Last week, on October 3, 2008, President Bush signed the Child Soldiers Accountability Act into law. The Act “makes it a federal crime to recruit knowingly or to use soldiers under the age of 15 and permits the United States to prosecute any individual on US soil for the offense, even if the children were recruited or served as soldiers outside the United States.”

Introduced on Oct 3, 2007 by Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, was unanimously adopted by both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate in September 2008. In a statement Senator Durbin said:

"The United States must not be a safe haven for those who exploit children as soldiers. The use of children as combatants is one of the most despicable human rights violations in the world today and affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who are used as combatants, porters, human mine detectors and sex slaves. The power to prosecute and punish those who violate the law will send a clear signal that the U.S. will in no way tolerate this abhorrent practice."

Under the law the criminalization of the recruitment and, or, use of child soldiers allows the US the ability to arrest and prosecute, as well as deny entry into the country, or to deport individuals who are engaged in such activities.  The law, while long over due is a start to putting the much needed pressure on some 30 countries that are now in violation of the act.  However the law while a great step in ending the long running impunity of such crimes against children, is only one step on a long road to end the lingering suffering and instablity that the use of children as weapons of war has caused.  One can only hope that the new US law will now be put into action off the paper and congressional floor. 

Laws are needed, but one cannot fail to miss the needs of the child soldier in this fight.  Saddly programs for child soldiers are too few, and overstreached, thus we must also look to provide sustainable programs which also work for demobilization and to reintergrate former child soldiers. 

This photo-ad by Amnesty International tells the story that words cannot begin to tell on behalf of some 300,000 child soldiers across the globe. The child soldier desires the same as the child who you see playing outside your window…they are merely boys and girls who desire to laugh and play, they dream of nothing more than a childhood!

For more information on child soldiers please see Child Soldiers Links and Related Resources and my previous posts on Child Soldiers here.

Related Links:
In Support of the “The Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2007″; Hearing in the US House Judiciary Subcommittee
US: Congress Acts to Prosecute Recruiters of Child Soldiers