{"id":1300,"date":"2014-10-02T21:07:08","date_gmt":"2014-10-03T04:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2020-05-05T10:17:15","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T17:17:15","slug":"child-soldier-countries-off-hook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/child-protection-news-stories\/child-soldier-countries-off-hook","title":{"rendered":"Child soldier prevention law: Partial enforcement lets some offending countries off the hook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Obama administration has released the annual list of countries that will lose military assistance for the coming year because of their use of child soldiers. However, through the use of National Security Waivers, military aid will continue to flow to some countries actively recruiting or using children in their armed forces.<\/p>\n

‘U.S. taxpayer money should never go to use children as weapons of war’<\/h2>\n

The release of this list has been a source of controversy over the past four years as the administration had taken to using the waivers, which many advocates consider to be skirting a 2008 law meant to curb this kind of military support.<\/p>\n

“This is definitely a mixed bag,” said Jesse Eaves, senior policy adviser for child protection for World Vision. “On one hand, it’s good to see some countries are being held responsible and are responding to U.S. pressure. On the other, the administration continues to shelter its friends. It’s our belief that U.S. taxpayer money should never go to use children as weapons of war.”<\/p>\n

Waivers undermine intent of child soldier prevention law<\/h2>\n

Passed in 2008, the Child Soldier Prevention Act<\/a> is meant to curtail U.S. military assistance to governments that recruit and use children into their armed forces or government-supported militias. Thousands of World Vision supporters advocated for the passage of this bill.<\/p>\n

However, through a loophole in the law, the Obama administration failed to implement the Child Soldier Prevention Act as Congress intended, opting to issue waivers to countries rather than hold them accountable.<\/p>\n

In June, the U.S. State Department found that nine countries were actively recruiting or using children in their national militaries. The nine countries are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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  • Central African Republic<\/li>\n
  • Democratic Republic of Congo<\/li>\n
  • Myanmar<\/li>\n
  • Rwanda<\/li>\n
  • South Sudan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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