Deputy Director for Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division at @HRW. Former @amnesty @StimsonCenter. IHL / IHRL, military/security. Tweets are my own.
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“Will We Let AI Kill People?”, a documentary by Lex International, is out now.
Looking back on these last few years of filming, seeing the strategy adapt and change really brings into focus, the urgency of this issue, and why binding rules are needed.
Watch it on YouTube.
"Just a few individuals can change things."
They helped ban landmines, cluster munitions and chemical weapons, and pushed through a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons. Now they are taking on AI weapons. Journalist Robert Capps spent two years with a small group of diplomats and campaigners fighting for the first treaty on autonomous weapons.
Will We Let AI Kill People? Full film free on YouTube.
#WillWeLetAIKillPeople #AutonomousWeapons #KillerRobots
verity coyle retweeted
"If you think it's the machine that's made the determination, you can separate your morality and your responsibility."
@PeterAsaro , philosopher, computer scientist and member of @BanKillerRobots , has spent over a decade pushing for a treaty on autonomous weapons. He thought it would be easy. Twelve years on, powerful states are keeping progress stalled.
Meanwhile, according to reports from an Israeli magazine, AI systems were used to generate tens of thousands of targets in Gaza, at speeds and scales beyond human capabilities.
Will We Let AI Kill People? Full film free on YouTube.
#WillWeLetAIKillPeople #StopKillerRobots #AutonomousWeapons
verity coyle retweeted
👏 👏 👏 Congratulations to Navi Pillay, an activist, human rights investigator, and international judge, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
From Rwanda to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Navi Pillay has sought justice for the world’s worst crimes.
Weak rules governing lethal AI weaponry could have significant consequences.
The practical impact is stark: more civilian harm, less accountability and a faster slide into riskier, automated warfare.
Good to talk with the @washingtonpost this week.
wapo.st/4yWadkR
Earlier today in Vientiane, Laos.
Read the Cluster Munition Coalition statement about the use of cluster munitions in Mali and what the next steps should be.
tinyurl.com/mryzrj8t
Today @minefreeworld launched the Cluster Munition Monitor.
The weapon cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians, especially when they are used in populated areas.
Cluster Munitions: Ban Treaty Under Pressure hrw.org/news/2026/09/08/clus…
UN Killer Robots talks: Despite the political headwinds, there’s now a critical mass of states pushing for real progress and negotiations of new law. Growing reports of potential use mean the urgency is no longer abstract.
Here are some reflections.
hrw.org/news/2026/09/07/un-t…
We welcome today’s renewed call from the UN Secretary General and ICRC President for binding rules on autonomous weapons. States should seize this moment and negotiate a treaty on killer robots.
#StopKillerRobots
States need to act now to set clear international regulations on autonomous weapons systems.
"A failure to act quickly and decisively will cost lives. It will leave future generations to inherit a world in which the absence of clear and specific prohibitions and restrictions on these weapons opens the door to practices that would erode the protections international humanitarian law is meant to guarantee."
In a joint appeal, the Secretary-General of the @UN, @antonioguterres and the President of the @ICRC, Mirjana Spoljaric, renew their call for States to urgently adopt a legally binding instrument to regulate autonomous weapon systems with clear prohibitions and restrictions.
Read more 👉🏽 ms.spr.ly/6019aOAWU
ALT Three years ago, we called on States to establish specific prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems. Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency. The fundamental concerns remain unchanged, but the risks have intensified. We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines. Negotiations must begin now to urgently adopt a legally binding instrument to regulate autonomous weapon systems with clear prohibitions and restrictions. Innovation must serve humanity \u2013 not endanger it.\u201D Mirjana Spoljaric, ICRC President Ant\u00F3nio Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Russia: Cluster Munition Attack on Kyiv a Potential War Crime hrw.org/news/2026/08/13/russ…
Türkiye Seeks to Transfer US Cluster Munitions to Ukraine hrw.org/news/2026/08/11/turk…
verity coyle retweeted
Liberia has abolished school registration fees from kindergarten through grade 6, removing a significant barrier to schooling for hundreds of thousands of children.
hrw.org/news/2026/08/07/libe…
verity coyle retweeted
Taliban have entrenched one of the worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago. Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis with 40% of the population in need of assistance.
hrw.org/news/2026/08/03/afgh…
verity coyle retweeted
🚨 New from @hrw: US is withholding most of its UN dues & China is paying late. This has forced UN to cut back on human rights & humanitarian work. UN member states took steps to ease funding crisis but only paying in full & on time will end it. More here. hrw.org/news/2026/07/20/qa-t…
We at @hrw launched a background briefing for the AI in the Military Domain talks this morning. Setting out what states should do to promote compliance with international law and protect civilians from the risks AI poses.
Read more below.
hrw.org/news/2026/06/14/addr…
verity coyle retweeted
Come work with us: @HRW is hiring a coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa Division based in Beirut job-boards.greenhouse.io/hum…
verity coyle retweeted
Given the horrific indiscriminate effects of #WhitePhosphorous (explainer here: shorturl.at/Kr01x), which #Israel recently used again in #Lebanon, why does international law not completely ban its use? @bonnie_docherty @HRW shorturl.at/pythC
While in the midst of brutal hostilities, Lebanon has chosen to advance #InternationalLaw, not retreat from it.
The #APMBC was created to end the devastating humanitarian impact of antipersonnel landmines.
There is more to do before we can say we have eradicated these weapons
On May 1 #Lebanon deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction @MineBanTreaty. It will enter into force for 🇱🇧 on 1 November 2026. #APMBC
An important step reinforcing #Lebanon’s commitment to #InternationalLaw, particularly international humanitarian law #IHL, and advancing #disarmament @UN_Disarmament
“A sole focus on achieving maximum lethality is inherently incompatible with civilian protection”.
Thanks @BrettWilkinsSF for the opportunity to share @hrw views on this issue.
commondreams.org/news/ai-wea…
The Taliban’s attempt to control Afghan women goes beyond Afghanistan borders.
Read more from my colleague @FereshtaAbbasi here 👇👇
As a woman from Afghanistan and Human Rights Watch researcher, I will not comply with the Taliban’s restrictive rules. Afghan women should not have to submit to discriminatory rules to exercise a right to speak publicly. Wherever we are, our voices matter.
hrw.org/news/2026/04/24/tali…
verity coyle retweeted
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun purchasing warehouses across the country to detain people in its custody.
One of the most alarming developments of this initiative is unfolding in Surprise, Arizona.
Learn more: hrw.org/news/2026/04/09/anot…
