Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2006

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)According to the September 7, 2005, report to the United Nations General Assembly by the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, “In the last decade, two million children have been killed in situations of armed conflict, while six million children have been permanently disabled or injured. Over 250,000 children continue to be exploited as child soldiers and tens of thousands of girls are being subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.”. (2)According to the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO), Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, “The Child Soldier Phenomenon has become a post-Cold War epidemic that has proliferated to every continent with the exception of Antarctica and Australia.”. (3)Many of the children currently serving in armed forces or paramilitaries were forcibly conscripted through kidnapping or coercion, while others joined military units due to economic necessity, to avenge the loss of a family member, or for their own personal safety. (4)Some military and militia commanders force child soldiers to commit gruesome acts of ritual killings or torture, including acts of violence, against other children. (5)Many female child soldiers face the additional psychological and physical horrors of rape and sexual abuse, enslavement for sexual purposes by militia commanders, and severe social stigma should they return home. (6)Some military and militia commanders target children for recruitment because of their psychological immaturity and vulnerability to manipulation and indoctrination. Children are often separated from their families in order to foster dependence on military units and leaders. Consequently, many of these children suffer from deep trauma and are in need of psychological counseling and rehabilitation. (7)Child soldiers are exposed to hazardous conditions and are at risk of physical injury and disability, psychological trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, respiratory and skin infections, and often death. (8)On May 25, 2000, the United Nations adopted and opened for signature, ratification, and accession the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which establishes 18 as the minimum age for conscription, forced recruitment, or direct participation in hostilities. (9)On June 18, 2002, the Senate unanimously approved the resolution advising and consenting to the ratification of the Optional Protocol. (10)On December 23, 2002, the United States presented the ratified optional protocol to the United Nations. (11)One hundred and six governments worldwide have ratified the optional protocol, establishing a clear international norm prohibiting the use of children in combat. (12)It is in the national and security interests of the United States to reduce the chances that members of the United States Armed Forces will be forced to encounter children in combat situations. (13)Section 502B(a)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(3)) provides that the President is directed to formulate and conduct international security assistance programs of the United States in a manner which will promote and advance human rights and avoid identification of the United States, through such programs, with governments which deny to their people internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, in violation of international law or in contravention of the policy of the United States as expressed in this section or otherwise..

Child soldier defined

In this Act, the term child soldier means— (1)any person under the age of 18 years old who is— (A)forcibly recruited or conscripted— (i)to serve in any type of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including in a support role such as cook, porter, or messenger; or (ii)to accompany such a force or group, other than as a direct family member; or (B)serving in hostilities as part of a regular armed force or armed group; and (2)any person under the age of 16 years old serving in any capacity as part of a regular or irregular armed force or armed group.

Statement of Congress; Sense of Congress

(a)

Statement of Congress

Congress condemns the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities. (b)

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1)the United States should support and, where practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities; (2)the United States should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their communities by— (A)offering ongoing psychological services to help victims recover from their trauma and relearn how to deal with others in nonviolent ways such that they are no longer a danger to their community; and (B)facilitating reconciliation with their communities through negotiations with traditional leaders and elders to enable recovered abductees to resume normal lives in their communities; (3)the United States should work with the international community on efforts to bring to justice rebel organizations that kidnap children for use as child soldiers, such as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), including through regional cooperation, where feasible, to arrest the leaders of such groups and recover those children who have been abducted; (4)United States diplomatic missions in countries in which governments use or tolerate child soldiers should develop, as part of annual program planning, strategies to promote efforts to end the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities; and (5)in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to promote the end to the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities.

Prohibition

(a)

In general

Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d), none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available for international military education and training, foreign military financing, foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, or excess defense articles by the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–102) or any other Act making appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs may be obligated or otherwise made available to the government of a country that is clearly identified by the Department of State in the Department of State’s most recent Country Reports on Human Rights Practices as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that recruit or use child soldiers. (b)

Notification to countries in violation of the standards of this Act

Not later than March 15 of each year, the Secretary of State shall formally notify any government identified pursuant to subsection (a). (c)

National interest waiver

(1)

Waiver

The President may waive the application to a country of the prohibition described in subsection (a) if the President determines that such waiver is in the national interest of the United States. (2)

Publication and notification

The President shall publish in the Federal Register each waiver granted under paragraph (1) and shall notify the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate of each such waiver, including the justification for such waiver, in accordance with the regular notification procedures of such Committees. (d)

Reinstatement of assistance

The President may provide to a country assistance otherwise prohibited under subsection (a) upon the submission of a certification to Congress that the government of such country— (1)is implementing effective measures to come into compliance with the standards of this Act; and (2)is implementing effective policies and mechanisms to prohibit and prevent future placement of children in combat roles and to ensure that no children are recruited before the age of 16 years old or forcibly recruited or conscripted before the age of 18 years old. (e)

Exception for programs directly related to addressing the problem of child soldiers

(1)

In general

The President may provide to a country assistance for international military education and training otherwise prohibited under subsection (a) upon certifying to Congress that the assistance provided by the United States Government to the government of such country will go to programs that will directly support addressing the problem of child soldiers. (2)

Limitation

The exception under paragraph (1) may not remain in effect for more than two years after the date of notification under subsection (b).

Role of Under Secretary for Democracy and Global affairs as lead on child soldier issues

(a)

In general

The Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs shall coordinate United States policy on child soldier issues, including by performing the following functions: (1)Serving as a principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State regarding matters affecting the use of child soldiers, including making recommendations regarding— (A)the policies of the United States toward governments that use child soldiers; and (B)policies to promote the end to the use of child soldiers in conflicts around the world. (2)Preparing and submitting the reports required under section 7 and 8.

Reports

(a)

Preparation of reports regarding child soldiers

The Secretary of State shall ensure that United States missions abroad maintain a consistent reporting standard and thoroughly investigate reports of the use of child soldiers. (b)

Information for annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

The Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs shall assist the Secretary of State in preparing those portions of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (prepared in accordance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n and 2304(b))) that relate to child soldiers and assure that such reports shall include a description of the use of child soldiers in each foreign country, including— (1)trends toward improvement in such country of the status of child soldiers or the continued or increased tolerance of such practices; and (2)the role of the government of such country in engaging in or tolerating the use of child soldiers. (c)

Inclusion of information on violations

If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, determines that the government of a country or a regular or irregular armed force or armed group in such country has violated the standards of this Act, the Secretary shall clearly indicate that fact in the relevant annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. (d)

Annual reports to Congress

Not later than June 15 of each year, the President shall submit to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate— (1)a list of the governments receiving notification that they are in violation of the standards of this Act; (2)a list of any waivers or exceptions exercised under this Act; (3)justification for those waivers and exceptions; and (4)a description of any assistance provided pursuant to this Act.

Report on implementation of Act

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report setting forth a strategy for achieving the policy objectives of this Act, including a description of an effective mechanism for coordination of United States efforts to implement this strategy.

Training for foreign service officers

Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(c)The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the standard training provided after January 1, 2007, for members of the Service instruction on the rights of child soldiers.

10.

Effective date; applicability

This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to funds obligated after such effective date.