UN, Red Cross urge restrictions on “killer robots”

The UN and the international Red Cross in a joint call urge

countries to restrictions on the use of autonomous

weapons systems - often known as killer robots - warning that

"the risks have intensified."

The years-long effort to rein in use of autonomous weapons

systems has struggled to produce limits and the new push

comes against the backdrop of use of drones and

other technologies in conflicts

as diverse as Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan and beyond.

From the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, Melanie Regimbal says there’s an urgent need to begin negotiations.

“There is an urgent need to begin negotiations on legally binding

instruments to regulate autonomous weapon systems with clear

prohibitions and restrictions. And we're no longer starting from a

blank page. More than a decade of substantive and technical work

has taken place within the group of governmental experts on lethal

autonomous weapon systems under the Convention on Certain

Conventional Weapons