Astana, November 25, 2025 – Arsen Omarov, Director of the Department for International Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, participated in the Regional Roundtable on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), held by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Diplomats, military experts, and academic representatives discussed the humanitarian, legal, and ethical challenges associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the military domain. During the discussion, it was noted that autonomous weapons systems capable of independently selecting and engaging targets without human intervention raise serious concerns regarding accountability, transparency, and compliance with international humanitarian law.

In his speech, Director Omarov highlighted the initiatives of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence in Kazakhstan and introduced in detail the state’s stand on the regulation of LAWS. He emphasized that Astana advocates for a preemptive ban on fully autonomous weapons and maintaining a reasonable balance between military necessity and ethical standards when implementing AI in modern weapons development. It was noted that Kazakhstan supports the development of Protocol VI to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons as a legally binding instrument for regulating LAWS.

Andrea Bacher, Ambassador of Austria to Kazakhstan (Austria initiated the adoption of two UN General Assembly resolutions on LAWS), and representatives of the foreign policy and defense ministries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan contributed to the event. It was noted that the Roundtable could serve as a platform for developing a consolidated position among Central Asian states on LAWS.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/1113354?lang=kk