Red Cross Calls for Limits on Autonomous Weapons Experts said the group’s unique stature might get governments to the negotiating table at last. The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for new international rules on how governments use autonomous weapons, warning that such weapons will pose new challenges for international humanitarian law in the future and bring “significant risks of harm to civilians and combatants alike,” Peter Maurer, president of the ICRC, said in a speech Wednesday. It's a move that will reshape the international discussion on autonomous weapons, experts told Defense One. Wednesday’s call from the ICRC is significant because the group has a unique standing among governments as a humanitarian organization mitigating the effects of conflict. They refer to themselves as the “guardians” of international humanitarian law.