Published on: 2026-08-25
Source: United Nations
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August 25, 2026 Peace and security
States must immediately begin developing legally binding rules regulating the use of autonomous weapons systems, including drones. This is stated in a joint appeal by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric.
According to them, the world is rapidly approaching a dangerous threshold beyond which a machine will be able to independently select a human as a target – and this is an “ethically unacceptable situation.”
Guterres and Spoljaric reminded that three years ago they already called on countries to establish bans and restrictions on such systems. Since then, technologies have been developing so rapidly that the gap between the capabilities of weapons and the existing legal norms has only increased. The use of advanced autonomous systems on the battlefield increases the risks for civilians and infrastructure, exacerbating the suffering of people in armed conflicts.
According to the authors of the appeal, further development of autonomous weapons will lead to escalation and a weakening of human control over the use of force. The race for increasingly autonomous systems is already underway, and even the engineers creating these technologies express concern. “If even the creators of this technology call for its limitation, states cannot afford to stand aside,” the appeal emphasizes.
Guterres and Spoljaric believe that this year should be a turning point. Significant progress has already been made in the UN General Assembly and in the Group of Governmental Experts of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in understanding what control must be exercised by humans and what measures are necessary to comply with international humanitarian law. Now, in their view, political will is required: it is time to move from discussions to action.
The heads of the UN and ICRC have called on states to begin negotiations on adopting a legally binding treaty with clearly defined restrictions and prohibitions. They warn that delay will lead to even greater human casualties.
Special attention in the address is given to the upcoming Seventh Conference on the Review of the Operation of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which will take place in November. Guterres and Spoljaric hope that states will be able to make a decision to start negotiations on a legally binding document.
“The painstaking work that has been done over the past three years provides a perfect foundation for such negotiations,” the statement says.
Guterres and Spoljaric emphasize: continuing to develop weapons that facilitate warfare undermines collective efforts to create a safer world. Innovations, they say, should serve humanity, not threaten it.
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