CARICOM Declaration on Autonomous Weapons Systems
CARICOM Conference: The Human Impacts of Autonomous Weapons,
Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago
5-6 September 2023
We, the representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) gathered at the "CARICOM
Conference: The Human Impacts of Autonomous Weapons" in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on
5-6 September 2023, to hereby reaffirm the following:

Preamble:
Recognising that emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), have the power to unlock
inclusive economic growth, possess extraordinary potential to enhance human lives, and addresssignificant societal challenges; but also recognizing that emerging technologies pose risks to nationaland regional security, including implications for global security, particularly in the case of autonomous
weapons systems (AWS).

Section I: Fundamental Principles and Concerns
Acknowledging the potential opportunities and risks inherent in the development, production,deployment and application of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence within law
enforcement, border security and military domains.
Noting the alarming potential of AWS, which select and apply force to targets without humanintervention, to transform the dynamics of transnational organized crime, armed violence, terrorism,and armed conflicts.
Expressing deep concern at the ethical, legal, and humanitarian risks posed by AWS, including
concrete challenges posed to non-proliferation efforts and the maintenance of global peace and security,
and risk of a new arms race.
Emphasizing the challenges that AWS pose to compliance with international legal frameworks,
encompassing international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), andinternational criminal law (ICL).
Reflecting on the implications of relinquishing meaningful human control over the critical targeting
functions of weapons systems and the consequential devastating aftermath.
Stressing the importance of greater examination in international discussions and multilateral fora of theimplications of AWS for non-proliferation and the risks of diversion to non-state actors, including
criminals and terrorist groups, and the challenges of AWS to internal and domestic security, including
law enforcement and border security.
Motivated by a common regional will to strengthen our ongoing collective efforts to contribute to
global peace, security, stability, justice and development in CARICOM, as well as to strengtheninternational law in the best interest of our people.

Section II: Ethical and Legal Imperatives
Concerned with the absence of comprehensive multilateral frameworks governing the design,development, and use of AWS, and the resultant moral, ethical, legal, and humanitarian concerns,
thereby posing a direct risk to human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Recognizing the need to strengthen existing global governance structures in order to effectively manage
the risks posed by AWS.
1Stressing the principle that advancements in AI and AWS should not be leveraged to undermine humanrights, exacerbate prevailing inequalities, nor deepen discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity,
nationality, class, religion, gender, age, or other status.
Acknowledging the exacerbation of technological disparities between developed and developing
nations, which may further amplify new dimensions of inequality, allowing some states to field weapons
with dangerous and unpredictable capabilities, possibly resulting in an arms race of AWS.
Reiterating that the development, production, deployment, and application of emerging technologies
in the area of AWS must conform to established international law, including IHL, IHRL, and ICL,
ensuring intrinsic safety and predictability, safeguarding property rights, privacy, national security, andthe maintenance of human control over the application of force.
Affirming the responsibility of the international community, aligned with the principles enshrined in
the United Nations Charter, IHL, IHRL, and ICL, to address these threats through the enhancement andfortification of the international legal framework, preventing civilian displacement, injury, death, anddestruction of civilian assets and heritage sites.

Section III: Collaborative Endeavours and Multilateral Cooperation
Reaffirming the significance of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone ofPeace, signed at the II Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin Americanand Caribbean States (CELAC) in Havana in January 2014, and emphasized in the Buenos Aires
Declaration during CELAC's VII Summit on January 24, 2023.
Acknowledging the appeals made by the UN Secretary-General, UN Special Rapporteurs, theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), civil society, the academic community, and thescientific community regarding the imperative of negotiating a legally binding instrument concerning
AWS.
Taking into account the Belén Communiqué emanating from the Latin American and Caribbean
Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autonomous Weapons in February 2023,
acknowledged the need to “Collaborate to promote the urgent negotiation of an international legallybinding instrument with prohibitions and regulations with regard to autonomy in weapon systems inorder to ensure compliance with International Law, including International Humanitarian Law, andethical perspectives, as well as the prevention of the social and humanitarian impact that autonomy inweapons systems entail”.
Recalling the Outcome Statement of the Caribbean Community Regional Workshop on Achieving theUniversalization of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Port of Spain, Trinidad andTobago, on 11-12 July 2023, calling on the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government to adopt
a CARICOM declaration on AWS.
Taking into account that the New Agenda for Peace issued by the UN Secretary-General on 22 July
2023 recommended that “Building on the progress made in multilateral negotiations, conclude, by2026, a legally binding instrument to prohibit lethal autonomous weapon systems that function without
human control or oversight, and which cannot be used in compliance with international humanitarianlaw, and to regulate all other types of autonomous weapons systems.”.

Section IV: Joint Action and Future Commitments
Recognizing that the cross-border nature of AWS requires, advocating for the widest possible coalitionof international actors, particularly developing nations, to participate in negotiations for a futureinternational legally binding instrument on AWS.
2Underlining the necessity for a comprehensive, inclusive approach in comprehending the potential
impacts, opportunities, and challenges of AWS, advocating for active collaboration and informationexchange among states, private entities, civil society, and academia.
Acknowledging the important work undertaken within the framework of the UN Convention on Certain
Conventional Weapons (CCW), while recognising the need to broaden the discussion to accommodate
an inclusive conversation required for the advancement of an international legally binding instrument,
incorporating prohibitions and regulations on AWS.
Reiterating the call for new legally binding measures within the domain of AWS to ensure compliancewith international law, encompassing IHL, IHRL, ICL and ethical frameworks, guaranteeing humancontrol over the application of force.
Emphasizing the necessity of incorporating human and social considerations into the negotiation of a
global AWS instrument and subsequent national legislation, acknowledging the potential exacerbationof existing inequalities for developing states and marginalized groups.

Section V: Concluding Commitments and Recommendations
We therefore declare our commitment to:
1. Resolve to support the indispensability of meaningful human control over the use of force andthereby encourage the pursuit of an international legally binding instrument which incorporates
prohibitions and regulations on AWS.
2. Collaborate on endeavours aimed at negotiating an international legally binding instrument thatprohibits unpredictable or uncontrollable AWS capable of using force without meaningful humancontrol, and prohibit those designed or employed to apply force against persons, while implementing
regulations for other forms of AWS.
3. Pledge support to other pertinent initiatives and active participation in multilateral platforms
addressing AWS concerns.
4. Agree to maintain a unified stance across all pertinent platforms, prioritizing the creation of aninternational legally binding instrument on AWS, which takes into consideration issues relating tonon-proliferation and the risks of diversion to non-state actors, including non-state armed groups
and terrorist groups, and the challenges of AWS to internal and domestic security, including law
enforcement and border security.
5. Support efforts to work with the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security(IMPACS) along with other relevant stakeholders to promote an agreed position on AWS.
6. Advocate for inclusive, multidisciplinary participation in AWS discussions and negotiations toguarantee the formulation of effective prohibitions and regulations safeguarding persons affected byarmed violence and armed conflict.
7. Call upon states to acknowledge the perils of proliferation, unintended escalation, ethicalconsiderations, digital dehumanisation, and other human and social implications associated withAWS, including digital discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, class, religion, gender,age, or other status.

38. Strengthen cooperation with civil society, industry, knowledge institutions, academia, and otherstakeholders possessing relevant expertise, as appropriate.
9. Encourage engagement on AWS matters within the UN General Assembly and other inclusive
multilateral forums.
10. Call upon international organisations, development partners, the private sector, academia, and otherrelevant stakeholders to contribute financial and technical assistance and capacity-building
initiatives, in order to enable Member States to meaningfully engage in multilateral discussions on
autonomous weapons systems and bridge the gap of technological disparities that may result inincreased vulnerability of CARICOM States.
11. Engage, where possible, the rest of the international community to promote this declaration,
including in other fora on related subjects, and without prejudice to ongoing discussions on related
subjects in other fora.
12. Proactively disseminate and work towards the adoption and successful implementation of thisDeclaration.

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