II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1175 

To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2007 

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

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

A BILL 

To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the 

world, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Child Soldier Preven5 tion Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) According to the September 7, 2005, report 

9 to the General Assembly of the United Nations by 

10 the Special Representative of the Secretary-General 


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1 for Children and Armed Conflict, ‘‘In the last dec2 ade, two million children have been killed in situa3 tions of armed conflict, while six million children 

4 have been permanently disabled or injured. Over 

5 250,000 children continue to be exploited as child 

6 soldiers and tens of thousands of girls are being sub7 jected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.’’. 

8 (2) According to the Center for Emerging 

9 Threats and Opportunities (CETO), Marine Corps 

10 Warfighting Laboratory, ‘‘The Child Soldier Phe11 nomenon has become a post-Cold War epidemic that 

12 has proliferated to every continent with the excep13 tion of Antarctica and Australia.’’. 

14 (3) Many of the children currently serving in 

15 armed forces or paramilitaries were forcibly con16 scripted through kidnapping or coercion, a form of 

17 human trafficking, while others joined military units 

18 due to economic necessity, to avenge the loss of a 

19 family member, or for their own personal safety. 

20 (4) Some military and militia commanders force 

21 child soldiers to commit gruesome acts of ritual 

22 killings or torture, including acts of violence against 

23 other children. 

24 (5) Many female child soldiers face the addi25 tional psychological and physical horrors of rape and 


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1 sexual abuse, enslavement for sexual purposes by mi2 litia commanders, and severe social stigma should 

3 they return home. 

4 (6) Some military and militia commanders tar5 get children for recruitment because of their psycho6 logical immaturity and vulnerability to manipulation 

7 and indoctrination. Children are often separated 

8 from their families in order to foster dependence on 

9 military units and leaders. Consequently, many of 

10 these children suffer from deep trauma and are in 

11 need of psychological counseling and rehabilitation. 

12 (7) Child soldiers are exposed to hazardous con13 ditions and are at risk of physical injury and dis14 ability, psychological trauma, sexually transmitted 

15 diseases, respiratory and skin infections, and often 

16 death. 

17 (8) On May 25, 2000, the United Nations 

18 adopted and opened for signature, ratification, and 

19 accession the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 

20 the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Chil21 dren in Armed Conflict (in this Act referred to as 

22 the ‘‘Optional Protocol’’), which establishes 18 as 

23 the minimum age for conscription or forced recruit24 ment and requires states party to ensure that memVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:43 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1175.IS S1175

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1 bers of their armed forces under the age of 18 do 

2 not take a direct part in hostilities. 

3 (9) On June 18, 2002, the Senate unanimously 

4 approved the resolution advising and consenting to 

5 the ratification of the Optional Protocol. 

6 (10) On December 23, 2002, the United States 

7 presented the ratified optional protocol to the United 

8 Nations. 

9 (11) More than 110 governments worldwide 

10 have ratified the optional protocol, establishing a 

11 clear international norm concerning the use of chil12 dren in combat. 

13 (12) On December 2, 1999, the United States 

14 ratified International Labour Convention 182, the 

15 Convention concerning the Prohibition and Imme16 diate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms 

17 of Child Labour, which includes the use of child sol18 diers among the worst forms of child labor. 

19 (13) On October 7, 2005, the Senate gave its 

20 advice and consent to the ratification of the Protocol 

21 to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Per22 sons, Especially Women and Children, 

23 Supplementing the United Nations Convention 

24 Against Transnational Organized Crime. 


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1 (14) It is in the national security interest of the 

2 United States to reduce the chances that members 

3 of the United States Armed Forces will be forced to 

4 encounter children in combat situations. 

5 (15) Section 502B(a)(3) of the Foreign Assist6 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(3)) provides 

7 that ‘‘the President is directed to formulate and con8 duct international security assistance programs of 

9 the United States in a manner which will promote 

10 and advance human rights and avoid identification 

11 of the United States, through such programs, with 

12 governments which deny to their people internation13 ally recognized human rights and fundamental free14 doms, in violation of international law or in con15 travention of the policy of the United States as ex16 pressed in this section or otherwise’’. 

17 SEC. 3. CHILD SOLDIER DEFINED. 

18 In this Act, consistent with the provisions of the Op19 tional Protocol, the term ‘‘child soldier’’— 

20 (1) means— 

21 (A) any person under age 18 who takes a 

22 direct part in hostilities as a member of govern23 mental armed forces; 


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1 (B) any person under age 18 who has been 

2 compulsorily recruited into governmental armed 

3 forces; 

4 (C) any person under age 16 voluntarily 

5 recruited into governmental armed forces; and 

6 (D) any person under age 18 recruited or 

7 used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from 

8 the armed forces of a state; and 

9 (2) includes any person described in subpara10 graphs (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1) who is 

11 serving in any capacity, including in a support role 

12 such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard, or 

13 sex slave. 

14 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress— 

16 (1) to condemn the conscription, forced recruit17 ment or use of children by governments, 

18 paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities; 

19 (2) that the United States Government should 

20 support and, where practicable, lead efforts to estab21 lish and uphold international standards designed to 

22 end this abuse of human rights; 

23 (3) that the United States Government should 

24 expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered 


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1 child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their 

2 communities by— 

3 (A) offering ongoing psychological services 

4 to help victims recover from their trauma and 

5 relearn how to deal with others in nonviolent 

6 ways such that they are no longer a danger to 

7 their community; 

8 (B) facilitating reconciliation with their 

9 communities through negotiations with tradi10 tional leaders and elders to enable recovered 

11 abductees to resume normal lives in their com12 munities; and 

13 (C) providing educational and vocational 

14 assistance; 

15 (4) that the United States should work with the 

16 international community, including, where appro17 priate, third country governments, nongovernmental 

18 organizations, faith-based organizations, United Na19 tions agencies, local governments, labor unions, and 

20 private enterprise— 

21 (A) on efforts to bring to justice rebel or22 ganizations that kidnap children for use as 

23 child soldiers, including the Lord’s Resistance 

24 Army (LRA) in Uganda, Fuerzas Armadas 

25 Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and LibVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:43 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1175.IS S1175

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1 eration Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), includ2 ing, where feasible, by arresting the leaders of 

3 such groups; and 

4 (B) on efforts to recover those children 

5 who have been abducted and to assist them in 

6 their rehabilitation and reintegration into com7 munities; 

8 (5) that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 

9 Labor, and the Secretary of Defense should coordi10 nate programs to achieve the goals specified in para11 graph (3), and in countries where the use of child 

12 soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is supported 

13 or sanctioned by the governments of such countries, 

14 United States diplomatic missions should include in 

15 their mission program plans a strategy to achieve 

16 the goals specified in such paragraph; 

17 (6) that United States diplomatic missions in 

18 countries in which governments use or tolerate child 

19 soldiers should develop, as part of annual program 

20 planning, strategies to promote efforts to end this 

21 abuse of human rights; and 

22 (7) that, in allocating or recommending the al23 location of funds or recommending candidates for 

24 programs and grants funded by the United States 

25 Government, United States diplomatic missions 


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1 should give particular consideration to those pro2 grams and candidates deemed to promote the end to 

3 this abuse of human rights. 

4 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), 

6 and (d), none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 

7 available for international military education and training, 

8 foreign military financing, foreign military sales, direct 

9 commercial sales, or excess Defense articles by the For10 eign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs 

11 Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–102) or any 

12 other Act making appropriations for foreign operations, 

13 export financing, and related programs may be obligated 

14 or otherwise made available to the government of a coun15 try that is clearly identified by the Department of State 

16 in the Department of State’s most recent Country Reports 

17 on Human Rights Practices as having governmental 

18 armed forces or government supported armed groups, in19 cluding paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that 

20 recruit or use child soldiers. 

21 (b) NOTIFICATION TO COUNTRIES IN VIOLATION OF

22 THE STANDARDS OF THIS ACT.—The Secretary of State 

23 shall formally notify any government identified pursuant 

24 to subsection (a). 

25 (c) NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER.— 


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1 (1) WAIVER.—The President may waive the ap2 plication to a country of the prohibition in sub3 section (a) if the President determines that such 

4 waiver is in the interest of the United States. 

5 (2) PUBLICATION AND NOTIFICATION.—The 

6 President shall publish each waiver granted under 

7 paragraph (1) in the Federal Register and shall no8 tify the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 

11 Appropriations of the House of Representatives of 

12 each such waiver, including the justification for the 

13 waiver, in accordance with the regular notification 

14 procedures of such Committees. 

15 (d) REINSTATEMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi16 dent may provide to a country assistance otherwise prohib17 ited under subsection (a) upon certifying to Congress that 

18 the government of such country— 

19 (1) has implemented effective measures to come 

20 into compliance with the standards of this Act; and 

21 (2) has implemented effective policies and 

22 mechanisms to prohibit and prevent future use of 

23 child soldiers and to ensure that no children are re24 cruited, conscripted, or otherwise compelled to serve 

25 as child soldiers. 


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1 (e) EXCEPTION FOR PROGRAMS DIRECTLY RELATED

2 TO ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF CHILD SOLDIERS OR

3 PROFESSIONALIZATION OF THE MILITARY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide 

5 to a country assistance for international military 

6 education and training otherwise prohibited under 

7 subsection (a) upon certifying to Congress that— 

8 (A) the government of such country is im9 plementing effective measures to demobilize 

10 child soldiers in its forces or in government 

11 supported paramilitaries and to provide demobi12 lization, rehabilitation, and reintegration assist13 ance to those former child soldiers; and 

14 (B) the assistance provided by the United 

15 States Government to the government of such 

16 country will go to programs that will directly 

17 support professionalization of the military. 

18 (2) LIMITATION.—The exception under para19 graph (1) may not remain in effect for more than 

20 2 years following the date of notification specified in 

21 section 5(b). 

22 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

23 (a) PREPARATION OF REPORTS REGARDING CHILD

24 SOLDIERS.—United States missions abroad shall thor25 oughly investigate reports of the use of child soldiers. 


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1 (b) INFORMATION FOR ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS RE2 PORTS.—In preparing those portions of the Human Rights 

3 Reports that relate to child soldiers, the Secretary of State 

4 shall ensure that such reports shall include a description 

5 of the use of child soldiers in each foreign country, includ6 ing— 

7 (1) trends toward improvement in such country 

8 of the status of child soldiers or the continued or in9 creased tolerance of such practices; and 

10 (2) the role of the government of such country 

11 in engaging in or tolerating the use of child soldiers. 

12 (c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS.— 

13 When the Secretary of State determines that a govern14 ment has violated the standards of this Act, the Secretary 

15 shall clearly indicate that fact in the relevant Annual 

16 Human Rights Report. 

17 (d) LETTER TO CONGRESS.—Not later than June 15 

18 of each year for 10 years following the enactment of this 

19 Act, the President shall submit to the Committee on For20 eign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

22 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa23 tives— 


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1 (1) a list of the countries receiving notification 

2 that they are in violation of the standards of this 

3 Act; 

4 (2) a list of any waivers or exceptions exercised 

5 under this Act; 

6 (3) justification for those waivers and excep7 tions; and 

8 (4) a description of any assistance provided 

9 pursuant to this Act. 

10 SEC. 7. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. 

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Com13 mittee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appro14 priations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af15 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

16 of Representatives a report setting forth a strategy for 

17 achieving the policy objectives of this Act, including a de18 scription of an effective mechanism for coordination of 

19 United States Government efforts to implement this strat20 egy. 

21 SEC. 8. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

22 Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

23 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of 

2 other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the stand3 ard training provided after January 1, 2008, for officers 

4 of the Service, including chiefs of mission, instruction on 

5 matters related to child soldiers and the substance of the 

6 Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007.’’. 

7 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

8 This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act and shall apply to funds obli10 gated after such effective date. 

Æ 


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