Ethiopia was placed on the CSPA list for the first time in 2025. The U.S. president fully waived CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Ethiopia in 2025 (impacting assistance in FY2026), though no data on FY2026 arms sales and military assistance has yet been publicly released.¹These calculations are based upon publicly available data. See the ‘Methodology’ page for an in-depth review of the Tracker’s methodology and sources.

According to the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, observers reported that government and government-affiliated forces forcibly recruited and used child soldiers between April 2024 and March 2025.²Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Ethiopia,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/ethiopia/. The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report covers government efforts undertaken from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025, to the extent concurrent reporting data is available. The state-mandated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) conducted some investigations into these cases toward the end of the TIP reporting period, resulting in the release of some child soldiers, but the government did not report initiating any criminal investigations or prosecutions related to these cases.³Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Ethiopia,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/ethiopia/.

For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report and the UN Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.