The Acts of Convention

Committee Amendment:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That tThe 78th General Convention bear witness to the moral challengesrecognize that there are practical, military, and theological difficulties in applying to the Just War traditionprinciples and to the implications for security, privacy, and other human rights posed by evolvingto the current problems of combating global and domestic terrorism, of responding to undeclared warfare, of responding to stateless combatants, of using evolving capabilities for cyberwarfare, by the integration of “big data” and robotics, and by the new types of combat enabled by these trends and of the use of social media in support of warfare and/or terrorism; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention express concern for the personal and cultural impacts and social dislocations occurring in areas where remotely operated weapons are deployed; and call for greater attention to the need to mitigate the personal, cultural, and social impacts of cyberwarfare inasmuch as they are a factor that gives rise to continued violent extremism in the regions now experiencing conflicts; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention, while acknowledging the greater tactical precision achieved through deployments of remotely operated aircraft and other weapons, articulate support for alternatives to targeted killings whenever and wherever feasible, and call for ministry by this Church to the moral dissonance and suffering of operators of remotely operated weapons who experience, as a consequence of sustained monitoring of targets, an experienced sense of involvement in the lives of their targets and their families; and be it further

Resolved, That the persons or committees designated by the Presiding Bishop, the Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace and Justice Concerns, and the Committee on Science, Technology, and Faith report to the 79th General Convention on the implications for the Just War tradition, security, privacy, and other human rights of developments and trends in cyberwarfare, tactical uses of social media, and the integration of “big data” and robotics.

Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop appoint a committee of theologians and other scholars in the field of the application and interpretation of Just War principles, military chaplains, active and/or retired military personnel, and such other ecumenical specialists as are required, to study the application of Just War principles to these issues and report to The 79th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget, and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $20,000.00 for the implementation of this resolution.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #78)