I am deeply grateful to announce my appointment by UN Secretary-General, @antonioguterres, to his 15-member Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. About this Board, see more here: Your Excellency, Mr @antonioguterres, I sincerely appreciate this honor and eagerly anticipate the opportunity to contribute in this capacity. As one whose life began in the rural areas of Shurugwi in Zimbabwe, in the villages of Nhema, Hwinya, Chachacha etc., where my little cracked-bare feet more fully followed the flock than they tracked to far away schools, this appointment is an honour and truly appreciated. Now that one of my key areas of expertise and interest lies in examining the disarmament implications of military AI, including autonomous weapon systems, from a human rights law perspective, I'm equally pleased that last October, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/C.1/78/L.56 requesting the UN Secretary-General to seek the views of states and other stakeholders on the humanitarian, legal, security, and ethical challenges posed by autonomous weapon systems. Prof @cecile_aptel your ongoing mentorship and guidance, from the time of my internship at the United Nations 🇺🇳 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have been invaluable. Being under your supervision then and benefiting from your guidance ever since has been a true blessing. Prof Frans Viljoen Commissioner @SolomonADersso, Justice Dire Tladi, Eric Tistounet, your unwavering support, guidance, and mentorship over the years humble me. I extend my gratitude to all my colleagues in the disarmament community who have supported my work. To @icracnet, @BanKillerRobots, @ForumArmsTrade, and @ICRC_SAfrica, your collaboration has been instrumental. @marywareham, thank you for showing me the ropes during my initial years in Geneva. I'm also thankful for the ongoing support from my colleagues at @LJMULaw, @LJMULaw. Prof @PanaraCarlo, Prof @g_pentassuglia and Prof Tim Nichol, your continuous support in my international engagement within the disarmament field is highly appreciated. @MoFA_ZW @InfoMinZW @SABCNews @ZBCNewsonline

@nickmangwana Respectfully, you are failing in your duties as the official mouthpiece of the Zimbabwean government. Do better.

Respectfully, @Carra23, you may be missing an important perspective here: you seem to suggest that institutional interests must override the rights (even so, human rights) of individuals that sustain the institution. It is such a classic capitalist view of this beautiful game ⚽️. These “Europe’s giants” that you refer to don’t exist in a vacuum, they exist on the count of humans like @MoSalah — humans that have rights. Asking Mo to shelve his welfare & well-being issues that are critical at this juncture simply because there are important institutional events forthcoming is akin to a wife beater asking his victim wife to smile because important guests are around. PUT THE HUMAN FIRST! I think your comments are actually fuelling this whole thing and making it worse. Rest.

RT @Peru_desarme: La resolución L.77, sobre armas autónomas, fue aprobado en la Primera Comisión #FirstCommittee de @UN con 161 votos a fav…

RT @aymansorour: التصويت على الوثيقة A/c.1/79L.77 (مسودة قرار) حول الأسلحة ذاتية التشغيل #الروبوتات_القاتلة في اللجنة الاولى لنزع السلاح ب…

RT @redsehlac: ¡Felices por este resultado! 😍 Vamos hacia un instrumento internacional jurídicamente vinculante que regule las armas autón…

RT @BanKillerRobots: ⚡️BREAKING ⚡️161 states #VoteAgainstTheMachine at the UN General Assembly mandating NYC talks on #KillerRobots with AL…

RT @rosen_br: More than a call for restraint, the National Security Memorandum on #AI is a call to action – one that still envisions a worl…

On October 24, the U.S. government released its memorandum on AI and national security. I’m pleased to join other experts in sharing insights on this memorandum in a piece published by @just_security today. My analysis focuses on the international law perspective, which you can read in the article. @LJMU @LJMUImpact @LJMULaw @LJMU_LTAP

@ani_ela_ Crushing into sleep.

Earlier this month, the United Nations High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence published its final report titled "Governing AI for Humanity." I am very pleased to see the report categorically stating that "AI governance does not take place in a vacuum, international law, especially international human rights law, applies in relation to AI." As is shown in box 7 below from the report, "based on the extensive consultations conducted by the High-level Advisory Body following the publication of its interim report, guiding principle 5 (AI governance should be anchored in the Charter of the United Nations, international human rights law and other agreed international commitments) garnered the strongest support across all sectors of stakeholders, including governments, civil society, the technical community, academia and the private sector." The full report can be accessed here:

I am pleased to share that the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (ABDM), of which I am a member, has published its 2024 report. This year's focus is on the risks and opportunities to international peace and security arising from advancements in science and technology as we approach the United Nations' centenary in 2045. The report follows extensive meetings of the ABDM in Geneva🇨🇭 and New York🇺🇸. My contributions center on the risks to human rights, including issues of data appropriation, data colonization, and the critical role of human rights law in governing emerging technologies for peace and security. The report is available in UN languages here: @LJMULaw @LJMUImpact @LJMU_LTAP

I recently spent several days in Seoul, South Korea, attending the 2024 Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (REAIM) Summit. REAIMSummit . The event featured engaging discussions with experts across diverse fields—law, military, ethics, philosophy, AI science, and diplomacy. I was honored to contribute in two sessions, where I focused on several key points: 1. **The Primacy of International Law:** International law must be the cornerstone of AI governance in the military domain. 2. We must not only talk about responsibility (lawful) use of AI tech, we must equally talk about responsible (lawful) design, development & post use of AI in military domain. 3. **Highlighting Overlooked Areas of Law:** It is crucial to refocus attention on areas of international law that are often neglected, such as **international human rights law**, **jus ad bellum**, and **environmental law**. These are vital, yet under-discussed, frameworks for guiding AI's military use. 4. **Challenging the Myth of AI Inevitability:** There is no "natural" or unstoppable force behind AI technologies. We can act now to regulate or prohibit certain technologies—such as certain **autonomous weapons systems** that are not under meaningful human control—before they become the norm and with devastating effects on those peoples who are often at the receiving end of violence. The REAIM process must take a firm stance on these technologies, as echoed by many states, the UN Secretary General, the UN General Assembly, and inter-governmental regional bodies, calling for new international law to address these concerns. 5. **Reconsidering Realpolitik:** In discussions, there’s frequent mention of embracing **realpolitik** over "idealism." By realpolitik, stakeholders are in essence referring or promoting the idea of mighty at the expense of rights. I argue that there is no single, universal definition of realpolitik or realism. Our realities and lived experiences as peoples of this world are different. For some, realpolitik means recognising the political interests of the mighty and their desire in maintaining their global dominance — something that they often misinterpret or misrepresent as global “strategic stability”; for others, particularly those on the receiving end of military violence, invasion and occupation, realpolitik, realism or reality is about striving for equality as provided for in the UN Charter. In this regard, I emphasise that **International law** is the universal framework that transcends political perspectives. 6. **Quality of Inclusion:** In global forums like REAIM, inclusion must go beyond mere “cosmetic” representation. We need **qualitative inclusion**, ensuring that diverse voices are meaningfully involved and heard. It goes without saying, however, that REAIM is a critical process, these summits provide a crucial platform to address these pressing issues and advocate for international law-centered governance of military AI. @LJMULaw @LJMU @LJMUImpact

@Ralebitso_TK @LJMU Congratulations to you!!

I'm pleased to announce that I have been promoted to Full Professor @LJMULaw, effective August 1, 2024. In my new role, I will serve as Professor of International Law and Artificial Intelligence Technologies. I am deeply grateful to many of my colleagues at @LJMU for their support and encouragement, and I look forward to continuing our work together. I also want to thank colleagues worldwide for your influence on my growth and your kindness.

RT @UN_HRC: The deputy chief of @UNHumanRights addressed finalists of the 16th World Human Rights Moot Court Competition at @UNGeneva. “#N…

RT @UN_HRC: 🎉And the winners of the 16th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition are... 🏆Adithya Srivatsan (l) and Samar…

RT @UN_HRC: Congrats to Singapore Management University's team for reaching the 16th #NelsonMandela World Human Rights Moot Court final! @…

RT @UN_HRC: 🔴NOW at @UNGeneva Final of the 16th #NelsonMandela World Moot Court Competition. Watch the #WorldMoot2024 Final here⤵️ https…

Great speech from the United Nations 🇺🇳 Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, today at the final round of the Nelson Mandela World 🌍 Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Great encouraging words from the Deputy High Commissioner, not only to law students, but to everyone one on the subject matter of human rights. I am thankful to the contributions of various stakeholders to the success of this global human rights education event for law students from across the globe. Truly humbled to continue contributing to this event through drafting the hypothetical cases for this moot. #ChristofHeyns @worldmoot @CHR_HumanRights @UN_HRC

Join in the livestream of the FINAL ROUND of the 2024 Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition @worldmoot @CHR_HumanRights @UN_HRC here