State dossier
Panama
PAN · PANAMA · on the world map
What does it want?
Position: wants a treaty with bans (LBI-BAN). Supports a legally binding treaty that prohibits some systems.
Wants a treaty with bans (LBI-BAN), since 2021-09-27, stated directly (EXPLICIT)
Panama first set out this position in September 2021, as a co- author of a working paper that asked the Geneva weapons convention to negotiate a legally binding instrument and said fully autonomous weapons must be prohibited. Panama co-wrote Draft Protocol VI in August 2022, a proposed treaty for the Geneva weapons convention. It would ban autonomous weapons that attack without meaningful human control and cannot comply with the laws of war, and regulate the rest. Putting its name on a draft treaty is the most direct position a state can take.
Panama co-authored a 2021 paper asking for a mandate to negotiate a legally binding instrument.
Recommend a new mandate for the GGE to initiate immediately an open-ended process to negotiate a legally binding instrument.
Joint Working Paper (CCW/GGE.1/2021/WP.7), submitted by Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, the State of Palestine, Peru, the Philippines, Sierra Leone and Uruguay, 2021-09-27 source
The same paper says fully autonomous systems must be prohibited.
weapon systems or configurations within the scope of our discussions that are fully autonomous are unacceptable and must be prohibited under international law.
Joint Working Paper (CCW/GGE.1/2021/WP.7), submitted by Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, the State of Palestine, Peru, the Philippines, Sierra Leone and Uruguay, 2021-09-27 source
Panama co-authored a draft CCW protocol whose prohibition on autonomous weapons is conditional, and is paired with regulation of the rest.
It is prohibited to develop, produce, possess, acquire, deploy, transfer, or use under any circumstances autonomous weapons systems if:
Draft Protocol VI (CCW/GGE.1/2022/WP.8), 2022-08-09 source
The prohibition is conditional, and its first condition is that the system's autonomous functions are designed to attack outside meaningful human control.
its autonomous functions are designed to be used to conduct attacks outside meaningful human control
Draft Protocol VI (CCW/GGE.1/2022/WP.8), 2022-08-09 source
The draft protocol pairs the prohibition with a meaningful-human-control regulation across the life cycle.
Each High Contracting Party shall institute measures to ensure that meaningful human control is retained in the entire life cycle
Draft Protocol VI (CCW/GGE.1/2022/WP.8), 2022-08-09 source
Shown large among its peers · hover a mark for its position
How did it vote?
Yes on all three UN votes on autonomous weapons.
Hover a legend chip to light those votes · each resolution links to its record
What has it signed?
Being on a list is a fact. Not being on one is not opposition.
Hover a column heading to light its signings · click a seal to open the document
When has it spoken?
Every time it went on the record, dated.
Hover a mark for what it was · a legend chip lights that type
What rules has it written at home?
Its own military policy.
Military policy not yet reviewed by this site, as of 2026-11-04.
The record
The documents on file.
Each mark opens its source