MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Child Soldier Prevention Act is a US federal statute adopted in 2008, aiming to prevent US military support for countries using children warriors.
"US President Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will allow several governments that recruit and use child soldiers to continue receiving US military assistance – aid that is supposedly subject to child soldier-related restrictions. The decision wasn’t unexpected. After all, it’s what he has done during his entire two terms in office," the Human Rights Watch said.
The group noted that Obama had decided to impose no restrictions on military cooperation with Iraq, Myanmar and Nigeria.
"That means Iraq, where Human Rights Watch has documented child recruitment by government-backed militia groups, will likely receive billions of dollars in arms and military assistance that could be subject to child soldier restrictions next year, with no strings attached," the watchdog stated, adding that a similar message has been sent to Myanmar and Nigeria.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan and Rwanda can get US military training and peacekeeping support but not military financing and arms sales despite alarming situation with using children in military purposes, the activists recalled.
"During President Obama’s tenure in office, the number of governments using child soldiers has grown from six to ten. That’s a terrible legacy," the group emphasized.
