Professor Gregory Gordon Headlines Red Cross Keynote Event

On March 13, 2025, as part of the Asia-Pacific gathering for the annual Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Moot competition in Hong Kong, Professor Gegory Gordon headlined the gathering’s Keynote Seminar with a lecture titled: “Autonomous Weapons Systems: What’s at Stake?” 

In his lecture, Professor Gordon provided an overview of the current use of autonomous weapons systems (AWS) in armed conflicts across the globe and then explored the potential IHL and ethical issues implicated by the use of AWS. After then considering recent efforts to regulate use of AWS, Professor Gordon proposed a two-tiered regulatory system whereby semi-autonomous and supervised autonomous weapons systems could be manufactured and used pursuant to detailed regulation but fully autonomous systems would be prohibited.

Also speaking at the event, which was designed to deepen understanding of AWS in military operations and their regulation, were Professor Wang Guoyu, Dean of the Academy of Air, Space Policy and Law of Beijing Institute of Technology, who has served as Chinese delegate to the United Nations Committee of Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) since 2012, as well as Clementine Rendle, who serves as Regional Legal Adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Pacific region. The event was moderated by Alex Fan, Barrister-in-Law at the Tower Chambers in Hong Kong.

Founded in 1863, the ICRC is celebrated as the organization most responsible for helping formulate and ensure compliance with IHL, in particular via the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols. The Red Cross IHL Moot is an annual inter-university law competition held in Hong Kong, bringing together law students from across the Asia-Pacific region to engage in simulated proceedings based on hypothetical cases at the International Criminal Court. The moot problem for this year focused on AWS, cyberattacks, and drones, highlighting the legal complexities of warfare and humanitarian crises.

Attending the keynote seminar that Professor Gordon headlined were military officers, government officials, practicing lawyers, academics, and legal advisors from the ICRC. Professor Gordon’s scholarship often deals with IHL issues, and he has participated in conducting IHL workshops throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He currently teaches the Law of Armed Force and International Criminal Law at Peking University School of Transnational Law.