The Global Governance Institute (GGI), in close cooperation with the Global Challenges Foundation (GCF) in Stockholm, hosted on 1 April 2025 a full-day expert workshop in Brussels on “The Global Governance of Autonomous Weapon Systems: Policy Gaps, Regulation Challenges and Governance Opportunities”. The workshop brought together 25 invited experts and representatives from diplomacy, security and defence, civil society, regional and global policy-making, and academia to assess current risks associated with autonomous weapon systems (AWS), evaluate ongoing governance efforts, and explore future policy pathways.
Amidst the growing proliferation of AWS in contemporary conflicts and multilateral forums—ranging from the CCW UN GGE process in Geneva to discussions at the level of the UN Secretary General, General Assembly, regional bodies, and civil society—the workshop was convened at a critical moment for international efforts of governing the most fundamental risks of the development and use of AWS. Participants engaged in four focused sessions addressing the technological and ethical risks of AWS, the state of current governance frameworks, regulatory gaps, and opportunities for more effective, inclusive, and enforceable global governance.
The event fostered diverse perspectives, including those of senior diplomats, military officials, legal scholars, human rights advocates, and AI researchers. The insights generated during the deliberations will feed into a publicly available policy report, offering concrete recommendations for navigating the complex landscape of AWS governance in the years ahead.
The workshop was part of the ongoing research and policy advice initiative “The Global Governance of Autonomous Weapon Systems”, a project jointly led by GGI and GCF. The initiative critically examines emerging trends, legal frameworks, and governance strategies for dealing with both current and future challenges related to autonomous weapons, including lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS).
GGI will release in the coming weeks a series of in-depth reports and briefing papers on the topic. Please visit our project page for future information
