Dr. Gregory P. Noone lecture: killer robots, drones, AI and the future of warfare

Center for Civil Liberties and Public International Law & Policy Group conducts a series of public lectures dedicated to IHL/LOAC (International humanitarian law/Law of Armed Conflict) studies.

The US military has updated its Department of Defense directive to focus on the use of autonomous weapons, marking its first revision in a decade. The development follows the announcement by NATO in October 2022 of an implementation plan designed to maintain the alliance's technological lead. The increasing use of semi-autonomous missiles in Ukraine is creating pressure to use fully autonomous weapons on the battlefield. However, critics, including the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, argue that autonomous weapons lack the judgment required to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets and that the risk of weapons being used by terrorists and other non-state actors is too high.

For some time Lethal autonomous weapons have now been used on the battlefield. Ukraine is no exception. Both sides use drones for reconnaissance and conduct of hostilities.

Our lecturer Dr. Gregory P. Noone examines various aspects of LAWs including:
- the key issues raised by autonomous weapon systems under international humanitarian law (IHL);
- legal terminology, definition surrounding LAWs;
- what are the ethical concerns of killer robots?
- are lethal autonomous weapons unethical?
- are killer robots banned?
- what weapons are classified under the definition of Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS)?
- did the UN fail to agree on the killer robot ban?
- which countries are against the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots?
- are existing international humanitarian law is sufficient enough regulation for this area?
- what is the law of robotic warfare?
- and how all of this concerns Ukraine now.
Dr. Gregory P. Noone will put IHL norms into the present 2022-2023 Russia aggression.

🎤 Speaker: Dr. Gregory P. Noone.
Dr. Gregory P. Noone, Ph.D., J.D., is an Executive Director at the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG). Dr. Noone works on PILPG's Ukraine and Yemen projects related to peacebuilding, transitional justice, and human rights documentation. Dr. Noone has conducted PILPG justice system assessments in Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire as well as provided transitional justice assistance in post-Gaddafi Libya and to the Syrian opposition. Dr. Noone was also part of the international effort investigating the Myanmar government’s atrocities committed against the Rohingya population. He worked as an investigator in the refugee camps in Bangladesh and as one of the legal experts on the report’s findings.

He has published and presented articles on the Rwandan Genocide, the Law of Armed Conflict, the International Criminal Court, and Military Tribunals at numerous forums. Dr. Noone is the co-author (with Laurie R. Blank) of the widely used textbook: International Law and Armed Conflict: Fundamental Principles and Contemporary Challenges in the Law of War Second Edition (Aspen / Wolters Kluwer Publishing 2019). Together they also published the Concise Edition of this textbook (Aspen / Wolters Kluwer Publishing 2016) for use in military academies, war colleges, undergraduate universities, and for foreign militaries. Dr. Noone is also the co-author (with Laurie R. Blank) of the Law of War Training: Resources for Military and Civilian Leaders derived from a multi-year project on military training programs in the law of war. Dr. Noone appears regularly as a commentator on international and national TV and radio.

The seminar was facilitated by the CCL on the basis of Kyiv School of Human Rights and Democracy.

The lecture was followed by a conversation with Dr. Gregory P. Noone and a questions and answer session moderated by CCL coordinator Mr. Roman Nekoliak.