- Updated September 29, 2026
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.
Rwanda appeared on the CSPA list in 2013, 2014, and 2016 and, following a six-year absence, has appeared again from 2023 to 2025. The U.S. president waived, either in part or in full, CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Rwanda for two of the five years it was listed (2014 and 2016), resulting in the provision of more than $1.1 million in arms sales and military assistance in FY2015 and FY2017. Specifically, the president waived nearly $40,000 in Direct Commercial Sales and more than $1.1 million in International Military Education and Training. Due to CSPA prohibitions, the president denied Rwanda $1,464 in Direct Commercial Sales in FY2014.1These calculations are based upon publicly available data. See the ‘Methodology’ page for an in-depth review of the Tracker’s methodology and sources.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
Rwanda was first placed on the CSPA list in 2013 following reports that Rwandan government officials provided material support (including weapons and ammunition) in 2012 to the M23, an armed group operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was known to recruit and use child soldiers in combat and support roles.2Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 312, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/210741.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/). In 2013, these activities expanded to include the provision of logistical support, particularly military training and personnel reinforcement, by the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF).3Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 326-327, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2014/). There were reports of the RDF conscripting soldiers into the M23 in 2012 and 2013, and cases in which government officials (including the director of the Rwandan Demobilization and Reintegration Commission) forcibly recruited recently demobilized child soldiers from rehabilitation centers into the M23.4Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 326, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2014/index.htm).; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 312 and 314, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/210741.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/). There were no reports of these activities continuing in the years immediately following M23’s military defeat in November 2013, and Rwanda was subsequently removed from the CSPA list in 2015.5Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 327, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2014/).
Rwanda reappeared on the 2016 CSPA list following reports that Rwandan security forces facilitated or tolerated the recruitment activities of Burundian opposition groups that recruited child soldiers, as well as reports that it provided these groups with training. In 2015, Burundian refugees, including at least three children, residing in Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda were recruited into nonstate armed groups supporting the Burundian opposition; Rwandan security forces tasked with protecting the camp population reportedly facilitated or tolerated the recruitment activity, including by threatening and physically assaulting those who refused recruitment attempts. Refugees also reported that Rwandan military personnel provided weapons training to Burundian recruits, some of whom were children. 6Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2016 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 318, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/258876.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2016/). There were no reports of these activities continuing in 2016, and Rwanda was removed from that year’s CSPA list.7Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2017, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/271344.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2017-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda/).
From 2013 to 2016, Rwanda took several steps to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers by government and government-backed forces. For example, the Rwandan government continued its victim protection efforts, including by providing psycho-social support, education, and reintegration services to former child soldiers, in part to prevent their re-recruitment.8Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2017, pp. 339, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/271344.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2017-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda/). It passed and implemented a national anti-trafficking action plan from 2014 to 2016, and increased government spending on anti-trafficking programs the following year.9Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2015 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 291, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/245365.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/). However, despite a history of quality care for former child soldiers, in 2012 and 2013 the Rwandan government denied re-entry into Rwanda to some demobilized M23 combatants of Rwandan nationality and did not provide reintegration assistance to repatriated M23 members.10Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 (Country Narratives: N-S (PDF)), pp. 327, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2014/). Further, though complicity in trafficking crimes reportedly ceased by the end of 2015, the government conducted only limited investigations of officials associated with child soldiering and only administratively disciplined some perpetrators.11Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2016, pp. 318, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/258876.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2016/).
Rwanda reappeared on the CSPA list in 2023 and has remained listed due to its provision of material support to and coordination with M23, which has forcibly recruited and used child soldiers in combat and support roles as the conflict in the DRC has escalated.12Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda. During the reporting period of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report (April 2024 to March 2025), Rwandan officials also purportedly recruited children from Rwandan refugee camps for use by M23 in combat and support roles in eastern DRC.13Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Rwanda – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/rwanda.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
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.
