Pakistan, along with 14 other countries listed in Child Soldiers Prevention Act: US

The United States has added Pakistan, along with 14 other countries, to a list of Child Soldiers Prevention Act-designated armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers, a classification that might result in limits on certain military aid and commercial weapon licencing.

The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) mandates the publication of a list of foreign countries that recruited or utilised child soldiers in the preceding year in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report (1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021).

Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen have all been put to the US State Department's yearly TIP list.

As per the State Department, the governments listed will face restrictions on certain security assistance and commercial licencing of military equipment in the coming fiscal year.

The term "child soldier" refers to any person under the age of 18 who actively participates in hostilities or has been compelled to join the military forces, police, or other security forces of the government.

Notably, it includes anyone under the age of 15 who has been deliberately recruited into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces. And, anyone under the age of 18 who has been recruited or utilised in conflicts by armed forces distinct from the state's armed forces.

Also, it encompasses any such individual who is serving in any position, such as a cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard, or sex slave.

Moreover, the CSPA forbids assistance to governments recognised in the list under the following authorities: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defense Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations, with some exceptions for programmes undertaken under the Peacekeeping Operations authority.

Further, it forbids the provision of permits to such governments for direct commercial sales of military equipment.

Reportedly, these restrictions will apply to the following nations beginning 1st October, 2021, and will remain in place throughout the fiscal year 2022, unless a presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance is granted under the terms of the CSPA.

The decision to get a government on the CSPA list is based on a variety of sources, which includes – first observation by US government personnel, research and credible reporting from various UN entities, international organisations, local and international NGOs, and international and domestic media outlets.