States reach agreement at autonomous weapons talks in Geneva

The 128 states party to a framework regulating or banning indiscriminate or injurious weapons reached an agreement on Saturday that could lead to international rules governing autonomous weapons, a development after more than a decade of negotiations. The non-binding text marks a significant step, despite concerns that its definition of autonomous weapons and measures to minimize harmful effects on civilians may have been weakened.

Nicole van Rooijen, executive director of Stop Killer Robots, expressed disappointment that the years of work on the text had been "substantially diluted" in the final hours. The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons member states had been meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and reached consensus overnight. This agreement comes amid rising alarm over the use of lethal autonomous weapons systems in conflicts like those in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Middle East.

The non-binding document, reached by consensus, could pave the way for formal treaty negotiations. Talks extended late into the night to address differences over language, particularly from the United States and Russia, which favor national guidelines over international legally binding rules. Washington sought flexibility in the non-binding text, including regarding the role of human judgment in exercising lethal force.