Children represent some of the most vulnerable populations in armed conflicts around the world. Too often, children shoulder the burden of conflict and are exploited by armed groups to serve on the frontlines and/or support armed operations as child soldiers.
The United States is one of few countries in the world to underscore the relationship between arms sales and military assistance and the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and to use national legislation to leverage such assistance to end the use of child soldiers. The law, known as the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), aims to prohibit foreign governments from receiving U.S. weapons and military assistance if they use child soldiers in their own militaries or in government supported armed groups.
Leveraging new data to examine the nexus between U.S. arms sales, military assistance, and child soldiers
February 12, 2024
Analyzing 2023 Child Soldiers Prevention Act implementation and its impact on U.S. arms sales and military assistance
September 29, 2023
Without an updated CSPA list for 2023, the Biden administration fails to center human rights in its foreign policy
July 31, 2023
New reports offer a roadmap for how Biden can strengthen U.S. child soldier prevention in the months ahead
April 7, 2023
A compilation of key child soldier-related language excerpted from the 2022 Human Rights Reports
April 7, 2023
A short look at the latest State Department Child Soldiers Protection Act list and how it compares to past years.
July 27, 2022
Reflecting on U.S. child soldier prevention efforts on the twentieth anniversary of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
February 11, 2022
The administration’s first real opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the world’s most vulnerable population lies ahead.
July 20, 2021
Copyright The Henry L. Stimson Center