VZCZCXRO7637
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHC #1328/01 3282304
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 242258Z NOV 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI IMMEDIATE 1108
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY IMMEDIATE 2506

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