He believes that an agreement would have an effect because countries are more concerned than one might think about their international reputation, but also because it would make financial institutions less eager to invest in technology.
The Swedish government's actions do not impress Daan Kayser. In last year's foreign declaration, the government stated that Sweden should push for an "effective international ban." But when a dozen countries, including Germany, Austria and Brazil, came together and described how they want a regulatory framework to be designed, Sweden has not been involved.
Three out of four Swedes oppose the development of weapons that themselves select and attack targets without human intervention, according to a recent opinion poll, commissioned by Stop killer robots. That should motivate the Swedish government to step forward, Daan Kayser believes.
"Sweden is one of the countries where the resistance to killer robots is strongest. It is a strong signal to the Swedish government to be more ambitious," he says.
Gabriella Irsten, political administrator at the International Women's Union for Peace and Freedom (IKFF), agrees that the Swedish government is passive.
"They say that Sweden should be a leader, but do nothing really," she says.
Gabriella Irsten believes that the feminist foreign policy that is to guide Sweden's positions should be able to be used to push for a ban. Among other things, she points to fears that autonomous weapons systems could be used to facilitate systematic sexual violence in conflicts, for example by bringing together women and girls.
"Sweden should be able to handle this issue. The tools are there," she says.
Linde does not want to be interviewedFinding out what Sweden's attitude really is is not easy. Foreign Minister Ann Linde (S) does not want to appear for an interview and when Syre wrote about the issue in October, the Foreign Ministry's press service sent an answer describing two reservations to ultimately support an international ban: Firstly, it must be clear which weapons are to be covered, and the countries capable of developing the technology must be covered.
In the autumn, Syre published the Foreign Ministry's response in its entirety -- yet one of the Foreign Minister's employees called Syre's reporter and asked for a supplement to the article afterwards, emphasizing that they saw risks with autonomous weapons, but without withdrawing the two reservations.
The Foreign Ministry's response made the Green Party's foreign policy spokesperson Janine Alm Ericson go to the roof. She believes that there are no reservations about Swedish support for an international ban, according to the agreement between the government parties. When she then asked Ann Linde about the matter in the Riksdag, the Foreign Minister formulated himself differently:
"We want an effective ban to cover as many people as possible, of course also the countries that are trying to develop weapons. However, this does not necessarily mean that they actively support the design of the ban," said Ann Linde.
International law is based on the fact that agreements are binding on the countries that sign and ratify them. What Sweden's line will be if, for example, the United States and Russia stand outside, Syre will not receive an answer. In an email, the Foreign Ministry's press service refers to the fact that there is no ready-made proposal. "But Sweden's entrance is clear -- we are now taking a leading role in the work to find ways forward to effectively ban deadly autonomous weapon systems," writes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds that clarity about which weapons are to be covered is important in order not to "affect the defense capability of countries with legitimate high-tech defense systems, including Sweden."
The Swedish defense giant Saab does not want to talk to Syre either. In October, the company wrote to Syre that it should "keep up" with the development towards automation, but if in the future it can also involve the production of completely autonomous weapons, we will not get a clear answer.
Saab already markets several unmanned maritime systems, including the Sea wasp underwater robot. The company is happy to highlight how products such as Sea wasp can be used to neutralize mines, but does not want to talk about its future plans. On the other hand, emphasis is placed on human control over technology in the projects we carry out today.
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