Geneva Conference November 16-20 to Weigh Autonomous Weapons Rules as UN Rights Chief Urges Binding Treaty
The Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons will meet from 16 to 20 November 2026 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where states will consider elements for an international instrument on lethal autonomous weapons systems proposed by a group of governmental experts. The expert group adopted its final report on 4 September 2026; endorsing the elements would not itself create a legally binding treaty, and the form of the instrument remains undecided. The conference is held under the presidency of Swiss Ambassador Julien Thöni.
Ahead of the conference, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on states to urgently agree on the development of a legally binding treaty regulating autonomous weapons systems. He warned that given the rapid pace of technological development, the window to regulate these increasingly powerful systems is closing, and stressed that human judgment and responsibility must remain at the centre of decisions involving the use of force. A machine must never have the power to decide whether a human being survives or dies, he said.
Mr. Turk called for prohibitions on autonomous weapons that target people and urged states to seize this year's review conference, held every five years, to begin negotiations on a legally binding instrument containing clear prohibitions and restrictions. The longer the international community waits, he said, the more difficult it will become to establish meaningful safeguards, and it may be too late.
Source: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图中是日内瓦万国宫，即本次审议大会的会场。来源：Vassil, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons。
