II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1259 

To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to prohibit the provision of peacekeeping operations 

assistance to governments of countries that recruit and use child soldiers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2011 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to prohibit the provision of peacekeeping operations assistance to governments of countries that recruit and use child soldiers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trafficking Victims 

5 Enhanced Protection Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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•S 1259 IS

1 (1) There are as many as 300,000 child soldiers 

2 in use by state-run armies, paramilitaries, and gue3 rilla groups in roughly 21 countries around the 

4 world and in almost every region of the world. 

5 (2) The 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report de6 fines a child soldier as any person under 18 years 

7 of age who directly takes part in hostilities, has been 

8 compulsorily or voluntarily recruited as a member of 

9 a government’s armed forces, or has been recruited 

10 or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from 

11 the armed forces of a state. 

12 (3) Children are used as soldiers, combatants, 

13 spies, scouts, decoys, guards, cooks, human mine de14 tectors, and even sex slaves, robbing them of their 

15 childhood. Children are forced to join such groups 

16 physically, economically, or socially, or lured with 

17 promises of food, money, or security. 

18 (4) Exploitation of these children leaves them 

19 stigmatized and traumatized. Children also suffer 

20 higher mortality, disease, and injury rates in combat 

21 situations than adults, putting their health and lives 

22 at risk. 

23 (5) The William Wilberforce Trafficking Vic24 tims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public 

25 Law 110–457) prohibits the provision of InterVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:52 Jun 28, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1259.IS S1259

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1 national Military Education and Training (IMET) 

2 and Foreign Military Funds (FMF) assistance to 

3 countries found to use child soldiers. 

4 (6) The first report required under WTVPRA, 

5 published in 2010, identified 6 countries found to 

6 use child soldiers: Burma, Somalia, the Democratic 

7 Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Yemen, and 

8 Chad. 

9 (7) On October 25, 2010, President Barack 

10 Obama exercised his waiver authority for 4 of the 6 

11 countries to include the Democratic Republic of 

12 Congo (DRC), Sudan, Yemen, and Chad, which al13 lowed the United States Government to provide both 

14 IMET and FMF funding to these countries. 

15 (8) United States peacekeeping funds that were 

16 not restricted in the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

17 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 

18 have been provided to Somalia, despite the use of 

19 child soldiers in that country and United States ef20 forts to halt such practices. 

21 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF PEACEKEEPING 

22 OPERATIONS ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN GOV23 ERNMENTS. 

24 Section 404(a) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

25 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (22 


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1 U.S.C. 2370c–1(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 516 

2 or 541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

3 2321j or 2347)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 516, 541, or 551 

4 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321j, 

5 2347, or 2348)’’. 

Æ 


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