About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

13 Braz. J. Int'l L. 460 (2016)
Dignity, Ubuntu, Humanity and Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) Debate: An African Perspective

handle is hein.journals/brazintl13 and id is 955 raw text is: Dignity, ubuntu, humanity and autonomous weapon systems (AWS) debate: an African perspective Thompson Chengeta ABSTRACT In this paper, I discuss the relevance of the African notion of 'ubuntu' or humanity to the on-going AWS debate. After tracing the notion of ubuntu back to the pre-colonial time in Zimbabwe and how it developed into a poli- tical and humanist philosophy, I discuss its relevance in international law by reference to the impact of its equivalent notion of humanity to international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law. I also note that scholars who argue for the exclusion of the notion of humanity from the AWS debate base the argument either on the idea that the notion is inadequately defined or that humanity as a notion is so vague to the extent that relying on it will have disastrous results. In response to this argument, I seek to define the term humanity and linking it to human dignity in a bid to show that the term is capable of meaning. After defining what ubuntu or humanity means as shaped by human dignity, I come to the conclusion that giving robots the power to decide who lives or dies is inconsistent with ubuntu and an affront to human dignity. I also emphasise that African states should more fully participate in the on-going debate on AWS and share their experience with the notion of ubuntu with the rest of the world. Keywords: Autonomous Weapon Systems. Killer robots. Dignity. Ubuntu. Humanity. Martens Clause. THE RELEVANCE OF THE NOTION OF UBUNTU/HUMANITY TO THE AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS DEBATE: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE. A person is a person through other people... Humanity is not embedded in my person solely as an individual; my humanity is co-substantively bes- towed upon the other and me. Humanity is a quality we owe to each other. We create each other and need to sustain this otherness creation. And if we belong to each other, we participate in our creations: we are because you are, and since you are, definitely I am. The 'I am' is not a rigid subject, but a dynamic self-constitution dependent on this otherness creation of relation and distance. 1 ONYEBUCHI, M. Eze. Communio of Life: ecological theology m afican perspective,

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most