In yesterday’s action in Lebanon, seemingly harmless objects have proven to be powerful weapons. The NGO, which works in 28 countries to remove the mines left behind by conflicts, speaks of the “urgent need” to respond to the rise of autonomous weapons, which is part of a broader “phenomenon” of “miniaturisation of explosive devices and their use in micro-drones”. It calls for a new ban treaty, as was done with landmines.
Beirut () – Yesterday’s attack in Lebanon (and Syria) against members of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, which left at least 12 dead and more than 2,800 wounded – most likely launched by Israel – shows once again how devastating the use of new technologies and artificial intelligence can be in conflicts, because it allows even seemingly harmless objects such as pagers to be transformed into weapons as powerful and lethal as anti-personnel mines, which hit not only pro-Iranian militiamen but also innocent civilians. This is according to experts from HALO Trust, the organisation that has for years been at the forefront of clearing the mines left behind by conflicts.
Yesterday’s sprawling operation in the Middle East, explains James Cowan – a former British army officer and current CEO of The HALO Trust – shows “the urgent need” to respond to “the advance of autonomous weapons powered by artificial intelligence”. The expert stresses that the weaponised pagers “may be an isolated case”; but the operation is indicative of a much broader “phenomenon” associated with the “miniaturisation of explosive devices and their use in micro-drones”.
HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organization) is a non-governmental humanitarian organization that works primarily to clear landmines and other unexploded explosive devices left over from conflicts underground. It has more than 10,000 collaborators worldwide, operates in 28 countries and is currently primarily engaged in Afghanistan, where the NGO continues to operate under the control of the Taliban regime that took power in August 2021.
Regarding the anomalous Israeli attack against the Lebanese Hezbollah yesterday, James Cowan speaks of a “rapidly evolving situation”. “It is not yet known,” the expert adds in a note, “how the devices were detonated. It is possible that small quantities of explosives and an element of autonomy were involved, or that the batteries were made to “overheat” and consequently catch fire, through radio messages sent by human hand.” In any case, he concludes, “it is urgent to adopt legislation similar to that which has banned landmines, in order to be on a par with this technology.”
HALO’s success in the landmine drama is partly linked to the Ban Treaty signed in Ottawa in 1997, a few months after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the main proponent of the ban. Later this year, the signatories of the treaty will meet in Cambodia to assess the progress made and the issues that remain unresolved. “The campaign to eliminate the threat of landmines worldwide has been and remains – concludes the NGO’s note – a unique example of international cooperation for the control of a certain class of weapons. Now the world urgently needs to replicate this example with a new treaty to control autonomous explosive devices” and “we do not have much time to do it.”
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