International Humanitarian Law and New Technologies Workshop - Kigali, Rwanda

Objectives

The workshop will provide a platform for expert exchanges between military practitioners, humanitarians and academic experts to raise awareness on emergingtechnologies used in warfare and the need to adapt the IHL to these new development in order to restrict means and methods of warfare and to protect civilians.

Participants

The workshop is jointly organized by the ICRC and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), with the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rwanda National Police (RNP), Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Rwanda Space Agency (RSA), National Cyber Security
Authority (NCSA) and Rwanda Red Cross Society (RRCS). Participants will include military officers ranking from Major to Brigadier General, as well as civilian experts and ICRC staff.

IHL and New Technologies

New technologies are changing human interaction profoundly – including in times of armed conflict. Many military forces are investing heavily in the development of means and methods of warfare that rely on digital technology. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Operations, Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) and Outer Space are being used in contemporary armed conflicts
including the military use of space objects.

Technological advances can have positive consequences for the protection of civilians in armed conflict: weapons can be used with more precision, military decisions can be better informed, and military aims can be achieved without the use of kinetic force or physical destruction. At the same time, new means of warfare and the way they are employed can pose new risks to combatants and civilians. States that develop or acquire such weapons or means of warfare are responsible for ensuring that they can be used in compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s assessment of the foreseeable humanitarian impact of these technologies focuses on the applicability of IHL and the associated military, technical, ethical, and humanitarian considerations.

 For more details please download the PDF flyer here below.

ihl_new_technologies_flyer_-_final_version.pdf