at the United Nations in Geneva for their first official diplomatic meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems, or “killer robots,” in nearly a year.   The report, “Areas of Alignment: Common Visions for a Killer Robots Treaty,” co-published by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic, describes the strong objections to delegating life-and-death decisions to machines expressed by governments at the last official Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) meeting on killer robots.   That meeting, held in September 2020, featured proposals from many countries to negotiate a new international treaty to prohibit and restrict autonomous weapons.   “International law needs to be expanded to create new rules that ensure human control and accountability in the use of force,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior arms researcher at Human Rights Watch and associate director of armed conflict and civilian protection at the Harvard Human Rights Clinic.   “The fundamental moral, legal, and security concerns raised by autonomous weapons systems warrant a strong and urgent response in the form of a new international treaty.”   Nearly 100 countries have publicly expressed their views on killer robots since 2013. Most have repeatedly called for a new international treaty to retain meaningful human control over the use of force, including 31 that have explicitly called for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems.   Yet a small number of militarily advanced countries – most notably Israel, Russia, and the United States – regard any move to create new international law as premature. They are investing heavily in the military applications of artificial intelligence and developing air, land, and sea-based autonomous weapons systems.   Governments have expressed support for banning autonomous systems that are legally or morally unacceptable, the groups said.   There is strong interest in prohibiting weapons systems that by their nature select and engage targets without meaningful human control, including complex systems that use machine-learning algorithms to produce unpredictable or inexplicable effects.   There are further calls to ban anti-personnel weapons systems that rely on profiles derived from biometric and other data collected by sensors to identify, select, and attack individuals or categories of people.   “Killing or injuring people based on data collected by sensors and processed by machines would violate human dignity,” Docherty said. “Relying on algorithms to target people will dehumanize warfare and erode our humanity.”   Many countries have proposed complementing these prohibitions with regulations to ensure that all other autonomous weapons systems are only used with meaningful human control, the groups said.   “Meaningful human control” is widely understood to require that technology is understandable and predictable and that its operations are constrained in space and time.   An October 2020 report by Human Rights Watch and the International Human Rights Clinic recommended elements for a new treaty on killer robots that largely align with the proposals made by countries that participated in the September 2020 meeting.   Decisions at the Convention on Conventional Weapons are by consensus, which allows a few countries – or even a single country – to block an agreement sought by a majority. A new treaty, however, does not have to be negotiated under Convention on Conventional Weapons auspices, and there are signs that political leaders are anxious to move on and achieve a faster, more lasting result.   In July, New Zealand’s minister for disarmament and arms control, Phil Twyford, warned that the current diplomatic talks “are not delivering” and suggested those concerned by the prospect of autonomous weapons systems come together and “design something truly fit-for-purpose.”   He added, “For many of us, the idea that a computer could autonomously identify and attack a target will be unconscionable.”   A broad range and growing number of countries, institutions, private companies, and individuals have reiterated their desire for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems.   In May, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for countries to negotiate an international treaty to prohibit autonomous weapons systems that are unpredictable or target people and establish regulations to ensure human control over other systems.   Since 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged states to prohibit weapons systems that could, by themselves, target and attack human beings, calling them “morally repugnant and politically unacceptable.”   The 31 countries demanding a ban on killer robots are Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China (on use only), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, the Holy See, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the State of Palestine, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.   Human Rights Watch is a co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, the coalition of more than 180 nongovernmental organizations in 67 countries that advocates for a treaty to maintain meaningful human control over the use of force and prohibit weapons systems that operate without such control.   “It’s feasible and essential to draw the line now on problematic emerging technologies by negotiating a new international treaty to retain meaningful human control over the use of force,” Docherty said. “There should be no more delays.”   http://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/02/killer-robots-urgent-need-fast-track-talks http://www.hrw.org/report/2020/10/20/new-weapons-proven-precedent/elements-and-models-treaty-killer-robots http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/   May 2021   International Committee of the Red Cross backs Killer Robot Ban, writes Mary Wareham, Advocacy Director, Arms Division at Human Rights Watch.   The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on governments to ban fully autonomous weapons.   ICRC President Peter Maurer said yesterday that he hopes the humanitarian organization’s public backing for new legally binding rules to prohibit and regulate autonomous weapons will help spur “political action at the international level” and “collectively draw a line that is in the interest of people” and “ultimately, our shared humanity.”   As technology develops rapidly, the ICRC has found that the laws of war “do not provide all the answers” to ensure that commanders and weapon operators retain sufficient human control over weapons systems.   The increased use of weapons systems with autonomy in today’s armed conflicts underscores the importance of creating a new international legal standard now, before it is too late.   A United Nations report issued last year details how fighters in Libya “were subsequently hunted down and remotely engaged” by the Turkish-manufactured STM Kargu-2 loitering munition. During the recent conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan government forces used various loitering munitions, such as the Harop developed by Israel Aerospace Industries.   Once launched, this so-called “suicide drone” loiters in the air for a period searching for a target, which it attacks once detected. Regarded by the ICRC as the only real form of “offensive” autonomous weapon deployed today, loitering munitions are configured to allow the human operator to monitor and intervene in its operation.   Since 2018, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged states to move to prohibit weapons systems that could, by themselves, target and attack human beings, calling them “morally repugnant and politically unacceptable.” Last year, Pope Francis warned lethal autonomous weapons systems would “irreversibly alter the nature of warfare, detaching it further from human agency.”   Dozens of countries have expressed support for negotiating a new international law to prohibit and restrict autonomous weapons. But major military powers – most notably Russia and the United States – have repeatedly thwarted moves to begin negotiations, arguing it is “premature” to attempt regulation.   Frustration over the lack of progress in diplomatic talks suggests a new process should be undertaken to negotiate an international treaty on killer robots that many countries seek.   The ICRC decision may mark a turning point, given that no international arms treaties have been adopted in recent decades without its support and participation. As the guardian of international humanitarian law, the ICRC is an indispensable partner for governments, UN agencies, and nongovernmental organizations working to protect civilians during armed conflict.   http://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/13/international-committee-red-cross-backs-killer-robot-ban http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/2021/05/icrc-calls-for-new-legal-rules-to-address-autonomy-in-weapons-systems/ http://www.icrc.org/en/document/peter-maurer-role-autonomous-weapons-armed-conflict http://bit.ly/3zGwEN3   Nov. 2020   Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space   This statement was drafted on behalf of civil society by Project Ploughshares Senior Researcher Jessica West. Dr. West presented it to the United Nations General Assembly First Committee for Disarmament and International Security on October 13, 2020. Published in The Ploughshares Monitor   "We have just marked World Space Week, designated by the United Nations to celebrate the contributions of space to the betterment of humanity. This year’s theme is “Satellites Improve Life.” Never has this been more evident than during the Covid-19 pandemic, when satellite communications have become a universal lifeline in a time of physical separation.   Today, our dependence on space is matched by its growing vulnerability to the use of weapons and the conduct of warfare.   While the international community has struggled to preserve outer space as a peaceful domain free of weapons, an arms race has been bubbling beneath the surface.   We know that electronic warfare – the jamming of satellite communications – is rampant. We have witnessed three states demonstrate a hit-to-kill anti-satellite capability using ground-based weapons systems; this capability is not limited to these actors.   There is evidence that the development of other anti-satellite capabilities such as directed energy weapons is accelerating. And there are suggestions that satellites with weapons capabilities may already be in orbit.   These actions threaten war. No one wants it, yet multiple states are actively preparing for it. The risk of unintentional conflict through mishaps, misinterpretations, and miscommunications is great. Diplomatic action is needed.   At this Committee, support for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space – PAROS – remains strong. But the divides over how to implement this objective – whether through legal restrictions, political commitments or normative understandings of responsible behaviour – remain equally strong. These are not mutually exclusive options. None can progress without efforts to enhance trust and transparency.   It’s time to reset the conversation. A new initiative by the United Kingdom to support “a global discussion to avoid conflict in space” is welcomed. By asking what kind of behaviours or activities in space seem threatening, there is an opportunity to find common ground and to avoid slipping into unwanted military confrontations.   But success will depend on good-faith participation, as well as a willingness to listen. These are qualities that should be applied to all initiatives.   It is in this spirit that we also urge states to: Oppose the use of any space-based or ground-based capabilities to deliberately disrupt, damage or destroy space assets. Indicate support for an agreement to prevent an arms race in outer space, and for necessary transparency and confidence-building measures towards that end.   Beyond these political commitments, there is a clear need for states to lead through example: to refrain from testing weapons systems targeting space, to bring greater transparency to military activities, to demonstrate the type of behaviours in outer space that contribute to stability and peaceful uses, and to call out those who violate these principles.   Any use of force in outer space would be difficult to contain. There is no separate zone in outer space for warfighting: the whole domain would become the battlefield. It threatens thousands of satellites, connected to billions of people all around the world. It risks mass contamination of a fragile environment. And it has the potential to spill over into other domains. We cannot wait for a crisis to act.   * Signed: Project Ploughshares; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Canadian Pugwash Group; Rideau Institute   http://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/joint-statement-on-outer-space/ http://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/the-third-drone-age/ Visit the related web page
	Colombia Truth Commission reports 450,664 people were killed over nearly six decades of fighting by ACAPS, Norwegian Refugee Council, agencies   June 2022   Colombia Truth Commission presents final report on civil conflict, announcing that at least 450,664 people were killed over nearly six decades of fighting. (news agencies)   Bogota, Colombia – Colombia’s Truth Commission has presented its final report on the country’s long-running civil conflict, announcing that at least 450,664 people were killed over nearly six decades of fighting.   The report from the Truth Commission said the effect of the conflict between the Colombian military and rebel groups has been “massive and intolerable”. It also called for substantial reforms in Colombia’s approach to drug policy, which it said helped prolong the civil war, and urged redress for the victims of the conflict.   The commission was set up as part of a 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It was tasked with documenting abuses and explaining what caused the conflict to persist for so long.   It said that the war, which started with a Marxist peasant armed uprising in 1964, extended across the country over the course of nearly six decades and deteriorated in the 1990s due to drug trafficking and the rise of paramilitary factions that often worked in collusion with the military and politicians.   Based on interviews with more than 14,000 victims of the conflict, as well as military leaders and former fighters, the report gave an updated toll of the violence. In addition to the 450,664 people who were killed between 1985 and 2018, it said at least 121,768 people were also disappeared.   Some 55,770 were kidnapped between 1990 and 2018, while at least 7.7 million people were displaced between 1985 and 2019.   Launching the report in the Colombian capital, Bogota, Francisco de Roux, Truth Commission President Francisco de Roux called for the construction of a “great peace” and expressed confidence in President-elect Gustavo Petro’s commitment to implement the commission’s recommendations.   Petro, who attended the presentation, was a former fighter of the M-19 armed group that demobilised under a peace process. On the campaign trail, he had pledged full support for the 2016 peace deal and promised to implement provisions that had languished under outgoing President Ivan Duque.   Petro said that the truth cannot be used to create a “space for vengeance”. Instead, the truth would be needed to end cycles of armed violence and open dialogues, he said.   Duque, who was absent from the ceremony, previously told a local newspaper that he hoped the report would not be biased. Critics have accused the outgoing president of obstructing the peace deal, which addresses key causes and drivers of the conflict, such as underdevelopment and the drug economy.   The commission is part of a transitional justice system that is designed to help the country move towards a path of reconciliation and peace. A peace tribunal is judging atrocities committed during the conflict and holding perpetrators accountable.   In its report, the Truth Commission urged the Colombian government to end its militarised approach to drug policy that for decades has prioritised prohibition over regulation.   The report showed that the local drug economy boosted armed groups and exacerbated the violence. While the United States flushed the Colombian government with millions of dollars under Plan Colombia, launched in 2000, to help combat a twin war against drug trafficking and armed rebels, the cultivation of coca, the base crop in cocaine, has continued unabated.   Under the peace deal, thousands of farmers were supposed to substitute coca with legal plants, such as cacao or coffee, but when the government subsidies to support the transition never arrived, farmers resorted once again to coca crops.   The report also criticised entrenched impunity in Colombia, saying there has been a lack of justice in cases related to the armed conflict. It said that the Attorney General’s Office had reported filing cases for 185,000 victims in 2018, a fraction of the 9 million victims registered in the official figures.   Addressing impunity will be crucial to ending the cycles of violence, the report argued, while also calling for the full implementation of the 2016 peace deal and continuing talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group.   Analysts say the commission’s recommendations could bring Colombia closer to peace, if implemented.   “The fact that this report is published less than two months before a new government takes power can be seen as a new possibility for Colombia when it comes to building the peace the country so badly needs,” said Carolina Jimenez Sandoval, president of the Washington Office on Latin America.   The report, which also examined the effect of war on vulnerable populations, comes at a time of renewed violence in Colombia, with new and old armed groups vying for strategic drug routes and targeting social leaders that resist their control.   In many rural pockets across the country, victims said they hoped the Truth Commission’s findings – which will be disseminated throughout the country in the next two months – will help end the violence.   Sandra Pena, head of the North Cauca Women, Children, and Youth Corporation, said her community needed peace. “The effects of the war have not completely healed yet we’re already living through new violence,” she said.   http://www.acaps.org/country/colombia/crisis/complex-crisis   Apr. 2022   Colombia: 274,000 people affected by violence in two months. (NRC)   “The surge in conflict and violence has destroyed the promise of peace for many Colombians. The Government and armed groups must come together and agree to end this nightmare for ordinary Colombians, many of whom have already endured decades of brutal war,” said Francesco Volpi, acting Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Colombia.   Close to eight million people need humanitarian support in Colombia this year, up from over four million in 2017, the year after the peace deal was signed. Some 274,000 people were affected by violence in January and February alone, according to the United Nations.   Many women and children have been forced to flee up to four times because of insecurity, especially in rural areas of the country where the government has little or no presence.   “We recently spoke to a family forced to flee violence this year. They had been uprooted from their homes before the signing of the peace agreement, so this is the second time they are on the run. Ending this cruel cycle of displacement is the best way to commemorate the victims of Colombia’s long conflict,” said Volpi.   Armed groups have established a series of draconian rules and punishments they are imposing on local populations with brutal force, including on those accused of stealing, raping or killing. They also enforce armed curfews and regulate daily activities, such as fishing and the closing times of local business.   Civil society organizations have accused these groups of committing offenses including forced recruitment, laying mines, and preventing people from earning a livelihood on their farms. In some areas children are afraid to return to school, out of fear of armed clashes and mines on the way to class.   A displaced youth leader in the southwest Colombia told NRC; “We are afraid and we are alone. Violence has defeated peace in our community. We need the government's permanent presence in our communities to feel protected.”   http://www.nrc.no/news/2022/april/colombia-274000-people-affected-by-violence-in-two-months/
	View more stories