In the framework of permanent cooperation with the United Nations’ bodies and agencies, our Association informed the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries for preparing its next report, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 60/5, on examining the evolution of the activities of mercenaries, mercenary-related actors, and private military and security companies worldwide, as well as their impact on human rights, including the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI).
The ARC’s submission, prepared by Andrii Chvaliuk, Olexiy Plotnikov, and other experts and published on the official UN web-sources now, reminded the UN again that Russia-controlled troops and mercenaries committed in Ukraine, during the ongoing aggression, gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law already, including broad crimes against fundamental rights.
The ARC’s submission stressed that Russia-controlled “Crimean universities” became a tool for “legalizing” AI technologies, stolen by the Russian special services in Western democratic countries or in communist China, including issues of mercenaries training and preparation. Russia-controlled mercenaries also use AI for naval and air drone activities against Ukraine and held relevant trainings in Crimea with the militarization of local youth, our submission added.
ARC’s submissions stressed again the relevant examples of Crimean business participation as umbrella structures or as hubs for such Russia-controlled mercenaries’ provocations and preparations that conjunct terroristic activities, calls for racial discrimination, and calls for aggressive war, genocide, and war crimes in interstate conflict conditions, which are simplified by AI for committing actors.
ARC’s submissions summarized that the manipulations with AI, done by authoritarian regimes together with mercenaries, corporations, and other business structures, in conditions of interstate conflicts, war zones, and occupied territories create new strong risks not only to fundamental rights but also to informational, educational, cultural, and other collective rights, including indigenous rights and the right to development.
Our cooperation with the UN bodies on those issues will be continued; let us remind, that previous ARC submissions to the pointed Working Group were reflected in its Report A/80/329, published this February.
