Key Points

• As autonomous weapons systems (AWS) increase in military importance, they pose significant risks of miscommunication, miscalculation and inadvertent conflict escalation.

• The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has a strong history of developing confidence-building measures (CBMs) to reduce military risks stemming from other types of weapons.

• The OSCE should develop CBMs for partially autonomous weapons systems. Such CBMs should provide information about AWS features and doctrine for their use, to increase transparency and build trust between states

• OSCE CBMs could provide a foundation for the global governance of autonomous weapons in other multilateral venues.