Timeline In addition to the above countries the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been added to the list as of July 2021.
Waivers and removals The CSPA bans the United States from providing military assistance or arms sales to governments that use children in combat, but the president may waive the application of the law for specific countries if it is deemed to be in the
national interest. On October 25, 2010, the first waivers were issued for the CSPA by President
Barack Obama, which were applied to
Chad, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Sudan, and
Yemen. In a memo sent to
Hillary Clinton, the
Secretary of State, Obama said it was in the
national interest of the United States to do so. The
military of Yemen was suspected of enlisting children as young as 15 and regional militias of enlisting children 14 and older. In Sudan, US military assistance was seen as critical in helping the
southern part of the country build military institutions in the event that it voted to secede in the
January 2011 referendum. According to
US National Security Council spokesperson
Tommy Vietor,
South Sudan was not penalized because it "wasn't a country during the reporting period [of the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report] and isn't subject to the CSPA." On September 28, 2012, Obama waived the application of the CSPA for
Libya, South Sudan, and Yemen, but only in part for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On September 30, 2013, waivers were issued for Chad, South Sudan, and Yemen, but only partial waivers for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Somalia. On September 30, 2014, Obama waived the application of the CSPA for
Rwanda, Somalia, and Yemen, but only waived in part for the
Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. On September 29, 2015, Obama waived the application of the CSPA for the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Nigeria, and Somalia, but only waived in part for South Sudan. On September 28, 2016, Obama waived the application of the law for
Iraq,
Myanmar, and Nigeria. The CSPA was waived in part for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to allow for provision of
International Military Education and Training and
Peacekeeping Operations assistance to build the country's military's capacity to counter the
Lord's Resistance Army and other armed groups. The memo, which was sent through the
Dissent Channel, was sent to
Brian Hook, the
Director of Policy Planning. On September 1, 2017, Hook responded to the memo by acknowledging that the three countries did use child soldiers but said it was necessary to distinguish between governments "making little or no effort to correct their child soldier violations...and those which are making sincere—if as yet incomplete—efforts." == See also ==