Child Soldier Prevention Act FY 2016
THE NEED FOR BILL LANGUAGE
Funds may not be used to provide excess defense article, foreign military sales, peacekeeping/overseas contingency operations, or assistance under section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 to countries using or recruiting child soldiers or supporting armed forces or groups that recruit or use child soldiers.
Need
The Child Soldier Prevention Act (CSPA) was part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008 (sections 401-407). The Child Soldier Prevention Act restricts U.S. military assistance to countries known to recruit or use children in national armed forces or government-supported paramilitary groups. Since the law went into effect five years ago, implementation has been hampered by the use of national security waivers, allowing U.S. taxpayer military assistance to flow to countries listed as using or recruiting children in their armed forces. In 2014, the Administration issued waivers for 6 of the 9 countries that had been listed as using or recruiting children in their armed forces in the previous reporting period. The CSPA can be an effective tool in the U.S. Government’s toolbox to end the use of children in armed groups. In 2013, the United States withheld military assistance to Rwanda over their support of the rebel group M23, which operated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and actively recruited and forced children to serve as soldiers. The pressure from the international community and loss of U.S. military assistance resulted in Rwanda ending support to M23 and the eventual collapse of the group.
Solution
ATEST requests bill language so that funds may not be used to provide excess defense article, foreign military sales, peacekeeping/overseas contingency operations, or assistance under section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 to countries using or recruiting child soldiers or supporting armed forces or groups that recruit or use child soldiers, pursuant to the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2008 (P.L. 110–457 section 404).
Proposed Bill Language
Funds under this Act may not be used to provide excess defense article, foreign military sales, peacekeeping/overseas contingency operations, or assistance under section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2006 to countries using or recruiting child soldiers or supporting armed forces or groups that recruit or use child soldiers, pursuant to the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2008 (P.L. 110–457 section 404).