Armenia's Report on the Use of "Lethal Autonomous Weapons" Was Adopted at Euronest: Mane Tandilyan (EXCLUSIVE)

• 11.02.2017, 13:49
•  Europe,  Armenia,  Interview

The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly finished its work in Kiev. "Armedia" IAA talked with Mane Tandilyan, member of the Armenian Delegation to Euronest, MP from the "Yelk" faction of the RA National Assembly about the main topics discussed at the Assembly.

- Mrs. Tandilyan, what were main topics discussed during this session of the Euronest PA and what were issues  raised by our delegation? 

- The agenda of the Euronest PA included the reports debated and adopted in the previous days by four committees. Some amendments to the reports were also put for voting. At the same time, three urgent reports were submitted and accepted - they were submitted by the EPP, the Ukrainian and Armenian delegations. The Armenian side presented a report on the use of "Lethal Autonomous Weapons", which was adopted despite the "No" voting of the Azerbaijani delegation. The resolution calls on the Eastern Partnership countries to promote transparent and accountable policies concerning the use of "killer robots", highlighting also the importance of applying investigation mechanisms in conflict zones.

A comprehensive discussion on cyber security was also on the agenda, in which the Armenian delegation presented the essence of the issue in developing countries and conflict zones. In particular, the Armenian delegation touched upon the methods used by Azerbaijan during the April war.

- What initiatives did the Armenian delegation came up with?

- As I mentioned, on the initiative of the Armenian side the report on the use of "killer robot" was adopted. In private conversations, we reaffirmed our support for the signing of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Advanced Partnership Agreement, as well as voiced our expectation on the use of the "more for more" formula towards the Armenian side. We also presented written and oral questions. The questions were not answered because of the absence of the respondent.

It should be noted that there were targeted concerns regarding the involvement of European MPs. Euronest is an important platform for the development of the Eastern Partnership countries and its effectiveness depends on the active involvement of both sides.