Passed in 2008, the Child Soldier Prevention Act (CSPA) is meant to curtail U.S. military assistance to governments that recruit and use children into their armed forces or government-supported militias.
However, through a loophole in the law, the Obama Administration continuously fails to implement the CSPA as Congress intended, opting to issue waivers to countries rather than hold them accountable.
In July, the U.S. State Department found that eight countries were actively recruiting or using children in their national militaries. According to the list released by the White House, four of these countries will receive a waiver this year .
Over the last five years nearly a billion dollars of U.S. taxpayer money has gone to countries that use of children as weapons of war.