Military and police officers from Rwanda and across Africa, government officials, peace-advocating organisations and cyber-security experts convened in Kigali on Tuesday, May 14, for a discussion on the applicability of international humanitarian law in view of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality used in armed conflicts.

Organised by the Ministry of Defence and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the three-day workshop also attended by representatives of security agencies from Mali, Niger and Uganda, among others, focused on identifying ways of minimising collateral damage, or any incidental and undesired death, injury or other damage inflicted, especially on civilians, as the result of military activities or operations.

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The delegates noted the efficiency of new and automated technologies in armed conflicts and highlighted the need to minimise the risk and damage of military operations.

"Collateral damage is at the forefront of our discussions. We need to limit, as much as we can, collateral damage in our operations,” said Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga, the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) spokesperson.

"In our operational philosophy, we believe that we have to protect civilians wherever we operate and therefore, these digital technologies have to be assessed in the framework of their ability to be applied, and employed.”

Rwivanga noted that the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss opportunities presented by new and advanced technologies as well as any challenges that may arise during operations. He added that RDF was committed to the protection of civilians in all areas of operations.

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ICRC’s Regional Director for Africa Patrick Youssef said the workshop which is the first of its kind held in Africa, will address ICRC’s concern about the widespread use of artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons and virtual reality and which are used in armed conflicts.

"The ICRC is required to promote and disseminate what the international humanitarian law, meaning the law of war, means for the fighters on the ground in their conduct of hostilities, and their treatment of civilians, treatment of prisoners of war, et cetera. In this case, we are concerned about the spread of new technologies that could increase civilian harm because of their function,” Youssef said.

"For example, autonomous weapons, the use of drones, has indeed quite a large space for collateral damage or even the misidentification of the real targets, whether it's a civilian or a military hiding in a hospital or civilian house.”

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He noted that the principles of the international convention on armed conflicts, such as proportionality and the selection of military targets, needed to be discussed today as the technology advances.

"Our intention today is truly to understand, harness and share expertise but also decide together what are the principles we would like to retain for the use of such weapons and how can we disseminate that across the African continent. We are extremely proud that Rwanda is the first country to start engaging the ICRC on new technologies,” he said.