Sofia Fruet, Armed Conflict and Civilian Protection Initiative
Over the past two months, several major multilateral meetings have occupied the attention of the humanitarian disarmament community. As discussed below, states and organizations have been busy addressing autonomous weapons systems in Geneva, cluster munitions in Laos, and a spectrum of arms issues in New York.
In case you missed it:
- On August 24, the New York Times released an article detailing the killing of three Ukrainians in the city of Zaporizhzhia in July by a Russian drone operating under an experimental artificial intelligence system.
- The UN secretary-general and International Committee of the Red Cross president issued a renewed call on August 25 for new law on autonomous weapons systems. They urged states to “show political courage and move beyond incremental discussions towards decisive action.” Their call continued: “Negotiations must begin now to urgently adopt a legally binding instrument to regulate autonomous weapon systems with clear prohibitions and restrictions. A failure to act quickly and decisively will cost lives.”
- From August 31-September 4, states met at the UN in Geneva for the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. At the beginning of the meeting, Brazil, on behalf of 47 states, and Algeria, on behalf of the African Group, delivered joint statements expressing their support for negotiations of an new instrument on the weapons systems. Over the course of the week, a small number of states significantly weakened the draft elements of an instrument that were being discussed. Nevertheless, the GGE ultimately adopted a report containing a set of elements by consensus. A total of 76 states, including 70 high contracting parties, expressed support for initiating negotiations based on the report at November’s CCW Review Conference. Reaching Critical Will’s summary and analysis of the GGE is available here.
- On September 1, the UN convened the International Meeting on Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation, mandated by UN General Assembly Resolution 79/60. The meeting, co-sponsored by Kazakhstan and Kiribati, addressed “the legacy of nuclear weapons by exploring the needs and mechanisms for victim assistance and environmental remediation of UN member states affected by nuclear weapons.”
- From September 7-8, the Preparatory Committee of the Seventh CCW Review Conference met and adopted an agenda and programme of work, and laid out states’ expectations for the November meeting.
- On September 9, Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic released Uncontrolled Burn: The Inhumane Effects of White Phosphorus Munitions and the Need for Stronger Law. The report documents the horrific human cost of white phosphorus munitions and new use of the weapon in Lebanon. It also makes the case that the weapons violate the principles of humanity and dictates of public conscience, and that stronger and more specific law is therefore needed to bolster humanitarian protections.
- From September 18-28, several states raised the issue of nuclear weapons during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week general debate and the High-level Plenary Meeting commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. South Africa, Kazakhstan, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati spoke to their experiences related to the dismantling of nuclear weapons programs, the closure of nuclear test sites, and the consequences of nuclear testing.
- The annual Cluster Munition Monitor, released on September 8, reported that cluster munitions killed at least 1,063 in 2025 in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, and Ukraine. The Monitor documented new use of cluster munitions by five states not party. It reported additional use in the territory of Mali, a state party, although it could not determine who was responsible for that attack. States parties have destroyed all declared stockpiles, amounting to 1.49 million cluster munitions containing 179 million submunitions.
- The Third Review Conference to the Convention on Cluster Munitions took place in Vientiane, Laos, from September 14-18. States parties delivered strong messages supporting the norms of the convention, including by condemning in their final report “any use of cluster munitions by any actor under any circumstances.” Many states parties and the Cluster Munition Coalition also called on Mali to conduct a rigorous, impartial, and transparent investigation of recent use of cluster munitions in its territory and criticized Lithuania’s 2025 withdrawal from the convention.
- On September 22, a Spanish parliamentary committee voted not to call on the government start the process of joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), despite a poll by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) that found that 80 percent of Spaniards support ratification.
- Gabon joined the TPNW on September 23. A global majority of over 100 nations are now signatories or states parties to the treaty.
- The 81st Session of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security began on October 5. In the leadup to the session, Reaching Critical Will published a briefing book addressing concerning trends and paths to action. Since the start of First Committee, Reaching Critical Will has published weekly monitors.
- The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) wrote a letter on October 12 to foreign ministers and senior officials at the UN and other international organizations to ask them to help persuade Poland and Finland not to renew the production and use of mines. Both Poland and Finland withdrew from the Mine Ban Treaty in early 2026.
- On October 15, 22 civil society organizations delivered statements at First Committee. They addressed a range of topics including autonomous weapons systems, cluster munitions, explosive weapons in populated areas, incendiary weapons, the international arms trade, landmines, nuclear weapons, the protection of the environment in armed conflict, and torture-free trade. A joint statement on humanitarian disarmament was endorsed by 5 global campaigns and 82 civil society organizations.
- From October 17-18, humanitarian disarmament advocates convened in New York for the annual civil society Humanitarian Disarmament Forum. This year’s theme was “Disrupting Dehumanization.”
Coming up in the next two months are the Seventh CCW Review Conference, First TPNW Review Conference, and the annual Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
This post expresses the views of the author and does not purport to represent the views of the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School or Harvard University.