Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights participated in the first session of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), convened from March 7 to 11, 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Maat’s delegate participates in the meeting of experts, given its status as an international observer and a participant consultant in the sessions of preparing the guideline on lethal autonomous weapons systems, and in its capacity as the technical secretariat of the Coalition of Civil Society to Fight Against the Proliferation of Weapons, which is considered the only Arab delegation participating in civil society organizations.

The session discussed the organization of the work of the GGE, the international conventions and relevant protocols attached thereto, among other options related to the normative and operational framework on emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems, and bringing expertise in legal, military and technological aspects.

In his intervention during the meeting, the international human rights expert, Ayman Okeil, confirmed that arms manufacturers continue to invest in tools without taking into account any considerations of their gravity on the lives of civilians in the future. The risks would even be complicated if these technologies fall into the wrong hands of terrorist groups, who use them to exterminate peoples and minorities. A good example of this is the attacks carried out by the Houthi militia against neighboring countries and the events taking place in more than one African country, which may put the world in a fraught situation.

Okeil added that the global autonomous weapons market is expected to reach $20.31 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 11%. In addition, several nations are racing to develop fully autonomous weapons systems, which puts the future of humanity on the line. The human rights expert also recommended the urgent need to shed light on the issue of killer robots and the need to work on establishing a strong and legally binding international treaty to limit the spread of killer robots before it is too late.

Finally, Maat calls for the necessity of expanding cooperation between legal and technical experts to include all aspects of autonomous weapons, especially on the legal side; the imposition of national and international control over the field of technological development in the industry, which enhances the rights of civilians in the event of brutal military dangers; as well as the importance of having a dialogue with technology companies specialized in the development of autonomous self-defensive weapons. Maat also calls for the involvement of civil society organizations in the interactive dialogue with experts in order to achieve the desired outcome of that meeting agenda.

Maat Foundation also calls for there to be a broader scope for civil society organizations to participate in the interactive dialogue with experts in order to achieve the desired agenda of that meeting.