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	There are currently no multilateral regulations covering military artificial intelligence by BBC News, Campaign To Stop Killer Robots, agencies   17 Nov. 2017   Support builds for new international law on killer robots. (Campaign to Stop Killer Robots)   After four years a multilateral process to consider concerns relating to lethal autonomous weapons systems looks set to continue aiming low and going slow despite increasing calls for new international law to address this concern.   A total of 86 countries participated in a meeting of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems that concluded in Geneva today in addition to UNIDIR, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.   Most states are now calling for a legally-binding instrument on fully autonomous weapons, known at the CCW as “lethal autonomous weapons systems.” That was not the case at the beginning of the week-long meeting. It is largely due to the announcement by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) group of states, which has expressed hope that the CCW work will lead to an instrument stipulating prohibitions and regulations on lethal autonomous weapons systems.   Support for a prohibition is growing: 22 countries now support a prohibition with Brazil, Iraq and Uganda joining the list of ban endorsers during the GGE meeting. Cuba, Egypt, Pakistan and other states that support the call to ban fully autonomous weapons also forcefully reiterated the urgent need for a prohibition.   Nearly all states that addressed the CCW meeting accepted that some form of human control must be maintained over weapons systems. The campaign seeks to prohibit weapons that would select and attack targets without further human intervention and hopes that will be the main subject for discussion at the GGE next year as states must make explicit where they draw the line in increasing autonomy in weapon systems.   It is unclear if states can make significant progress at the CCW to swiftly address substantive concerns over fully autonomous weapons if they only meet for up to 10 days next year. States will take a final decision on the CCW’s future on this challenge, including 2018 meeting duration/dates, at the CCW’s annual meeting on Friday, 24 November.   Several states including Brazil, Ireland and Sierra Leone said they see value in discussing the concerns raised by fully autonomous weapons in other fora such as the Human Rights Council.   A handful of states, notably Russia and the United States, said it is too soon to begin negotiating new international law or politically-binding measures. There is serious risk that a few states will hold-back efforts by most states to advance efforts to address fully autonomous weapons concerns at the CCW as its decisions are taken by consensus.   The 2018 GGE meetings should be action-oriented and focus on discussions between states. The 2017 GGE meeting included panels featuring external experts on wide-ranging questions relating to artificial intelligence and emerging technologies at a time when the GGE’s formal setting has raised the expectation of more substantive engagement by various experts working in government.   In 2018, states at the GGE should focus on considering characteristics or elements of a working definition on lethal autonomous weapons systems. It is time for experts from governments to make explicit where they draw the line in increasing autonomy in weapon systems and determine how to retain meaningful human control over weapons systems.   The campaign strongly suggests that states hold at least two separate GGE meetings in 2018, including one during the first quarter or half of the year. The GGE should pave the way to international negotiations on a legally binding instrument. States Parties should agree to a formal negotiating mandate at the end of 2018, and conclude a new protocol by the end of 2019 – a protocol that bans the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons.   http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/2017/11/gge/   Aug. 2017   UN Secretary-General''s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu: “There are currently no multilateral standards or regulations covering military Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications.   The United Nations says it is “closely following developments related to the prospect of weapons systems that can autonomously select and engage targets, with concern that technological developments may outpace normative deliberations.” It expresses hope that UN member states “make meaningful progress toward a shared understanding on how to ensure the core values of the international community are safeguarded in this context.”   That’s according to a 22 May 2017 letter sent to the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots by the new Under Secretary-General High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, on behalf of the new UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. Guterres began his term on 1 January 2017, while Nakamitsu became the new UN disarmament chief on 1 May after working for the UN in humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping.   Nakamitsu first elaborated the UN’s “fundamental concerns” over killer robots in an address to the high-level “Artificial Intelligence for Good” summit convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva on 7 June. The six-page statement finds that fully autonomous weapon systems raise serious questions, including over their potential impact on international peace and security, the implications for global norms and mechanisms governing warfare, likely proliferation, and possibility they will be “sought after by unscrupulous actors with malicious intent.”   Under the heading of “What can we do?” the UN disarmament chief finds “there are currently no multilateral standards or regulations covering military AI applications.” She expresses the UN’s support for the process to discuss lethal autonomous weapons at the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva.   Nakamitsu says that states should decide “what they consider to be the acceptable degree of human control over the lethal functions of a weapon system, and whether a specific international treaty or instrument is required to ensure that control is maintained.”   However, the CCW process on killer robots is faltering and will not convene until November 2017 at the earliest, more than a year after the last substantive talks on the topic. A crucial week of formal discussions on killer robots that was due to take place in Geneva in April 2017 and then rescheduled to August has been cancelled because several states, most notably Brazil, failed to pay their dues for the convention’s meetings.   The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots strongly regrets this development and is working with Brazil and others to help resolve it so that the CCW process can continue. At this time, the campaign is intensifying its outreach in national capitals to check on the status of policy development and encourage legislative initiatives to ban fully autonomous weapons.   The campaign aims to engage at the regional level to build awareness and support for a collective response and it continues to explore other avenues that could lead states to adopt a new international instrument to retain meaningful human control over the critical functions of weapons systems.   Both the UN’s letter and statement call for “inclusive and comprehensive dialogue” on the concerns posed by lethal autonomous weapons systems. Nakamitsu recommends a “multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder exchange” between governments and “civil society activists, the scientific community and the private sector.”   She views “human dignity and human security” as “essential” elements or principles to guide discussion, including the development of “human-centred norms.”   On 29 June 2017, Nakamitsu met with Campaign to Stop Killer Robots representatives Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch in New York, where they discussed the revolutionary nature of fully autonomous weapons and paradigm shift they constitute for the conduct of warfare in future.   The UN letter was in response to March correspondence from the campaign. Since its launch in 2013 the campaign has engaged in regular dialogue with the UN disarmament chief, including previous representatives Angela Kane (until 2015) and then Kim Won-soo (until 2017)   In his remarks to the AI for Good summit, the Secretary-General of campaign co-founder Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, reiterated the urgent need for a pre-emptive ban on fully autonomous weapons. http://bit.ly/2x6PA6I http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/   11 August 2017   US firm reveals gun-toting drone that can fire in mid-air available for private sales. (BBC)   A US technology firm has developed a drone that is able to aim and fire at enemies while flying in mid-air. The Tikad drone, developed by Duke Robotics, is armed with a machine-gun and a grenade launcher.   The gun can be fired only by remote control, and is supposedly designed to reduce military casualties by cutting the number of ground troops required.   But campaigners warn that in the wrong hands, it will make it easier to kill innocent people.   The Tikad drone, available for private sale at an undisclosed price, has won a security innovation award from the US Department of Defense, and there is interest from several military forces around the world, including Israel, reports Defense One.   However, robotics expert Professor Noel Sharkey expressed concern that gun-toting drones could make it easier to kill innocent people.   "Big military drones traditionally have to fly thousands of feet overhead to get to targets, but these smaller drones could easily fly down the street to apply violent force," he told the BBC.   "This is my biggest worry since there have been many legal cases of human-rights violations using the large fixed-wing drones, and these could potentially result in many more."   For the past decade, Prof Sharkey has been campaigning against killer robots, which are fully autonomous, computer-powered weapons that would be able to track and select targets without human supervision.   Together with the Campaign To Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of over 60 international NGOs including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Nobel Women''s Initiative, Sharkey has been lobbying the United Nations to ban autonomous weapons.   However, the machine-gun on board the Duke Robotics device still has to be controlled remotely by a human operator.   According to Prof Sharkey, some US military officials are concerned that although the US might follow the laws of war, terrorists could easily look at drone innovations and copy the idea to kill innocent people.   "We already know that Islamic State is using drones laden with explosives to kill people. What''s to stop them from getting their hands on this? Copying has not been possible with big military drones, but once you get the idea that you can strap automatic weapons onto one and operate it remotely, that''s very much easier," he said.   "This type of weapon is another dangerous step towards the development of fully autonomous weapons that could hunt down targets and kill them without human supervision."   http://bbc.in/2vWItBh http://bit.ly/2vKP6nm http://icrac.net/ http://bit.ly/2iidQQV http://autonomousweapons.org/research-and-reports/ http://twitter.com/BanKillerRobots http://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/09/its-time-binding-absolute-ban-fully-autonomous-weapons http://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/15/statement-convention-conventional-weapons-group-governmental-experts-lethal Visit the related web page
	Civilians in the Central African Republic face an imminent risk of mass atrocity crimes by ReliefWeb, Globalr2p, Amnesty, OCHA, agencies   10 September 2017   Rising Ethnic Tensions fuel fears of increasing Violence. (AllAfrica/VOA, agencies)   The head of United Nations peacekeeping says rising ethnic tensions in Central African Republic are likely to spur greater conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities unless action is taken to defuse the situation.   U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix says ethnic hate speech is running in parallel with an increase in violence in the Central African Republic. And, he says, he finds this very worrisome.   "We are seeing a surge in very negative messages, very negative antagonistic rhetoric to the effect that ''foreigners should be eliminated.'' Sort of putting one ethnic component or religious component of this country against the other and this is very worrying and serious."   Lacroix says it is a key responsibility of the leadership and all those in positions of influence in the Central African Republic to counter those messages.   War between the Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka armed groups broke out in 2013 after Seleka rebels toppled the Christian president, Francois Bozize.   Mr. Lacroix said every effort was being made to redeploy U.N. forces on the ground to try to mitigate the impact of this violence and to protect civilians, (however a number of analysts have questioned the UN capabilities to reach all threatened people, and humanitarian actors have been forced to suspend aid operations in areas of the country due to insecurity).   "We do protect thousands of them [civilians] again in different locations in Central African Republic. We really not only protect them physically from those who want to go after them, but we help them get humanitarian assistance even though this is becoming quite challenging in many areas," Lacroix said.   Lacroix says the United Nations is trying to reconcile the two ethnic communities by working with religious, civic and political leaders from different walks of life. He says it is crucial to move the political process forward in the CAR to achieve a durable peace.   15 August 2017   Report from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - Civilians in the Central African Republic face an imminent risk of mass atrocity crimes.   Civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) continue to face an imminent risk of mass atrocity crimes. Successive ceasefire agreements between 2014 and 2017 have been unable to end ongoing violence between various armed groups and militias. Escalating attacks since May 2017 in areas previously unaffected by large-scale fighting has resulted in hundreds of people killed and tens of thousands displaced. The UN''s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator warned on 7 August that, "the early warning signs of genocide are there."   Recent violence, largely concentrated in the prefectures of Mbomou, Haute-Kotto and Basse-Kotto, is primarily driven by three armed groups: the predominantly Christian anti-balaka and two former members of the mostly Muslim Séléka rebel alliance, the Union pour la Paix en Centrafrique (UPC) and the Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC). The UN Children''s Agency (UNICEF) has warned that children are increasingly targeted during attacks on villages, with reports of rape, abduction and recruitment into armed groups.   In Bangassou, capital of Mbomou prefecture, many residents remain displaced following large-scale attacks in May, including 2,000 Muslims who are still sheltering in the town''s cathedral.. On 13 May the anti-balaka attacked the Muslim neighborhood of Tokoyo, resulting in at least 115 people killed and close to 19,000 displaced. Since then, anti-balaka have attacked internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, humanitarians and convoys of peacekeepers. Nine peacekeepers from the UN mission in CAR (MINUSCA) have been killed in and around Bangassou since the beginning of 2017. Approximately 75,000 people have fled from Bangassou and other border towns such as Bema and Mobaye into the Democratic Republic of Congo.   In Bria, the capital of Haute-Kotto, fighting between the FPRC and anti-balaka from 15-18 May and on 20 June resulted in the death of dozens of civilians, the burning of over 300 homes, and the majority of the town''s 47,500 residents being displaced. In Basse-Kotto prefecture clashes between the anti-balaka and the UPC in the town of Alindao from 7-9 May resulted in at least 133 people killed.   In the central town of Kaga-Bandoro, aid agencies have suspended their work since the beginning of July due to insecurity, leaving around 25,000 displaced people without humanitarian assistance. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have confirmed over 60 attacks against humanitarians in CAR since the start of the year.   Clashes continued during August. Fighting between anti-balaka and suspected members of the UPC from 3-8 August in Gambo, near Bangassou, resulted in the death of six Red Cross workers and an estimated 30 civilians. In the northwest of CAR, in Batangafo and Ngaoundaye, dozens of people were killed and thousands displaced by violence. Violence also broke out in Alindao on 4 August, resulting in the death of ten people.   The UN Secretary-General''s June 2017 report on CAR condemned violence by the FPRC, who have systematically targeted ethnic Fulani and seized their cattle. In response, armed Fulani self-defense groups have allegedly perpetrated violent reprisals, sometimes in collaboration with the UPC.   The current crisis in CAR has its origins in the overthrow of President François Bozizé on 24 March 2013 by the Séléka rebel alliance. Abuses by the Séléka led to the formation of anti-balaka militias. A human rights mapping report published by MINUSCA and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during May 2017 found that both sides of the conflict may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity between 2013-2015. Over one million people are currently displaced, with over 600,000 IDPs in CAR and more than 480,000 people in neighboring countries.   ANALYSIS:   Governmental control remains extremely limited in most areas outside Bangui, allowing rival armed groups to expand into areas previously unaffected by major fighting. In addition to the anti-balaka, UPC and FRPC, at least 11 other armed groups operate throughout CAR with shifting alliances and loose command-and-control structures. These groups compete for territory, power and resources, including several mining sites.   Attacks by the anti-balaka and FRPC against Muslim and Fulani communities demonstrate the ongoing threat of civilians being targeted because of their religious or ethnic identity.   MINUSCA, which in many parts of the country is the only force capable of maintaining security, continues to face critical capacity gaps that impede its ability to uphold its mandate to protect civilians.   The CAR government requires sustained international assistance to uphold its Responsibility to Protect.   INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE:   The UN Security Council (UNSC) has passed nine resolutions since October 2013 that emphasize the government''s responsibility to protect all populations in CAR, including Resolution 2339 of 27 January 2017, which renewed sanctions and an arms embargo until 31 January 2018.   On 4 April 2017 the UNSC issued a Presidential Statement condemning violence by armed groups – especially the FPRC and UPC – urging them to commit to the disarmament and demobilization process. The statement also emphasized the importance of holding perpetrators accountable and called for the swift operationalization of the Special Criminal Court, which was approved by the government in June 2015.   On 23 May 2017 the Prosecutor of the ICC issued a statement regarding the "serious crimes committed against civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarian workers," noting that such crimes may fall under the court''s jurisdiction. In a 13 July Presidential Statement, the UNSC emphasized that attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers may constitute crimes under international law.   NECESSARY ACTION:   The UNSC must ensure that MINUSCA has adequate troops and resources to uphold its mandate. MINUSCA must be able to deploy in adequate numbers to all areas where civilians lack sufficient protection and improve its capacity to anticipate and respond to emerging security threats.   Notwithstanding its numerous reconstruction, reconciliation and security challenges, the government should prioritize accountability for mass atrocity crimes, including through cooperation with the ICC. Long-term financial and logistical resources are needed to operationalize the Special Criminal Court.   The international community should continue to assist the government to uphold its Responsibility to Protect, including through supporting structural reforms of the justice and security sectors. http://bit.ly/1NJz9l2   8 Aug. 2017   UN Aid Chief warns of Genocide in Central African Republic.   The UN''s aid chief has alerted member states of the "early warning signs of genocide" amid increasing violence. The African nation has seen the worst sectarian violence since the overthrow of the government in 2013.   The Central African Republic risks plunging deeper into a humanitarian crisis if the international community fails to respond to growing violence, said UN aid chief Stephen O''Brien on Monday.   "Violence is intensifying, risking a repeat of the devastating destructive crisis that gripped the country four years ago," O''Brien told a special UN briefing. "The early warning signs of genocide are there. We must act now."   "We cannot underestimate the dangerous spread of military groups in CAR, some of which have the intention to ethnically cleanse," said O''Brien.   The UN aid chief told member state representatives at the briefing that the crisis in CAR cannot be adequately dealt with when its mission is underfunded.   Only 24 percent of the $497 million (421 million euros) requested this year have been given to the mission in CAR. O''Brien noted that continuing to underfund humanitarian operations will likely exacerbate the situation on the ground.   "The real risk is much, much worse as confessional and ethnic militias rampage through villages, cleansing them of people not of their type," said O''Brien.   The violence has led to a worsening humanitarian situation in the country, with the numbers of internally displaced persons up about 40 per cent since last year. According to the UN some 2.3 million people, over half the population, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. In addition to those displaced within the CAR, more than 484,000 people from the country have been forced to seek refuge in neighbouring nations.   June 2017   Central African Republic: Thousands of children and families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance as violence escalates. (Unicef)   Two planes carrying vital supplies for thousands of families displaced by recent violence in the Central African Republic were finally able to land earlier today in Bangassou, UNICEF said, after weeks of intensified conflict had blocked the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the southeast.   “We’ve been trying to reach thousands of families in dire need of humanitarian assistance for over a week now, but the roads have become far too dangerous because of escalating violence,” said Christine Muhigana, UNICEF Representative in Central African Republic. “Given how critical the situation had become in the southeast, the only option was an airlift to get lifesaving supplies to children and families in these hard to reach areas.   Recent clashes between armed groups have hit civilians hard in Bria, Bangassou, Alindao, Mobaye and other villages across the southeast region, leaving 300 people dead and 200 injured, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.   An estimated 100,000 people have fled their homes in search of safety, in what is the country’s largest population displacement since 2014. In Bria, the vast majority of the inhabitants – 40,000 people out of a total population of 47,000 – have already fled, with most of them being children.   In the hardest hit areas, roads are accessible only under UN military escort due to violence and insecurity, and truck drivers are reluctant to transport supplies, fearing for their lives.   UNICEF continues to call on all armed groups to give aid workers free and unimpeded access to civilian populations, so that life-saving supplies and services can be provided without delay.   UNICEF also fears that the latest wave of violence could unravel previous commitments made by armed groups to release all children and refrain from any new recruitment. In May 2015, leaders of 10 armed groups in CAR signed a commitment for the release of children. Since then, more than 7,000 children have been released from their ranks.   UNICEF’s humanitarian response for children in the Central African Republic is 30 per cent funded for 2017. Out of US $46.3 million requested, less than US $14 million has been received. http://uni.cf/2rSXzpf   http://bit.ly/2wOA7Im http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/car-civilians-facing-atrocities-basse-kotto-un-protection-proves http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/wfp-central-african-republic-country-brief-july-2017 http://reliefweb.int/country/caf http://allafrica.com/centralafricanrepublic/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/01/people-are-dying-violence-forces-aid-workers-out-of-central-african-republic Visit the related web page
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