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Expert

Verity Coyle

Verity Coyle

Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
AI/Autonomous and Emerging Weapons
Gender
United States
Deputy Director | Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division, Human Right Watch
Languages:
English
Contact:
X / Twitter Bluesky
Website: www.hrw.org/about/people/verity-coyle

Verity Coyle is the deputy director for Arms in the Crisis, Conflict and Arms division, at Human Rights Watch. She oversees work on humanitarian disarmament, from landmines and cluster munitions to incendiary weapons, explosive weapons in populated areas, and autonomous weapons systems (or killer robots). 

Coyle has over 20 years of experience working on and leading major global campaigns, including related to the Arms Trade Treaty, the Stop Killer Robots campaign to establish a treaty on autonomous weapons systems, and the Torture Free Trade initiative. She has worked extensively at the United Nations, advocating and influencing within many multilateral spaces. 

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Coyle was the senior advisor on military, policing, and security at Amnesty International. She previously worked with the Stimson Center, Control Arms, and Oxfam International. She received her bachelor’s in media production from the University of Lincoln.  

Featured Publications

UN Talks on Killer Robots ends with Calls for Negotiations Growing

Human Rights Watch | September 7, 2026.
View

US Military’s Dangerous Slide Toward Fully Autonomous Killing

Human Rights Watch | March 3, 2026.
View

The Arms Trade Treaty’s Gender-Based Violence Risk Assessment: A Questionnaire for Information Sources

Stimson and International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School | March 23, 2021.
View

Publications

  • UN Talks on Killer Robots ends with Calls for Negotiations Growing
    Human Rights Watch | September 7, 2026.
  • US Military’s Dangerous Slide Toward Fully Autonomous Killing
    Human Rights Watch | March 3, 2026.
  • The Arms Trade Treaty’s Gender-Based Violence Risk Assessment: A Questionnaire for Information Sources
    Stimson and International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School | March 23, 2021.
  • Multilateralism in the Era of COVID 19
    Stimson Center | April 8, 2020.
  • ATT Monitor Report 2019
    Control Arms Secretariat | August 26, 2019.
  • How to use the Arms Trade Treaty to address Gender-Based Violence
    Control Arms | 2018
  • ATT Monitor Annual Report 2018
    Control Arms | 2018

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