Parliamentarian Spotlight: Christophe Lacroix
The Parliamentarian Spotlight highlights signatories of the Stop Killer Robots Parliamentary Pledge. The pledge is open to any current member of a national, state/regional, or international parliament or congress, in any part of the world, who supports new international law to regulate autonomous weapons systems.
In this series we highlight the work of parliamentarians around the world who reject the automation of violence and seek to ensure a more peaceful world for generations to come.
Christophe Lacroix is a Belgian member of Parliament. For many years, he has addressed the issue of autonomous weapons and the need for regulation, nationally and internationally. He believes that autonomous weapons raise “questions of responsibility, transparency, fallibility and security, as well as the human element,” and view these as “eminently political and ethical issues”.
In his national capacity, he co-sponsored the proposal for a law prohibiting autonomous weapon systems. This proposal was approved by a majority of Belgian parliamentarians, but unfortunately it was not voted on by the deadline prior to Belgium’s June 2024 elections. Nevertheless, this demonstrates the importance of national parliamentary work, and the power of unilateral parliamentary action to establish norms and standards. Prior to this, Belgium’s 1995 national ban on anti-personnel mines and 2006 national ban on cluster munitions both helped to build momentum for wider global prohibitions. Speaking about the proposal on autonomous weapons he co-sponsored and the importance of parliamentary action, Lacroix said:
“This text that we are supporting is a unique opportunity to take concrete action! It is unacceptable that a robot can alone make a life-or-death decision. And these robots also raise legal questions: who should be held responsible when they have killed civilians? Is a robot capable of differentiating a citizen from a soldier? In my opinion, Belgium must regain a pioneering role in the international debate, as it did in the past for the ban on cluster bombs, anti-personnel mines supported in particular by Philippe Mahoux or even weapons containing depleted uranium.”
Internationally, Lacroix was appointed Co-Rapporteur for the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security at the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s 148th General Assembly. Since the IPU’s 2023 decision to work on autonomous weapons, he has actively been involved in the drafting and adoption for the IPU Resolution on the Social and Humanitarian Impact Autonomous Weapon and Artificial Intelligence, which was adopted in March 2024 at the 148th IPU General Assembly.
Speaking at the IPU General Assembly, held in Geneva in March 2024, Lacroix outlined the importance of joint parliamentary and international action on autonomous weapons:
“Unilateral action can help to establish norms and standards. But real progress will come through international agreements that carry some kind of legal weight. The IPU plays an important role by discussing such technologies, adding a vital layer of accountability.”
It’s time for parliamentarians around the world to take action against autonomous weapons systems. Political representatives have the power to #StopKillerRobots and move the international community toward new international law to stop the automation of killing, by signing our Parliamentary Pledge.
If you want to urge your local representative to join the movement to #StopKillerRobots, write to them today and urge them to sign our Parliamentary Pledge.
