Autonomous Weapons System (AWS) may be understood as those types of weapons that select and apply force to targets without human intervention. Over 90 States have called for the negotiation of an international legally binding instrument to respond to the legal, ethical, humanitarian and security risks posed by AWS. Non-Aligned Movement has also welcomed the initiatives aimed at strengthening collaboration among states to promote the negotiation of an internationally legal binding instrument on AWS.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a political and economic union of 15 Member States in the Caribbean region, has undertaken a major initiative in this regard and issued the CARICOM Declaration on Autonomous Weapons System on September 6, 2023. The CARICOM Declaration on Autonomous Weapons Systems resulted from a two-day regional Conference on the Human Impacts of Autonomous Weapons in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on 5-6 September 2023. The conference was hosted by the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), with the support of the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago and in partnership with Stop Killer Robots and campaign member Soka Gakkai International. The conference was attended by government representatives from CARICOM Member States, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UN agencies, academics and technical experts, and civil society. The Declaration represents a significant step for the Region in advancing CARICOM’s position regarding autonomous weapons systems.
The Preamble of the Declaration recognizes that emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), have the power to unlock inclusive economic growth, possess extraordinary potential to enhance human lives, and address significant societal challenges. However, the Preamble also recognizes that emerging technologies pose risks to national and regional security, including implications for global security, particularly in the case of AWS.
The Declaration is divided into five sections. The first section is titled Fundamental Principles and Concern. CARICOM has expressed deep concern at the ethical, legal, and humanitarian risks posed by AWS, including concrete challenges posed to non-proliferation efforts and the maintenance of global peace and security, and risk of a new arms race. CARICOM also recognizes the importance of greater examination in international discussions and multilateral fora of the implications of AWS for non-proliferation and the risks of diversion to non-state actors, including criminals and terrorist groups, and the challenges of AWS to internal and domestic security, including law enforcement and border security. The second section of the Declaration titled Ethical and Legal Imperatives expresses concerns at the absence of comprehensive multilateral frameworks governing the design, development, and use of AWS, and the resultant moral, ethical, legal, and humanitarian concerns, thereby posing a direct risk to human rights and fundamental freedoms. CARICOM stresses the principle that advancements in AI and AWS should not be leveraged to undermine human rights, exacerbate prevailing inequalities, nor deepen discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, religion, gender, age, or other status.
The third section of the Declaration is titled Collaborative Endeavours and Multilateral Cooperation. CARICOM acknowledges the appeals made by the UN Secretary-General, UN Special Rapporteurs, the ICRC, civil society, the academic community, and the scientific community regarding the imperative of negotiating a legally binding instrument concerning AWS. Section 4 titled Joint Action and Future Commitments acknowledges the important work undertaken within the framework of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), while recognizing the need to broaden the discussion to accommodate an inclusive conversation required for the advancement of an international legally binding instrument, incorporating prohibitions and regulations on AWS. This section reiterates the call for new legally binding measures within the domain of AWS to ensure compliance with international law.
The fifth and final section outlines the major recommendations of CARICOM. The Declaration agrees to maintain a unified stance across all pertinent platforms, prioritizing the creation of an international legally binding instrument on AWS, which takes into consideration issues relating to non-proliferation and the risks of diversion to non-state actors, including non-state armed groups and terrorist groups, and the challenges of AWS to internal and domestic security, including law enforcement and border security. It also calls upon international organizations, development partners, the private sector, academia, and other relevant stakeholders to contribute financial and technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives, in order to enable Member States to meaningfully engage in multilateral discussions on autonomous weapons systems and bridge the gap of technological disparities that may result in increased vulnerability of CARICOM States.
The conference and the resulting Declaration have shown that CARICOM Member States are ready to step up and take the lead in safeguarding against the risks posed by AWS.
