- Updated October 2, 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.
Syria has appeared on the CSPA list for thirteen consecutive years beginning in 2013. Between 2013 and 2024 the U.S. president 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 National Security Engagement Assistance between FY2016 and FY2017.1These calculations are based upon publicly available data. See the ‘Methodology’ page for an in-depth review of the Tracker’s methodology and sources. The U.S. president partially waived CSPA prohibitions in 2025 (impacting assistance in FY2026), but no data on FY2026 arms sales and military assistance has yet been publicly released.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
According to the U.S. State Department, Bashar al-Assad’s government forces used children in combat and support roles from 2013 through to Assad’s ouster in December 2024.2The State Department has reported the use or recruitment of child soldiers by the Syrian government in its 2013 (pp. 351), 2014 (pp. 367), 2015 (pp. 324), 2016 (pp. 357), 2017, 2018 (pp. 405), 2019, 2020 (pp. 472), 2021 (pp. 531), 2022 (pp. 525), 2023, and 2024 Trafficking in Persons reports. Armed groups fighting for the Syrian government, including Hezbollah and other as pro-regime militias such as the National Defense Forces (NDF), forcibly recruited children as young as six years old, including in combat roles.3Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Syria – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 526-527, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/). As of its December 2024 collapse, the Assad 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.4Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Syria,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Syria,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/.
The U.S. government officially recognized the Syrian Interim Authorities as the government of Syria in May 2025. The 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report reported that “[n]o information was available on the Syrian Interim Authorities’” efforts on human trafficking.5Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Syria,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/. Ahmed al-Sharaa, current president of the Syrian transitional government, was the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from 2017 to 2025, a group which recruited child soldiers and used children as human shields, suicide bombers, snipers, and executioners.6Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Syria – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/syria/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Further information on the situation in Syria can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict and country-specific reports on Syria.
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.
