In the last year SafeGround has been busy working to Stop Killer Robots.
We have developed our Stop Killer Robot campaigning in Australia, and regionally in the Pacific. Highlights have included a notice of motion and a compelling speech on autonomous weapons by Maria Vamvakinou MP, an Interfaith session on killer robots with 50 participants from religious groups and faith communities Australia-wide, including and screening of Immoral Code – a new documentary by the global campaign. We also ran webinars with Amnesty International and Stop Killer Robots Aotearoa New Zealand. All the while, we have been monitoring Australia’s position on autonomous weapons and engagement in international talks. Australia must join calls for a new international treaty on autonomous weapons. Department of Defence developments with autonomous weapons cannot continue without proper guardrails and assurances of human control embedded in our policy.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign minister Penny Wong said, “It is up to all of us to create the kind of world to which we aspire – stable, peaceful, prosperous and respectful of sovereignty.” In our view, such a world must be free from killer robots and digital de-humanisation. We hope this government shares our vision and moves to take urgent action to ban fully autonomous weapons.
We are developing an AI and Killer Robot walking tour in Melbourne and we are looking forward to its release and being able to offer this activity.
This year SafeGround has engaged Pacific nations and civil society about the campaign to stop killer robots. This took us from Geneva to New York where Pacific Island states are better represented. Via zoom we have presented two informal briefings for small island development states at the UN, hoping that they will bring the topic of regulating lethal autonomous weapons to the UN general assembly. We have found potential partners in Fiji and later this year we are screening a film called the Immoral Code film in Fiji followed by a discussion with peace and student organisations.
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