I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5966 
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2006 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on International Relations 
A BILL 
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the 
world, and for other purposes. 
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 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the September 7, 2005, report 
to the United Nations General Assembly by the Spe-
cial Representative of the Secretary General for 
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Children and Armed Conflict, ‘‘In the last decade, 
two million children have been killed in situations of 
armed conflict, while six million children have been 
permanently disabled or injured. Over 250,000 chil-
dren continue to be exploited as child soldiers and 
tens of thousands of girls are being subjected to 
rape and other forms of sexual violence.’’. 
(2) According to the Center for Emerging 
Threats and Opportunities (CETO), Marine Corps 
Warfighting Laboratory, ‘‘The Child Soldier Phe-
nomenon has become a post-Cold War epidemic that 
has proliferated to every continent with the excep-
tion of Antarctica and Australia.’’. 
(3) Many of the children currently serving in 
armed forces or paramilitaries were forcibly con-
scripted through kidnapping or coercion, while oth-
ers joined military units due to economic necessity, 
to avenge the loss of a family member, or for their 
own personal safety. 
(4) Some military and militia commanders force 
child soldiers to commit gruesome acts of ritual 
killings or torture, including acts of violence, against 
other children. 
(5) Many female child soldiers face the addi-
tional psychological and physical horrors of rape and 
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sexual abuse, enslavement for sexual purposes by mi-
litia commanders, and severe social stigma should 
they return home. 
(6) Some military and militia commanders tar-
get children for recruitment because of their psycho-
logical immaturity and vulnerability to manipulation 
and indoctrination. Children are often separated 
from their families in order to foster dependence on 
military units and leaders. Consequently, many of 
these children suffer from deep trauma and are in 
need of psychological counseling and rehabilitation. 
(7) Child soldiers are exposed to hazardous con-
ditions and are at risk of physical injury and dis-
ability, psychological trauma, sexually transmitted 
diseases, respiratory and skin infections, and often 
death. 
(8) On May 25, 2000, the United Nations 
adopted and opened for signature, ratification, and 
accession the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Chil-
dren in Armed Conflict, which establishes 18 as the 
minimum age for conscription, forced recruitment, 
or direct participation in hostilities. 
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(9) On June 18, 2002, the Senate unanimously 
approved the resolution advising and consenting to 
the ratification of the Optional Protocol. 
(10) On December 23, 2002, the United States 
presented the ratified optional protocol to the United 
Nations. 
(11) One hundred and six governments world-
wide have ratified the optional protocol, establishing 
a clear international norm prohibiting the use of 
children in combat. 
(12) It is in the national and security interests 
of the United States to reduce the chances that 
members of the United States Armed Forces will be 
forced to encounter children in combat situations. 
(13) Section 502B(a)(3) of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(3)) provides 
that ‘‘the President is directed to formulate and con-
duct international security assistance programs of 
the United States in a manner which will promote 
and advance human rights and avoid identification 
of the United States, through such programs, with 
governments which deny to their people internation-
ally recognized human rights and fundamental free-
doms, in violation of international law or in con-
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travention of the policy of the United States as ex-
pressed in this section or otherwise.’’. 
SEC. 3. CHILD SOLDIER DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘child soldier’’ means— 
(1) any person under the age of 18 years old 
who is— 
(A) forcibly recruited or conscripted— 
(i) to serve in any type of regular or 
irregular armed force or armed group in 
any capacity, including in a support role 
such as cook, porter, or messenger; or 
(ii) to accompany such a force or 
group, other than as a direct family mem-
ber; or 
(B) serving in hostilities as part of a reg-
ular armed force or armed group; and 
(2) any person under the age of 16 years old 
serving in any capacity as part of a regular or irreg-
ular armed force or armed group. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF CONGRESS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) STATEMENT OF CONGRESS.—Congress condemns 
the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by 
governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hos-
tilities. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the United States should support and, 
where practicable, lead efforts to establish and up-
hold international standards designed to end the 
conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children 
by governments, paramilitaries, or other organiza-
tions in hostilities; 
(2) the United States should expand ongoing 
services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and 
to reintegrate them back into their communities 
by— 
(A) offering ongoing psychological services 
to help victims recover from their trauma and 
relearn how to deal with others in nonviolent 
ways such that they are no longer a danger to 
their community; and 
(B) facilitating reconciliation with their 
communities through negotiations with tradi-
tional leaders and elders to enable recovered 
abductees to resume normal lives in their com-
munities; 
(3) the United States should work with the 
international community on efforts to bring to jus-
tice rebel organizations that kidnap children for use 
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as child soldiers, such as the Lord’s Resistance 
Army 
(LRA) 
in 
Uganda, 
Fuerzas 
Armadas 
Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and the Com-
munist Party of Nepal (CPN), including through re-
gional cooperation, where feasible, to arrest the lead-
ers of such groups and recover those children who 
have been abducted; 
(4) United States diplomatic missions in coun-
tries in which governments use or tolerate child sol-
diers should develop, as part of annual program 
planning, strategies to promote efforts to end the 
conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children 
by governments, paramilitaries, or other organiza-
tions in hostilities; and 
(5) in allocating or recommending the allocation 
of funds or recommending candidates for programs 
and grants funded by the United States, United 
States diplomatic missions should give particular 
consideration to those programs and candidates 
deemed to promote the end to the conscription, 
forced recruitment, or use of children by govern-
ments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hos-
tilities. 
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SEC. 5. PROHIBITION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), 
and (d), none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
available for international military education and training, 
foreign military financing, foreign military sales, direct 
commercial sales, or excess defense articles by the Foreign 
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Ap-
propriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–102) or any 
other Act making appropriations for foreign operations, 
export financing, and related programs may be obligated 
or otherwise made available to the government of a coun-
try that is clearly identified by the Department of State 
in the Department of State’s most recent Country Reports 
on Human Rights Practices as having governmental 
armed forces or government supported armed groups, in-
cluding paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that 
recruit or use child soldiers. 
(b) NOTIFICATION TO COUNTRIES IN VIOLATION OF 
THE STANDARDS OF THIS ACT.—Not later than March 
15 of each year, the Secretary of State shall formally no-
tify any government identified pursuant to subsection (a). 
(c) NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER.— 
(1) WAIVER.—The President may waive the ap-
plication to a country of the prohibition described in 
subsection (a) if the President determines that such 
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waiver is in the national interest of the United 
States. 
(2) PUBLICATION
AND
NOTIFICATION.—The 
President shall publish in the Federal Register each 
waiver granted under paragraph (1) and shall notify 
the Committee on International Relations and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate of each such waiver, including the justifica-
tion for such waiver, in accordance with the regular 
notification procedures of such Committees. 
(d) REINSTATEMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi-
dent may provide to a country assistance otherwise prohib-
ited under subsection (a) upon the submission of a certifi-
cation to Congress that the government of such country— 
(1) is implementing effective measures to come 
into compliance with the standards of this Act; and 
(2) is implementing effective policies and mech-
anisms to prohibit and prevent future placement of 
children in combat roles and to ensure that no chil-
dren are recruited before the age of 16 years old or 
forcibly recruited or conscripted before the age of 18 
years old. 
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(e) EXCEPTION FOR PROGRAMS DIRECTLY RELATED 
TO ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF CHILD SOLDIERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide 
to a country assistance for international military 
education and training otherwise prohibited under 
subsection (a) upon certifying to Congress that the 
assistance provided by the United States Govern-
ment to the government of such country will go to 
programs that will directly support addressing the 
problem of child soldiers. 
(2) LIMITATION.—The exception under para-
graph (1) may not remain in effect for more than 
two years after the date of notification under sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 6. ROLE OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY AND 
GLOBAL AFFAIRS AS LEAD ON CHILD SOL-
DIER ISSUES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Democ-
racy and Global Affairs shall coordinate United States pol-
icy on child soldier issues, including by performing the fol-
lowing functions: 
(1) Serving as a principal adviser to the Presi-
dent and the Secretary of State regarding matters 
affecting the use of child soldiers, including making 
recommendations regarding— 
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(A) the policies of the United States to-
ward governments that use child soldiers; and 
(B) policies to promote the end to the use 
of child soldiers in conflicts around the world. 
(2) Preparing and submitting the reports re-
quired under section 7 and 8. 
SEC. 7. REPORTS. 
(a) PREPARATION OF REPORTS REGARDING CHILD 
SOLDIERS.—The Secretary of State shall ensure that 
United States missions abroad maintain a consistent re-
porting standard and thoroughly investigate reports of the 
use of child soldiers. 
(b) INFORMATION FOR ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS 
ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.—The Under Secretary 
for Democracy and Global Affairs shall assist the Sec-
retary of State in preparing those portions of the annual 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (prepared 
in accordance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n and 
2304(b))) that relate to child soldiers and assure that such 
reports shall include a description of the use of child sol-
diers in each foreign country, including— 
(1) trends toward improvement in such country 
of the status of child soldiers or the continued or in-
creased tolerance of such practices; and 
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(2) the role of the government of such country 
in engaging in or tolerating the use of child soldiers. 
(c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON VIOLATIONS.— 
If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Under 
Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, determines 
that the government of a country or a regular or irregular 
armed force or armed group in such country has violated 
the standards of this Act, the Secretary shall clearly indi-
cate that fact in the relevant annual Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS
TO CONGRESS.—Not later 
than June 15 of each year, the President shall submit to 
the Committee on International Relations and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate— 
(1) a list of the governments receiving notifica-
tion that they are in violation of the standards of 
this Act; 
(2) a list of any waivers or exceptions exercised 
under this Act; 
(3) justification for those waivers and excep-
tions; and 
(4) a description of any assistance provided 
pursuant to this Act. 
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SEC. 8. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Com-
mittee on International Relations and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the Senate a report setting forth a strat-
egy for achieving the policy objectives of this Act, includ-
ing a description of an effective mechanism for coordina-
tion of United States efforts to implement this strategy. 
SEC. 9. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 
Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(c) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of 
other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the stand-
ard training provided after January 1, 2007, for members 
of the Service instruction on the rights of child soldiers.’’. 
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 
This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act and shall apply to funds obli-
gated after such effective date. 
Æ 
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