Statement by the Delegation of Armenia at the OSCE Chairpersonship Conference on Anticipating Technologies – for a Safe and Humane Future

Mr. Chair,

At the outset, allow me to thank the Swiss Chairpersonship for convening this timely and forward-looking conference, and to express our appreciation to CERN and the ICRC for hosting us in venues that so powerfully embody the spirit of science diplomacy and humanitarian law.

Armenia approaches this conference with both conviction and concrete experience. The Helsinki Final Act reminded us, half a century ago, that scientific and technological cooperation strengthens security precisely because it improves the conditions of human life. That insight is more relevant today than ever. Quantum computing, artificial intelligence and neurotechnology are advancing at a pace that exceeds our institutional capacity to govern them. The OSCE region cannot afford to be reactive. We must be anticipatory, integrated and human-centered, or we will find ourselves managing crises rather than preventing them. For States and international organizations partnering with private sector is indispensable in keeping with the pace of technological advancement.

Emerging technologies offer enormous opportunities. They can improve public services, support education and healthcare, strengthen climate and disaster resilience, enhance humanitarian response and contribute to early warning and conflict prevention. At the same time, their misuse can undermine human rights, fuel disinformation and hate speech, deepen cyber vulnerabilities and introduce new risks in military and security areas. Armenia believes that the OSCE, with its comprehensive concept of security, is uniquely placed to address this duality. All three OSCE dimensions are directly affected by technological transformation. Our response must therefore be integrated, cross-dimensional, inclusive and anticipatory.

Armenia has been continuously investing in high technologies, science and engineering. The information and communication technology sector now contributes around 7 per cent of our national GDP. It is also noteworthy that women comprise more than 40 percent of workforce in the IT sector in Armenia, which is much higher from the world average.

Armenia has also been contributing to the international efforts of strengthening the multilateral response to the new technologies.

Armenia is an active and consistent participant in the work of the Human Rights Council on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights - one of the Council's most dynamic portfolios in recent years. We were proud to be among the original co-sponsors of landmark resolution 51/3 on neurotechnology and human rights, adopted in 2022, which mandated the first comprehensive United Nations study on the impact, opportunities and challenges of brain-computer interfaces and related technologies for the full enjoyment of human rights. Armenia was also among the co-sponsors of successive Human Rights Council resolutions on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights. These resolutions reaffirm a holistic, human-rights-based approach to the entire life cycle of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, and call upon States to refrain from using technologies that cannot be operated in compliance with international human rights law.

Most recently, Armenia signed the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. Our accession to this instrument is a clear signal that Armenia views the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law as inseparable from technological development - and that ethical anchoring for us is not a constraint on innovation but its precondition.

Mr. Chair,

Allow me to highlight one further dimension of Armenia's international engagement that speaks directly to the integrated approach this conference seeks to promote: the protection of cultural heritage through the responsible use of new and emerging technologies. For Armenia the question of how digital tools, satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and 3D documentation can be used to safeguard humanity's common patrimony is not an abstract one. It is a humanitarian imperative.

In October 2024, Armenia organized, in close cooperation with UNESCO, the International Meeting on the Protection and Restoration of Cultural Heritage with New and Emerging Technologies, held in Yerevan to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention and the 25th anniversary of its 1999 Second Protocol. The Meeting convened leading international experts, alongside ICOMOS, the Blue Shield, ALIPH, Europa Nostra and numerous other organisations and specialists, to examine the use of digital tools and artificial intelligence in heritage mapping, monitoring, documentation and restoration. Building on this initiative, in December 2025, the 136 High Contracting Parties to the 1954 Hague Convention unanimously adopted a resolution initiated by Armenia, entitled "Enhancing the Protection and Restoration of Cultural Heritage through the Use of New and Emerging Technologies". The resolution calls upon UNESCO to foster international cooperation in this field and emphasises the need to strengthen technical expertise and institutional capacities.

While the new autonomous weapons and drones can be equipped with identifying systems to avoid attacking or colliding with humanitarian targets, it is usually not the case with cultural and religious monuments. We strongly believe that this dimension should also be fully explored by utilizing a combination of navigation, sensory, and protective technologies to prevent unintended damage. These systems generally fall under "geo-awareness" or "detect and avoid" (DAA) technologies, designed to keep drones away from sensitive areas. The future efforts at regulating the use of new technologies in warfare should take a full account of this.

We believe that this discussion is relevant for the OSCE, since preservation of historical and religious monuments directly contributes to the peace and security, as well as reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts.

Armenia stands ready to work with partners across the OSCE region and beyond to ensure that new and emerging technologies are used to advance peace, security, sustainable development and human dignity.

We thank the Chairpersonship for placing this question at the center of the OSCE's work, and we look forward to translating the discussions of this conference into concrete commitments that future generations across our region will recognize as wise, timely and humane.

Thank you.