I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1191 
To ensure effective implementation of the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 
2008 and hold governments accountable for involving children in armed 
conflict activities, whether as combatants, servants, or sex slaves. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2017 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. 
HULTGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. WEBER of Texas) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To ensure effective implementation of the Child Soldier Pre-
vention Act of 2008 and hold governments accountable 
for involving children in armed conflict activities, whether 
as combatants, servants, or sex slaves. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Soldier Preven-
tion Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The recruitment or use of children in armed 
conflict is unacceptable for any government or gov-
ernment supported entity receiving United States as-
sistance. 
(2) The recruitment or use of children in armed 
conflict, including direct combat, support roles, and 
sexual slavery, continued during 2015–2016 in Af-
ghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Burma, the Demo-
cratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Nigeria, Rwanda, So-
malia, Syria, and Yemen. 
(3) Police forces of the Government of Afghani-
stan participate in counter-terrorism operations, di-
rect and indirect combat, security operations, fight 
alongside regular armies, and are targeted for vio-
lence by the Taliban as well as by other opposition 
groups. 
(4) Entities of the Government of Afghanistan, 
particularly the Afghan Local Police and Afghan 
National Police, continue to recruit children to serve 
as combatants or as servants, including as sex 
slaves. 
(5) In February 2016, a 10-year-old boy was 
assassinated by the Taliban after he had been pub-
lically honored by Afghan local police forces for his 
assistance in combat operations against the Taliban. 
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(6) Recruitment and use of children in armed 
conflict by government forces has continued in 2016 
in South Sudan with the return to hostilities. 
(7) At least 650 children have been recruited 
and used in armed conflict in South Sudan in 2016, 
and at least 16,000 have been recruited since the 
country’s civil war began in 2013. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE CHILD SOLDIERS PREVEN-
TION ACT OF 2008. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 402(2)(A) of the Child 
Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c(2)(A)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘, police, or other security forces’’ 
after ‘‘governmental armed forces’’ each place it appears. 
(b) PROHIBITION.—Section 404 of the Child Soldiers 
Prevention Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c–1) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, police, or other security 
forces’’ after ‘‘governmental armed forces’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘recruit and use child sol-
diers’’ and inserting ‘‘recruit or use child sol-
diers’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2) to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 45 days 
after the date of submission of the report required 
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under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Pro-
tection Act of 2000, the Secretary of State— 
‘‘(A) shall formally notify any government 
included in the list required under paragraph 
(1); and 
‘‘(B) shall notify the appropriate congres-
sional committees that the requirements of sub-
paragraph (A) have been met.’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by adding at the end 
before the period the following: ‘‘and certifies to the 
appropriate congressional committees that such gov-
ernment is taking effective and continuing steps to 
address the problem of child soldiers’’; and 
(4) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘for inter-
national military education, training, and’’ and in-
serting ‘‘under section 541 of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2347) through the Defense 
Institute for International Legal Studies or the Cen-
ter for Civil-Military Relations at the Naval Post- 
Graduate School and provide’’. 
(c) REPORTS.—Section 405 of the Child Soldiers Pre-
vention Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c–2) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)— 
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(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘, during any of the 5 years fol-
lowing the date of the enactment of this Act,’’; 
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(2) 
through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re-
spectively; 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as so 
amended) the following: 
‘‘(2) a description and the amount of any as-
sistance withheld under this title pursuant to the ap-
plication to those countries of the prohibition in sec-
tion 404(a);’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), 
by inserting ‘‘and the amount’’ after ‘‘a descrip-
tion’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN ANNUAL 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT.—If a country is noti-
fied pursuant to section 404(b)(2), or a waiver is granted 
pursuant to section 404(c)(1), the Secretary of State shall 
include in the report required under section 110(b) of the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
7107(b)) the information required to be included in the 
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