UN and Red Cross step up call for international rules on 'killer robot'
weapons systems
[August 26, 2026]
By JAMEY KEATEN
GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations and the International Committee of the
Red Cross on Tuesday ratcheted up a joint call for countries to adopt
bans and restrictions on use of autonomous weapons systems — often known
as “killer robots” — warning that “the risks have intensified.”
Building on an initial appeal three years ago and international talks on
the issue for years, the appeal stops short of calling for a blanket
ban, but notes that such weapons systems are being developed — though
the U.N. and Red Cross haven't confirmed their use on the battlefield.
The organizations said, however, that civilians need to be protected for
when that day may come.
“We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: The
autonomous targeting of humans by machines,” said U.N. Geneva
spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, reading a joint statement by U.N.
Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric.
“Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency,” the statement
said. “The fundamental concerns remain unchanged, but the risks have
intensified.”
The two international organizations say the development of weapons
technology at “record speed” has strained the international rules
system, and widened the gap between technological capacities and
regulatory constraints.
“Autonomous weapons systems are not part of a distant future — a race
toward greater autonomy in weapons systems is already well underway,”
the joint statement said.
The call comes as negotiators are set to meet in Geneva in November on
ways of strengthening the existing Convention on Conventional Weapons,
with the U.N. and ICRC saying the conference “offers the clearest path
available” to move toward binding legal rules on the use of such
autonomous systems.
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A Ukrainian FP-1 long-range attack drone is launched at an
undisclosed location in Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem
Lukatsky, File)
The yearslong effort to rein in the use of autonomous weapons
systems has struggled to produce limits. The new push comes against
the backdrop of drones and other technologies used in conflicts as
diverse as the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East, Sudan and
others.
Ground robotic vehicles have so far been used on the Ukrainian
battlefield primarily to ferry supplies to infantry and carry out
evacuations, because of Ukraine’s need to preserve manpower amid the
growing prevalence of drones.
Kyiv is now seeking to scale up armed robotic systems to reduce the
pressure on increasingly outnumbered infantry by equipping them with
firing power, but those efforts have been limited so far.
“Scientists and engineers developing these systems have themselves
raised the alarm,” the organizations said. “When the architects of
this technology are calling for limits, states cannot afford to
remain passive.”
“This year must mark a turning point,” the statement said.
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Samya Kullab contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.
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