UK stays mute as France, Germany and 40 more states agree that draft rules on ‘killer robots’ are ready to negotiate

By Richard Moyes

42 states at the UN Conventional Weapons Convention (CCW) recently set out a joint position that the draft ‘elements’ that have been developed on ‘lethal autonomous weapons systems’ are ready for formal negotiations. France, Germany and 12 other NATO states joined a cross regional group led by Brazil to confirm that they are ready to move forwards on the basis of ‘elements‘ that have developed from more than a decade of talks in Geneva.*

The UK did not join the statement supporting negotiations, despite repeatedly asserting that the CCW is its preferred forum for these discussions.

The draft rules are designed to ensure that there is still “appropriate human judgement and control” in the use of autonomous weapons – requirements that are vital to protecting the role of human decision makers in international humanitarian law. The elements lack a prohibition on anti-personnel autonomous weapons, which Article 36 considers critical for civilian protection – but that short-coming is unlikely to be resolved in the near term.

The UN Secretary-General and the President of the ICRC have stated that autonomous weapons are an urgent humanitarian priority and have called on states to negotiate a legal instrument on autonomous weapons by 2026. Negotiations in the CCW would likely not start until 2027, as the current round of discussions are mandated to the end of 2026. Even then it is possible (bordering on likely) that Russia, USA or others will veto the move to negotiations – or insist on negotiating something other than a legal instrument. However, the September 5th joint statement provides a clear indication that a significant group of states think that negotiations are necessary.

In September 2024 at the UN General Assembly, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that “the entire framework of arms control and counter-proliferation…has begun to fall away” and, in particular, that “incredible new technologies like AI are being deployed for military use without agreed rules.” But, under his leadership, “the UK will lead again.” In October 2024, further to the Prime Minister’s UNGA speech, the UK Ministers were asked ‘whether they were supportive of a treaty on autonomous weapons systems?’ In response, the MoD Minister of State cited the mandate of the CCW to develop “a set of elements of an instrument” and noted that the UK is “working constructively and proactively to fulfil that mandate through that process”.

In May 2025, the UK was one of the leaders of a joint statement that referred to the CCW as “the international community’s best opportunity to make progress on addressing the challenges and concerns raised by emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems” and “the international community’s best chance to develop an outcome on [lethal autonomous weapons]…”. This statement, at discussions on autonomous weapons at the UN in New York, was actually intended to foreclose the possibility of states discussing the issue away from Geneva.

Despite the Prime Minister specifically highlighting the challenge of AI-weapons systems operating without agreed rules and despite the UK talking up the importance of the CCW as the place to progress those discussions, the UK cannot agree that moving to negotiations should be the next step. They are capable of leading a joint statement when their intention is to stifle discussions (in New York), but they stay silent when given the option to build momentum for actual progress.

Of course the UK’s lack of positive leadership on international law around weapons is nothing new, but it is striking that the gap between the high level political rhetoric and the actual activity is so stark. Joining a joint statement such as this in the CCW is a very low level of ask, but the UK seems to have no political direction in these discussions other than that provided by the knee-jerk anxiety of its bureaucracy. Despite sending multiple diplomats to the talks on autonomous weapons systems, multiple times a year for more than a decade, the UK doesn’t consider this something that deserves moving to negotiations.

At a time when the system of international rules is under direct attack, the UK’s approach does not do justice to the seriousness of the issues. Ensuring that humans have a meaningful role in decision making around the use of force is essential if international humanitarian law (and basic morality) are to have any relevance in situations of armed conflict.

* States that joined the call for negotiations were: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mexico, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and CCW observer states: Kiribati, Samoa, Thailand.