US adds Pakistan, Turkey to list of countries implicated in use of child soldiers

A US army soldier stands guard in a street during a mission as a boy walks by in Torkham on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on October 2, 2011. (AFP/File)

• This is the first time Pakistan has been put on the list, others include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen
• Governments placed on listing subject to restrictions on security assistance, commercial licensing of military equipment

ISLAMABAD: The United States has added Pakistan to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year, in a move that could lead to sanctions on military aid and a block on Islamabad participating in peacekeeping programs.
The US State Department said in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) that Pakistan was among foreign governments identified during April 2020 to March 2021 that had “governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces, or government-supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers, as defined in the Child Soldiers Prevention Act.”
There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan on the move. This is the first time Pakistan has been put on the list. Other countries on this year’s list include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Turkey and Yemen.
“Governments identified on the list are subject to restrictions, in the following fiscal year, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment,” the state department said. “The CSPA prohibits assistance to governments that are identified in the list under the following authorities: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defense Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations, with exceptions for some programs undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority.”
The CSPA also prohibits the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to such governments.
“Beginning October 1, 2021, and effective throughout Fiscal Year 2022, these restrictions will apply to the listed countries, absent a presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance pursuant to the terms of the CSPA,” the State Department said.
Commenting on Turkey, the State Department said Turkey was providing “tangible support” to the Sultan Murad division in Syria, a faction of Syrian opposition that Ankara has long supported and a group that Washington said recruited and used child soldiers.
“With respect to Turkey in particular...this is the first time a NATO member has been listed in the child soldier prevention act list,” a State Department official said. “As a respected regional leader and member of NATO, Turkey has the opportunity to address this issue — the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Syria and Libya.”