The Human Flag Association is committed to updating humanitarian law, particularly the right to surrender, in light of the technological transformations introduced by autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and automated weapons.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions, especially Common Article 3, guarantee the right to surrender and the protection of combatants and civilians in conflict situations. However, these principles were designed for interactions between human beings.
In today's context, this right risks becoming inapplicable if the parties in conflict are no longer solely human. When decisions of life or death are made by a machine—an automated system, an armed drone, or a turret with visual recognition—it becomes essential that surrender can also be recognized by such systems.
Human Flag works to:
This work is not an alternative to the Geneva Conventions. It is their natural continuation.
As the historic custodian of humanitarian law, Switzerland now holds a unique responsibility: to lead the operational update of the principles of peace and dignity in the 21st century.
Human Flag proposes itself as a tool and symbol to begin this journey.