The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday issued a joint appeal urging countries to ban and restrict autonomous weapons systems, warning of intensified risks.
Building on an appeal from three years ago, the organizations stopped short of a blanket ban but highlighted that "killer robots" are being developed rapidly. "We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: The autonomous targeting of humans by machines," said U.N. spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, reading a statement from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric.
The call comes ahead of a November meeting in Geneva to strengthen the Convention on Conventional Weapons, which the bodies call the "clearest path" to binding rules.
While the U.N. and ICRC have not confirmed battlefield use, automated technology is advancing rapidly. In Ukraine, ground robots are used to ferry supplies and evacuate troops, with Kyiv seeking to scale up armed systems to support outnumbered infantry.
"When the architects of this technology are calling for limits, states cannot afford to remain passive," the statement urged.