- Updated January 15, 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 twelve 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 in FY2016 and FY2017.
According to the U.S. State Department, Syrian government forces and pro-government militias have used children in combat and support roles from 2013 through March 2024.1The 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. 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 recruited children as young as six years old, including in combat roles.2Government 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 March 2024, 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.3Government 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/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. More information on the situation in Syria can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s 2024 annual report on Children and Armed Conflict and country-specific reports 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.
