Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Chair,
I take the floor to explain New Zealand’s position on resolution L.67, entitled “Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects”. New Zealand continues our long-standing support for this resolution, and all its paragraphs, and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
In operative paragraph.8 the resolution “calls upon High Contracting Parties to consider and endorse the conclusions of the final report adopted by consensus by the Group of Governmental Experts” in relation to lethal autonomous weapon systems, and “to decide by consensus on the possible modalities of the future work of the Group”.
While we support this call, New Zealand wants to be clear that in our view it is now time to advance to negotiations on an instrument on autonomous weapon systems, as reflected in resolution L.37 entitled “Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems”. We were pleased to be a main sponsor of this resolution again this year.
In closing, I would like to reiterate New Zealand’s enduring support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the Arms Trade Treaty and extend our gratitude for the efforts of the Presidencies on the respective resolutions, L.60, L.49, and L.62 this year.
Thank you.