The US has rejected calls for a binding agreement regulating or banning the use of killer robots instead of a code of conduct at the UN.
A US official balked at the idea of regulating the use of such so-called lethal autonomous weapons at a conference on the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons from 13 to 17 December, as he spoke about the idea of regulating their use through a legally binding instrument.
The development of a non-binding code of conduct is what we think is the best way to make progress, according to Josh Dorosin, US official.
Since 2017 the United Nations has hosted diplomatic talks in Geneva aimed at reaching an agreement on how to address the use of killer robots.
Activists and a number of countries have called for a ban on any weapons that could use lethal force without a human overseeing the process and making the final kill order.
In November 2018, the UN chief Ant nio Guterres joined the call for a ban, but so far countries don't agree on whether there is a need to regulate the weapons.
During Thursday s debates, a number of countries, including India and the United States, criticised the idea of a legally binding agreement.
A code of conduct would help states promote responsible behaviour and compliance with international law States, as well as ensure meaningful human control over the use of force and prevent a world in which machines make life and death decisions, said Clare Conboy of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.
Bonnie Docherty, a senior arms researcher at HRW, said in a statement that an independent process to negotiate new law on killer robots would be more effective and inclusive than the current diplomatic talks.