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BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:58@ploughshares.ca
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20230223T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20230224T000000
DTSTAMP:20250507T065300Z
URL:https://ploughshares.ca/events/regional-conference-on-the-social-and-h
 umanitarian-impact-of-autonomous-weapons/
SUMMARY:Regional Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autono
 mous Weapons
DESCRIPTION:The Government of Costa Rica\, in coordination with the Foundat
 ion for Peace and Democracy (FUNPADEM)\, will host the "Regional Conferenc
 e on the social and humanitarian impact of autonomous weapons"\, which wil
 l take place on February 23 and 24\, in Belén de Heredia.\nThe initiative
  is the first of its kind in the region and will attract government expert
 s from Latin America and the Caribbean\, as well as observer countries\, r
 epresentatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross\, the Unite
 d Nations\, academics and civil society leaders.\nThis exchange will be th
 e basis of the regional dialogue on the humanitarian and social impacts of
  autonomous weapons\, as well as the challenges that this type of weaponry
  poses to peace\, security and humanitarian law.\nThe call reaffirms Costa
  Rica's position as an unarmed democracy\, a neutral country and a world l
 eader in peace initiatives\, as well as its commitment to Latin America an
 d the Caribbean as a region free of nuclear weapons and a Zone of Peace.\n
 In this sense\, the country joins the call of the Secretary General of the
  United Nations\, António Guterres\, who described autonomous weapons as 
 "morally repugnant" and indicated that international law should prohibit t
 hose that operate without human participation.\nFaced with reports on the 
 development\, sale and use of weapons with an increasing degree of autonom
 y\, the Government of Costa Rica took the initiative to hold the conferenc
 e.\nAfter this call\, it is expected to reactivate the international debat
 e\, with the purpose of contributing to the progress of the negotiations w
 ithin the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and 
 in other international forums. Said negotiations are carried out at the Un
 ited Nations headquarters in Geneva\, Switzerland\, and Costa Rica partici
 pates actively.\nAn approach to autonomous weapons. Although there is no a
 greed definition\, the scientific and academic community\, as well as civi
 l organizations\, define these weapons as those that select targets and ap
 ply force without human intervention.\nWhen someone activates an autonomou
 s weapon\, they don't know exactly what people or objects they will attack
 \, nor do they know precisely where or when that attack will occur. This i
 s because such systems activate autonomously\, in reaction to what their p
 re-programmed sensors detect in the field.\nThe important element is that 
 the weapon would have autonomous "choice" regarding the selection of a tar
 get and the use of lethal force\, without the need for any intervention by
  a human operator.\nIn 2021\, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Worshi
 p\; Public Security\, and Science\, Innovation\, Technology and Telecommun
 ications\, in conjunction with FUNPADEM\, carried out the official launch 
 of the national campaign "For a country free of autonomous weapons: techno
 logy at the service of peace." The plan was developed with the support of 
 experts from the scientific\, security and international humanitarian law 
 areas\, both from the country's public and private sectors.
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CATEGORIES:Engagement
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