New Technologies and the Modern Battlefield: A Humanitarian Perspective

Speaker: Dr Neil Davison, International Committee of the Red Cross
Time: Wednesday, 31 May 2017, 12pm–1pm
Location: Boardroom, Level 10 (access via Level 9), Melbourne Law School (185 Pelham St, Carlton)
RSVP:

Light lunch will be provided.

New weapon systems, such as unmanned systems with increasing levels of autonomy and cyber weapons, have proliferated rapidly during recent years, enabled by advances in information technology and robotics. While these developments no doubt pose new attractions – and vulnerabilities – for military forces and armed groups, from a humanitarian perspective, they also present both opportunities and risks. While there is an inevitability about the advancement of science and technology, the ways in which advances are applied as means of violence in armed conflict remain conscious choices; individually, nationally and multilaterally. These decisions will determine whether different new technologies of warfare offer the possibility of greater respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and protection for victims of armed conflict, or contribute to the reverse.

Dr Neil Davison provides technical and policy advice on weapons issues in support of the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to promote the implementation and development of IHL to better protect victims of armed conflict. Join Dr Davison for a thought-provoking discussion of the benefits and dangers that new technologies of warfare pose for protected persons in armed conflict.