Regional Briefing Paper: Latin America & the Caribbean and the Governance of Autonomous Weapons Systems

Executive Summary

This primer aims to consolidate the positions that have emerged in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2017 concerning the governance of autonomous weapons systems, highlighting areas of convergence and providing guidance to states on the progress made and opportunities for further contribution. Autonomous weapons systems (AWS) can be defined as a range of weapons systems that detect and apply force to a target based on sensor inputs, rather than an immediate human command.

Key concerns for the Latin America and Caribbean region when it comes to AWS include the consequences for security threats posed by the potential acquisition and use of AWS by armed non-state actors, as well as threats to sovereignty, small state vulnerabilities, and the human and social risks of AWS, particularly algorithmic bias in the use of force. These factors make the development of international legally binding rules imperative. 

As a response, Latin American and Caribbean states have taken key initiatives of leadership towards the agreement of a legally binding instrument on AWS, including two conferences in 2023, leading to the Belén Communiqué and the CARICOM Declaration. These raised key regional concerns and cemented commitment to working towards legal rules. These initiatives have been instrumental in influencing several other regional processes, and the Latin American and Caribbean region has presented a unified front in calling for a legally binding instrument on AWS, ensuring meaningful human control, and emphasising the need for a holistic governance framework.

Moving forward, we recommend that Latin American and Caribbean states should:

• Build commitment to make the move to negotiations on a legally binding instrument in 2026, recognising that sufficient common ground has now been developed to launch negotiations 
• Ensure their individual and collective views are included in deliberations towards the development of a strong legal instrument
• Develop their contributions further on issues including the centrality and elements of meaningful human control; algorithmic bias; digital dehumanisation; support for a prohibition of anti-personnel AWS; and other key issues.

Versions of this regional briefing are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.