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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo on binding treaty on autonomous weapons
“Human judgement and responsibility must remain at the centre of decisions involving the use of force. Machines cannot understand the value of human life, assess context in the way humans can, or make the complex judgements required by international law. Nor can objects be held accountable when things go wrong,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Shabia Mantoo said at the UN biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
“If not prohibited, anti-personnel autonomous weapons will inevitably proliferate and become more accessible to not only States, but a wider range of actors, including non-State armed groups and criminal organisations,” Mantoo said.
Machines are unable to conduct the continuous, context-specific assessment of the necessity to use force and availability of other less harmful means. As such, their use of force would invariably be unlawful. In addition to the right to life, the use of autonomous weapons against people in policing raise serious concerns regarding the right to peaceful assembly, non-discrimination, accountability and the right to remedy.
“The international community has critical choices to make, right now, about the future of armed conflicts and the role of human beings in decisions over the use of force,” Mantoo said. “We call on States to urgently agree on binding international rules to regulate autonomous weapons and protect human lives – before it is too late.”
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Shabia Mantoo - shabia.mantoo@un.org
Ravina Shamdasani - ravina.shamdasani@un.org
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STORY: UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo on binding treaty on autonomous weapons
TRT: 01 :12
SOURCE: OHCHR/UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: none
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 November 2026 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Human judgement and responsibility must remain at the centre of decisions involving the use of force. Machines cannot understand the value of human life, assess context in the way humans can, or make the complex judgements required by international law. Nor can objects be held accountable when things go wrong.”
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “If not prohibited, anti-personnel autonomous weapons will inevitably proliferate and become more accessible to not only States, but a wider range of actors, including non-State armed groups and criminal organisations.”
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The international community has critical choices to make, right now, about the future of armed conflicts and the role of human beings in decisions over the use of force.”
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Shabia Mantoo, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on States to urgently agree on binding international rules to regulate autonomous weapons and protect human lives – before it is too late.”
- Interior shot: Briefing room
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