• Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, let me begin by thanking Austria for organizing this important and timely conference, and for giving me the opportunity to address the meeting in my capacity as Chair of the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE LAWS).
• Chair, the regional and international LAWS conferences of the past two years, in Costa Rica, Luxembourg, Trinidad and Tobago, The Philippines, Sierra Leone, and in The Netherlands about the broader application of AI in the military domain, were of immense value to the discussion on the regulation of autonomous weapon systems, by sharing knowledge and talking about commonalities in positions. I am convinced this conference in Vienna will not be the last in that list.
• Let me also recall that Austria played a key-role as initiator of the LAWS resolution in the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly calling for a substantive report by the UN Secretary General reflecting the full range of views from all UN member States on autonomous weapon systems.
• Reflecting on the past day and a half of our conference, I have been impressed and intrigued by some of the panel discussions and presentations. The importance of partnerships, conflict dynamics, legal matters, ethical considerations, and human-technology relations are all important elements to address and understand.
• And of course, a conference is never just the sum of its plenary meetings: several side events have delved deeper into legal matters, the broader challenges of AI as well as the potential for nuclear escalation. 
• I hope that all these initiatives to share knowledge, formulate positions and find common ground will further boost and stimulate the efforts in working towards a meaningful normative framework on autonomous weapons systems within the GGE LAWS.

• The GGE LAWS has been working for seven years now and has discussed a great number of very substantive and significant topics related to addressing emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapon systems.
• However, much has changed in those seven years. We see a rapid growth regarding the use of AI in the military domain and of other technologies that enable the development of weapon systems that can operate with limited, or even no, human intervention. I think the title of our conference here in Vienna describes it very accurately, humanity stands at a crossroads. 
• The dynamics within and outside of the GGE LAWS have been challenging at times. I am very much aware of the urgent need to achieve concrete results during its present mandate. We can’t work miracles, but I do remain optimistic; I strongly believe that tangible progress is possible. The Group can build upon years of experience and work. And don’t forget, the important actors in the field of LAWS are active participants in the GGE.
• Let me now give you a brief update on the work of the Group in 2024.

GGE LAWS 2024

• Prior to the first session in 2024, the High Contracting Parties expressed their eagerness to address substantial issues and work towards fulfilling the mandate of the Group. Its new mandate is more specific and ambitious than previous mandates, a clear sign of the willingness of the High Contracting Parties to take the next step forward.

• Under its new mandate the Group is expected to submit a report to the Seventh Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2026. It should complete its work as soon as possible, preferably before the end of 2025, and I as Chair will update the annual meeting of the High Contracting Parties on the work of the Group.
• During the first session in March, the GGE held very substantive, technical, and detailed discussions on the following topics: (1) Characterisations and definitions; (2) Application of international humanitarian law; (3) Risk mitigation and confidence-building measures.

Characterisations and definitions

• Regarding characterisations and definitions, most delegations welcomed exchanges on this aspect and emphasized the need to have clarity on characterisations and/or definitions of LAWS to advance the Group’s work. Many participants stated that it was not possible to achieve the goal of the Group if there did not exist at least a basic common understanding of the weapon systems which would be prohibited and/or regulated under a possible future instrument. Overall, while some delegations insisted on having a precise definition of LAWS, for others a general characterisation was sufficient for the Group to make further progress. Still some other delegations were of the view that neither a definition nor a characterisation were needed to discuss future measures, including prohibitions and regulations. In my view, it would be worthwhile to further develop, at least, a common understanding of what LAWS are, so that we could work from the same page regarding the scope of our work.

Application of IHL

• With regard to the discussion on the application of IHL, it became clear we can make a distinction between three levels or ”boxes” that we need to further discuss:

(1) We should reach a common understanding on how existing IHL applies.

(2) What the practical measures are to ensure that LAWS are used in compliance with existing IHL and

(3), in view of the above; discuss the need for any new law.

• Already in 2019, the GGE LAWS reaffirmed in its Guiding principles that international humanitarian law continues to apply fully to all weapon systems, including the potential development and use of LAWS. Moreover, some delegations noted during the first meeting of the GGE LAWS in 2024 that current IHL is sufficient to deal with any possible challenges and risks raised by LAWS. Others argued that even though existing IHL rules and principles apply to LAWS and must consequently be observed by States, new IHL rules must be defined by the Group to address all potential risks associated with LAWS.

Risks and risk mitigation measures

• Most delegations stated that it was necessary to clearly identify which kinds of risks the Group was discussing, to then address them comprehensively through mitigation measures. Several categories of risks were highlighted by participants, such as humanitarian, ethical, security and geopolitical, as well as technical and system security risks.

Way ahead

• In order to maintain the momentum of the constructive and fruitful discussions we had in March; an intensive intersessional programme has been established to make good use of the time between the first and second session which will be held from 26 - 30 August 2024 in Geneva.
• A letter containing the intersessional programme was sent out on 3 April 2024 (together with the Chair’s summary of the first session).
• In May and June there will be intersessional informal consultations on characterisations and definitions and on the application of IHL. These topics cover some of the core questions regarding LAWS. The goal of these intersessional informal consultations is to help facilitate the formal continuation of our discussion during the second session in August.

• Chair, let me conclude by stating that I sincerely hope that the growing attention for LAWS, including the valuable and fruitful exchanges here in Vienna, will energize our discussion and keep everyone engaged and convinced of the importance of fulfilling the mandate of the Group. Thank you for giving me the floor and brief the meeting on the state of play in the GGE LAWS.