IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILD SOLDIERS PREVENTION ACT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 121328 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KWMN KMCA PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILD SOLDIERS PREVENTION ACT REF: (A) STATE 5577 STATE 00121328 001.2 OF 003 -------------- SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST -------------- 1.(U) This is an information message for all posts and an action message (see paras 7-9) for specified posts. The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) of 2008 requires publication in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report of a list of foreign governments that have armed forces or support non- governmental armed groups that recruit and use child soldiers, as defined in the Act. Governments on the list are, in the fiscal year following the publication of the list, subject to restrictions on a broad range of military assistance and commercial sales of military equipment, but the CSPA allows for a Presidential national interest waiver and reinstatement of assistance under certain conditions, as well as an exception for IMET and non-lethal supplies when the President certifies certain conditions are met. The Department and posts must prepare to issue the first list in the June 2010 TIP Report. Posts in countries where the Human Rights Report or the Trafficking in Persons Report has reported an existing problem with child soldiering as defined in para 2 (see para 7) are requested to inform their host government of the CSPA's provisions and its impending implementation using demarche points found in para 9. Only countries determined to be supporting child soldiering through 2010 reporting will be placed on the list and may be subject to sanctions, but posts in countries with any child soldering activities (government sponsored or non-government sponsored) will be required to submit additional reporting for the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report. END SUMMARY -------------- CSPA DEFINITIONS AND PROVISIONS -------------- ¶2. (U) The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA),Title IV of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-457),was signed into law on December 23, 2008 and, pursuant to its terms, became effective on June 21, 2009. The CSPA defined "child soldier" for the first time in U.S. law. According to the CSPA, the term "child soldier" means: (i) any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces; (ii) any person under 18 years of age who has been compulsorily recruited into governmental armed forces; (iii) any person under 15 years of age who has been voluntarily recruited into governmental armed forces; or (iv) any person under 18 years of age who has been recruited or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of the state. Please note that the term "child soldier" includes any person described in clauses (ii),(iii),or (iv) who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard, or sex slave. ¶3. (U) The CSPA requires the Secretary of State to publish an annual list in the TIP Report of governments that are identified as "having governmental armed forces or government- supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that recruit and use child soldiers." The first such list is required to be published in the 2010 TIP Report. No additional country narrative will accompany the list; instead the country narratives in the 2010 TIP Report and the February 2010 Human Rights Report will discuss the situations in various countries. ¶4. (U) The Department's determination of which governments will be included on the 2010 list will be based on information gathered from governments, international organizations, and NGOs on foreign governments' use of child soldiers in state armed forces or state-supported armed groups during the period January 2009 through March 2010. The Department will primarily gather this information through the same reporting channels used for the TIP Report and the Human Rights Report. Per additional reporting requirements listed in the CSPA, posts have already been asked for additional general reporting on this topic in the Human Rights Reports. In addition, posts that have previously reported an existing problem with the use or recruitment of child soldiers by state or state-sponsored armed forces will have additional reporting requirements as part of annual TIP reporting (see para. 7). Furthermore, STATE 00121328 002.2 OF 003 posts that have previously reported the use or recruitment of child soldiers by independent armed forces not associated with the government will also be subject to these reporting requirements to ensure that the geographic scope of reporting is sufficiently broad. ¶5. (U) The CSPA prohibits the following forms of assistance to governments that are identified in the list: International Military Education and Training (IMET),Foreign Military Financing (FMF),excess defense articles, section 1206 assistance, and the issuance of licenses for commercial sales of military equipment. Prohibition of these types of assistance will be applicable to the first list of countries which will be published in the June 2010 TIP Report, with restrictions effective for FY2011 (beginning October 1, 2010). (NOTE: Discussion of the child soldiers issue in the annual Human Rights Report does not in and of itself trigger sanctions. While the Human Rights Reports could inform the process, often more detailed information will be needed for the Secretary to make the determination of which countries must be published in the TIP Report list. END NOTE) ¶6. (U) The CSPA allows the President to waive any sanctions under the Act when he determines it is in the national interest to do so. The President may also reinstate assistance upon certification that the country has (1) implemented measures that include an action plan and actual steps to stop government or government-supported use and recruitment of child soldiers and (2) has implemented policies and mechanisms to prevent future government or government- supported use of child soldiers and to ensure that no children are recruited, conscripted, or otherwise compelled to serve as child soldiers. Finally, the CSPA provides an exception to the sanctions for programs directly related to addressing the problem of child soldiers or professionalization of the military, under certain conditions that must be certified by the President. The exception cannot remain in effect for more than 5 years; however, there is no time limit on the President's ability to waive CSPA sanctions. The logistics for undertaking this waiver process have yet to be put into place. -------------- IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CSPA -------------- ¶7. (U) Action Request: Posts in countries affected by child soldiering are requested to inform their host government of the CSPA's provisions and impending implementation. The following countries have been the subject of allegations regarding child soldiering (by government forces, government- linked militias, or independent militias) in the TIP Report, the Human Rights Report, or both: Afghanistan, Burma, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, India, Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. ¶8. ACTION REQUEST CONT'D: Posts in countries specified in para 6 are requested to begin preparing for specific reporting requirements to support the Department's compliance with the CSPA. Posts will be required to report specific information on the nature of the child soldiering problem impacting their country in their annual TIP Report submission due to G/TIP no later than February 15, 2010. To facilitate the necessary information gathering, specific questions regarding this issue will be included in the annual ALDAC containing instructions for preparing post's TIP Report submission, which will be transmitted in December 2009. Of particular importance will be information on whether the government's armed forces or government-supported armed groups recruit or use child soldiers (as defined in para 2),as well as the nature of the support the armed group(s) receives from the government. Where possible, information regarding age ranges of children recruited or used in different ways should be reported. Any information on the government's efforts, if any, to end and prevent future child soldiering, including demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs should be included. Posts may address specific questions regarding the nature or collection of this information to G/TIP's Rachel Yousey at youseyrm@state.gov or (202) 312-9861. ¶9. If the Human Rights Report or the Trafficking in Persons Report has cited host government's use of child soldiers by its armed forces or government-linked militias, or if Post has reason to believe that the government's armed forces or government-linked militias are now using child soldiers, Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer technical and legal background on Child Soldiers Prevention Act, to the host government as a non-paper: (begin non-paper) STATE 00121328 003.2 OF 003 -- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report, the "TIP Report", to Congress each June. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against human trafficking. -- Recent amendments to the TVPA, which were enacted on December 23, 2008, include the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA). This Act requires the Secretary of State to publish an annual list in the TIP Report of governments that are identified as "having governmental armed forces or government-supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that recruit and use child soldiers." The first such list is required to be published in the 2010 TIP Report. -- The CSPA, defines the term "child soldier" as: (i) any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces; (ii) any person under 18 years of age who has been compulsorily recruited into governmental armed forces; (iii) any person under 15 years of age who has been voluntarily recruited into governmental armed forces; or (iv) any person under 18 years of age who has been recruited or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of the state. Please note that the term "child soldier" includes any person described in clauses (ii),(iii),or (iv) who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard, or sex slave. -- A country's inclusion in the list published in the June 2010 Trafficking in Persons report will be based on information gathered on a foreign governments' use or recruitment of child soldiers as defined above either by state armed forces or by state-supported armed groups. -- Governments on the list are, starting in the fiscal year following publication of the list (so beginning October 1, 2010),subject to sanctions on a broad range of military assistance and commercial sales of military equipment. The CSPA, however, allows the President to waive any sanctions under the Act when he determines it is in the national interest to do so; allows for reinstatement of assistance under certain conditions, namely if a government has implemented measures that include an action plan and implemented measures and policies to prevent future recruitment or use of child soldiers; and the CSPA also provides an exception for programs directly related to addressing child soldier issues or professionalization of the military if the recipient government is taking reasonable steps to demobilize child soldiers in its forces or in government-supported armed groups and is taking reasonable steps within its resources to prove demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration assistance to those former child soldiers. -- Your country has been impacted by child soldiering. If information exists indicating your government currently recruits and uses children in its armed forces (as defined by the CSPA) and/or supports armed groups who do so, your country may be included in the June 2010 TIP Report's list. -- We welcome discussion of this issue and encourage your government to take additional steps to end the problem of child soldiering by demobilizing any remaining children from your armed forces and/or immediately ceasing support of armed groups that recruit or use children for participation in hostilities or for provision of other services in support of an armed force, including sexual services. (Note to posts: Post may modify this text to ensure relevance to the situation in host country. End note.) -- We stand ready to further assist you in resolving once and for all the grave problem of the use of child soldiers. (end non-paper) ¶10. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the preceding action requests. ¶11. Minimize considered. CLINTON