A coalition of 130 Civil Society Organisations from 60 countries across the world, has called for the involvement of all ECOWAS states and other relevant stakeholders to support the political declaration for a ban on fully autonomous waepons otherwise called killer robots.
The call was contained in Communique signed by the Natinal Coordinator, International Action Network on Small Arms, (IANSA) Ms Mimido Achakpa, at the end of one-day round table meeting in Abuja on the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.
According to the communique, killer robots are weapons capable of wrecking mass destruction on humans regardless of age, gender and other considerations, without human intervention, stressing that its systems would fundamentally destabilise nations around the world.
“It is also capable of damaging and destroying “essential infrastructure and critical services, drive forced displacement, pose a threat in the long term,disrupt socio-economic activities and potentially compromise human security,” the communique stated.
Precursors to these weapons, such as armed drones, are being developed and deployed by nations including China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The group said the ‘Campaign to Stop Killer Robots’ was an inclusive and diverse coalition across the globe comprised of NGOs, community groups, and professional associations that support the campaign’s call for a ban on Fully Autonomous Weapons.
It stated that activities in support to ban Killer Robots currently had membership of 93 organisations in 53 countries.
“Over the past decade, the expanded use of unmanned armed vehicles globally has dramatically changed warfare, bringing new humanitarian and legal challenges.
“Now rapid advances in technology are resulting in efforts to develop fully autonomous weapons (Killer Robots).
“These robotic weapons would be able to choose and fire on targets on their own, without any human intervention,” the Communique said.
Contributing, the representatives of the ECOWAS member states and other relevant stakeholders at the meeting concluded that the involvement of African States, Media, Civil Societies and other relevant stakeeholders can play a pivotal role in enhancing the protection of civilians and other citizens from the harm caused by fully autonomous weapons in a time when armed conflicts are increasingly fought in population centers.
” Fully autonomous weapons systems will fundamentally destabilize nations around the world as history will note which political leaders recognized the gravity of this threat and took legislative action and those that did not. We must avoid the human sufferings that will occur if killer robots are deployed.”
Also part of the resolution arrived at the meeting was the need for further actions to address this issue at national, regional and international levels and encourage collection of data , information to increase awareness and enhance knowledge about the impact of fully autonomous weapons on humans.
