San Jose, February 17th, 2023. The Government of Costa Rica, in coordination with the Foundation for Peace and Democracy (FUNPADEM), will host the “Regional Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autonomous Weapons”, to be held on February 23 and 24, in Belen de Heredia.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the region and will attract government experts from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as from observer countries, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, academics, and civil society leaders.
This exchange will be the basis for regional dialogue on the humanitarian and social impacts of autonomous weapons, as well as the challenges that this type of weaponry poses to peace, security, and humanitarian law.
The call reaffirms Costa Rica’s position as a disarmed democracy, a neutral country, and a world leader in peace initiatives, as well as the country´s commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean as a region free of nuclear weapons and a Zone of Peace.
In this sense, Costa Rica joins the call of the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, who described autonomous weapons as “morally repugnant” and indicated that international law should prohibit those that operate without human participation.
In response to reports of the development, sale, and use of weapons with an increasing degree of autonomy, the Costa Rican government took the initiative to hold the conference.
It is expected that this call reactivates the international debate, with the purpose of contributing to the progress of the negotiations within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and other international fora. These negotiations are taking place at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where Costa Rica is actively participating.
An approach to autonomous weapons. Although there is no agreed definition, the scientific and academic community, as well as civilian organizations, define these weapons as those that select targets and apply force to said targets without human intervention.
When someone activates an autonomous weapon, they do not know exactly which people or objects they will attack, nor do they know precisely where or when that attack will occur. This is because such systems are activated autonomously, in reaction to what their pre-programmed sensors detect in the field.
The important element is that the weapon would have an autonomous “reaction” regarding the use of lethal force, without the need for any intervention by a human operator
In 2021, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Worship; Public Security; and Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications, together with FUNPADEM, officially launched the national campaign “For a country free of autonomous weapons: technology at the service of peace”. The plan was developed with the support of scientific, security and international humanitarian law experts from both the public and private sectors of the country.
Media contact::
José Loría Rojas, tel. +506 8330 4809, correo electrónico: jloria@rree.go.cr
Institutional Communication
Friday, February 17th, 2023
053-2023 1st Regional Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autonomous Weapons
