UN chief urges UN to set rules for autonomous weapons

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is urging the UN General Assembly to establish new rules restricting lethal autonomous weapons systems, warning the world is dangerously close to crossing a moral red line. Austria is among the countries he named as key partners in this push. Guterres argues that machines with the power to take lives without human oversight are morally reprehensible and politically unacceptable. He is expected to address the issue in his farewell speech to the General Debate on Tuesday. Austria's commitment to this cause is underscored by its past efforts to ban landmines and cluster munitions, as well as its 2024 Vienna conference on autonomous weapons. The push for regulation comes amid the increasing use of such weapons in conflicts, though military powers like Russia, the US, and Israel resist binding agreements. Austria, which joins the UN Security Council for 2027/28, is also coordinating with other incoming members and pursuing bilateral meetings, while Chancellor Christian Stocker emphasized that decisions over life and death must remain with humans, not machines.