(ANSA) – GINEVRA, 16 SET – In an increasingly conflict-ridden geopolitical context, advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons systems, drones and cyber warfare, are profoundly changing the methods of conducting warfare, generating new humanitarian, ethical and legal challenges, among which the issue of child protection stands out. This was the focus of the high-level event organized today at Villa Rigot on the sidelines of the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Permanent Representations of Italy and Slovenia in Geneva, together with the Universities Network for Children in Armed Conflicts (UNETCHAC), the first international university network in favor of the protection of children in times of armed conflict also promoted by MAECI.
The event,” a communiqué from the Italian Representation specifies, “featured the presentation of the volume “New Technologies and Children in Armed Conflicts: Legal, Ethical, and Humanitarian Challenges in the Age of AI and Autonomous Weapons,” conceived and edited by Professor Fausto Pocar and Professor Laura Guercio on behalf of UNETCHAC, with the aim of exploring the complex links between emerging technologies, armed conflict and child protection.
The initiative,” the statement stressed, “confirms Italy’s long-term commitment to the protection of children living in theaters of war, evoked again yesterday by the President of the Republic at the Burgio Award Ceremony. It also represents one of the follow-ups to the related side-event organized by Italy last April on the occasion of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.
Speakers, including as authors of chapters in the volume, included Vasilka Sancin, Slovenian judge at the Euroepa Court; Mikiko Otani, Japanese lawyer and international expert on children’s rights; and Virginia Gamba, former UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict.
“By promoting international dialogue on accountability, ethical standards and legal frameworks governing the use of new technologies in wartime, we hope to encourage responsible and informed approaches, ” said Italy’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ambassador Vincenzo Grassi. “As a candidate member of the Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 mandate, Italy will continue to contribute to the protection of children’s human rights during armed conflict, both within the Council and in its relations with all relevant UN agencies,” he concluded.
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The event,” a communiqué from the Italian Representation specifies, “featured the presentation of the volume “New Technologies and Children in Armed Conflicts: Legal, Ethical, and Humanitarian Challenges in the Age of AI and Autonomous Weapons,” conceived and edited by Professor Fausto Pocar and Professor Laura Guercio on behalf of UNETCHAC, with the aim of exploring the complex links between emerging technologies, armed conflict and child protection.
The initiative,” the statement stressed, “confirms Italy’s long-term commitment to the protection of children living in theaters of war, evoked again yesterday by the President of the Republic at the Burgio Award Ceremony. It also represents one of the follow-ups to the related side-event organized by Italy last April on the occasion of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council.
Speakers, including as authors of chapters in the volume, included Vasilka Sancin, Slovenian judge at the Euroepa Court; Mikiko Otani, Japanese lawyer and international expert on children’s rights; and Virginia Gamba, former UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict.
“By promoting international dialogue on accountability, ethical standards and legal frameworks governing the use of new technologies in wartime, we hope to encourage responsible and informed approaches, ” said Italy’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ambassador Vincenzo Grassi. “As a candidate member of the Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 mandate, Italy will continue to contribute to the protection of children’s human rights during armed conflict, both within the Council and in its relations with all relevant UN agencies,” he concluded.
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