- Updated October 24, 2023
Years Listed
Each shaded box corresponds to a year the country appeared on the CSPA list and what types of waivers it received, if any.
Syria has appeared on the CSPA list for eleven consecutive years beginning in 2013. The U.S. president has never waived CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Syria, resulting in the prohibition of $90 million in Peacekeeping Operations assistance from FY2014 through FY2024.
According to the U.S. State Department, Syrian government forces and affiliated militias have forcibly recruited and used child soldiers. Syrian government forces use children in combat and support roles, including as recently as April 2022 through March 2023. Additionally, armed groups fighting for the Syrian government, including Hezbollah, as well as pro-regime militias that collaborate with the Syrian government, including the National Defense Forces (NDF), forcibly recruit children as young as six years old, including in combat roles. As of March 2023, the Syrian government was not taking steps to prevent the recruitment or use of child soldiers, nor had it ever reported efforts to demobilize child soldiers or convict officials complicit in child soldier recruitment or use.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report and Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. More information on the situation in Syria can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict and country-specific report on Syria.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
Explore the Data
Country- and program-level data on the number and type of national interest waivers granted, as well as the amount of arms sales and military assistance waived.
