US places Pakistan and Turkey under ‘Child Soldiers Prevention Act’
- 03 Jul 2021
The United States has added Pakistan and Turkey along with some other countries to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year.
- Beginning October 1, 2021, and effective throughout Fiscal Year 2022, these restrictions will apply to the listed countries.
Pakistan
- The US State Department said in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) that Pakistan was among foreign governments identified during April 2020 to March 2021 that had “governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces, or government-supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers, as defined in the Child Soldiers Prevention Act.”
- This is the first time Pakistan has been put on the list.
Turkey
- This is the first time a NATO member has been listed in the child soldier prevention act list.
- Turkey was providing “tangible support” to the Sultan Murad division in Syria, a faction of Syrian opposition that Ankara has long supported and a group that Washington said recruited and used child soldiers.
Other Countries on this Year’s List:Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Turkey and Yemen.
Major provisions of Child Soldiers Prevention Act
The CSPA prohibits assistance to governments that are identified in the list under the following authorities:
- International Military Education and Training
- Foreign Military Financing
- Excess Defense Articles
- Peacekeeping Operations
- Issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments
Exceptions: For some programs undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority.
