- 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.
Türkiye has appeared on the CSPA list in 2021, 2023, and 2024. 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 Türkiye each year it was listed, resulting in the provision of over $312 million in arms sales and military assistance between FY2022 and FY2025. Specifically, the president has waived over $2.9 million in International Military Education and Training and more than $309 million in Direct Commercial Sales. The president has never denied Türkiye arms sales or military assistance due to CSPA prohibitions.
According to the U.S. State Department, the Turkish government has and continues to provide operational, equipment, and financial support to elements of an armed opposition group that recruit and use child soldiers.1The State Department has reported the provision of support by the government of Turkey to groups that recruited and used child soldiers in its 2021 (pp. 563-565), 2023, and 2024 Trafficking in Persons reports. In justifying Türkiye’s 2021 CSPA waiver, the president specified that one such group was the Sultan Murad Division, and the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report named the umbrella group of the Syrian National Army (SNA).2
Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 619, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/22-00757-TIP-REPORT_072822-inaccessible.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/).; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024,
https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/. The SNA was established in 2017 to lead Türkiye’s counterterror missions in Syria; the Sultan Murad Brigade has been affiliated with the SNA as a subjacent faction.3European Union Agency for Asylum. “1.3. Anti-government armed groups,” in Country Guidance: Syria, https://euaa.europa.eu/country-guidance-syria/13-anti-government-armed-groups. Of the 820 children reportedly recruited and used in the Syrian conflict in 2020, 191 cases were attributed to Turkish-supported armed opposition groups.4Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 564, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/). Turkish support for these groups was ongoing as recently as April 2023 through March 2024, the reporting period for the 2024 CSPA list.5Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/.
The Turkish government has worked to identify trafficking victims, including child soldiers. In 2021 the government identified 349 trafficking victims (an increase compared to 2019 and 2020), including 14 child soldiers.6Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey – Protection,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 554-555, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/). The government also supported former child soldiers and successfully reintegrated 14 victims during the reporting period for the 2022 CSPA list.7Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Turkey – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 554, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/turkey/). In June 2024 the SNA signed a UN Action Plan to cease child soldier recruitment and use.8Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. “The opposition Syrian National Army… Sign Action Plan,” 5 June 2024, https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2024/06/the-opposition-syrian-national-army-including-ahrar-al-sham-and-army-of-islam-and-their-aligned-legions-and-factions-sign-action-plan-to-end-and-prevent-the-recruitment-and-use-and-killing-and-maim/#:~:text=New%20York%2C%20June%203rd%2C%202024,as%20per%20Security%20Council%20Resolution.
Since 2021, U.S. presidents have been required to include justifications for CSPA waivers that were issued during the previous year in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Türkiye’s 2021 waiver justification maintained that “[m]ilitary assistance as well as the issuance of export licenses for Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) of military equipment to the Government of Türkiye, are crucial to maintaining cooperation with Türkiye that advance U.S. interests and strengthen the NATO alliance.”9Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 619, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/). Similar language was used in the 2023 waiver justification.10Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
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.
