The Child Soldier Prevention act was introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sam Brownback (R-KS). Its goal is to prevent governments and government sponsored militias from recruiting or using child soldiers. Governments that are in violation of this act will only be eligible for military assistance to address the problem. The reason for this act is that the U.S. should not be providing assistance to countries that is used, in part, for the exploitation of children in armed conflict. A copy of the bill is listed below. For more information, go here:
Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and to condemn the conscription, forced recruitment or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities;
To end the use of child soldiers in hostilities around the world, and to condemn the conscription, forced recruitment or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations in hostilities;
It is the sense of Congress--
(1) that the United States Government should support and, where practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end this abuse of human rights;
(2) that the United States Government should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their communities--
(3) that the United States should work with the international community, including, where appropriate, third country governments, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, United Nations agencies, local governments, labor unions, and private enterprise-(4) that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Defense should coordinate programs to achieve the goals specified in paragraph
(5), and in countries where the use of child soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is supported or sanctioned by the governments of such countries, United States diplomatic missions should include in their mission program plans a strategy to achieve the goals specified in such paragraph;
(6) that 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 this abuse of human rights; and
(7) that, in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to promote the end to this abuse of human rights.
(2) that the United States Government should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to reintegrate them back into their communities--
(3) that the United States should work with the international community, including, where appropriate, third country governments, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, United Nations agencies, local governments, labor unions, and private enterprise-(4) that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Defense should coordinate programs to achieve the goals specified in paragraph
(5), and in countries where the use of child soldiers is an issue, whether or not it is supported or sanctioned by the governments of such countries, United States diplomatic missions should include in their mission program plans a strategy to achieve the goals specified in such paragraph;
(6) that 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 this abuse of human rights; and
(7) that, in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or recommending candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to promote the end to this abuse of human rights.
To ask your members of Congress to support the act, go to:
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