Skip to content
Abel News NG

Abel News NG

Latest news

Primary Menu
  • LATEST NEWS
  • Aviation
  • Airlines
  • Business
  • News
  • Hospitality
  • Politics
  • ABOUT US
  • Home
  • 2016
  • June
  • 30
  • HRW Asks Obama To Stop Nigeria, Somalia, Others From Using Child Soldiers
  • LATEST NEWS

HRW Asks Obama To Stop Nigeria, Somalia, Others From Using Child Soldiers

admin June 30, 2016 3 min read

Pix Source: www.jantakareporter.com

…AS State Department Releases List Of 10 Countries Implicated

Human Rights Watch today asked the President Barack Obama led administration to require foreign governments such as that of Nigeria, Iraq, Somalia and others receiving United States military aid to immediately end their use of child soldiers.
This is just as the US State Department issued a new list of countries implicated in the use of child soldiers as part of its annual Trafficking in Persons report.
The list of 10 countries includes Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act prohibits certain forms of US military assistance to countries that either use child soldiers in their national armed forces or support militias or paramilitaries that recruit and use child soldiers and the president can waive the prohibition for national security reasons.
Since the law went into effect in 2010, the Obama administration has issued such waivers in 26 of 33 cases, allowing governments using child soldiers to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in US military aid.
Speaking on the development, the Children’s Rights Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, Jo Becker, said, “Many of the governments listed by the State Department receive US military aid year after year despite their continued use of children as soldiers. President Obama should make clear that countries using child soldiers are going to lose US military support.”

He stated that President Obama must decide by the end of September whether to waive the law’s military sanctions for any of the listed governments for fiscal year 2017.
Iraq was added to the list for the first time this year because the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a government-recognised paramilitary force under the Prime Minister’s command, has recruited children as young as 11 to fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
Human Rights Watch has documented that children as young as 15 have been killed while fighting with one of the militia forces making up the Popular Mobilisation Forces.
Nigeria was included for the second year in a row, based on the use of child soldiers by the Civilian Joint Task Force, a government-allied force used to fight the armed group Boko Haram.
Rwanda, which had been included in 2013 and 2014 but removed in 2015, reappeared after officials recruited child soldiers from a refugee camp.
The other countries have been included for at least four years in a row and that several countries such as Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen have been named every year since the list was first published in 2010.
Afghanistan was omitted from this year’s list, despite evidence that the Afghan Local Police, a government-backed militia engaged in combat operations against the Taliban and other insurgents, recruits and uses children as soldiers.
According to Becker, “The United States has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to support an Afghan militia that recruits and uses children to fight the Taliban. Afghanistan should also be on this list and subject to military sanctions.”
Afghanistan was excluded because the State Department determined that the Afghan Local Police fell into a gray area not covered by the Child Soldiers Prevention Act.
But that decision appears contrary to the plain meaning of the law, Human Rights Watch said.
The law covers “governmental armed forces or government-supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that recruit and use child soldiers.” The Afghan Local Police was established under the Afghan interior minister by presidential decree in August 2010, and according to the US Defense Department, is an “integral part” of the Afghanistan security forces.
“There’s no gray area concerning children and the Afghan Local Police. The Afghan government has failed to rein in the militia’s recruitment of children while the US turns a blind eye.” Becker said.
Human Rights Watch said that in 2015, President Obama gave full or partial waivers to four of the five countries listed that were scheduled recipients of US military aid, adding that withholding at least a portion of US military aid would provide foreign governments with an incentive to curb child recruitment.
According to Becker, “President Obama should take a much harder line, and insist that countries that receive US military aid end their use of child soldiers. Unconditional military aid sends a terrible message that the US knowingly supports countries that use children to fight.”

admin

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: Visa Reforms Will Encourage Foreign Direct Investment—NIS Boss
Next: NDLEA Quizzes South Africa Based Evangelist Over 165kgs of Drugs

Related Stories

Runsewe Mourns Dokpesi, Extols His Virtues
1 min read
  • LATEST NEWS

Runsewe Mourns Dokpesi, Extols His Virtues

May 30, 2023
Obaseki Celebrates Osimhen, Alegeh, Omogiafo, Others For Winning National Awards
2 min read
  • LATEST NEWS

Obaseki Celebrates Osimhen, Alegeh, Omogiafo, Others For Winning National Awards

May 30, 2023
Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola  Is New NIS Acting CGI
1 min read
  • LATEST NEWS

Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola  Is New NIS Acting CGI

May 30, 2023

Recent Posts

  • United Nigeria Airlines  Aircraft With 50 Passengers Skid Off Lagos Airport Runway
  • Ahon’s Appointment By Delta Governor A Testimony To Excellence–JIFORM President
  • NAPTIP Sacks  Deputy Director, 4 Officers For Serious Misconduct
  • Runsewe Mourns Dokpesi, Extols His Virtues
  • Obaseki Celebrates Osimhen, Alegeh, Omogiafo, Others For Winning National Awards

Recent Comments

  1. israelnightclub.com on Nigeria Immigration Service  A Major Investment Driver Of The Country  By James Sunday
  2. Abel Orukpe on FAAN To Constitute Task Force To Curb Activities Of Miscreants At MMIA
  3. Shinaba Abiodun on FAAN To Constitute Task Force To Curb Activities Of Miscreants At MMIA
  4. Nanji Tyem on FG Grants Tax Reliefs To TStv Africa
  5. Margaret on Disaster Looms In Aguda As Developer Begins Sand Filling Of Major Canal

Archives

  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • January 2015
  • July 2012
  • July 2011
  • February 2011
  • July 2010
  • February 2009

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Airlines
  • Android
  • Appointment
  • Aviation
  • Award
  • BlackBerry
  • Business
  • Community News
  • Contact us
  • Crime
  • Culture
  • Design
  • Editorial
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Event
  • Feature
  • Health
  • Health
  • Healthe
  • Hospitality
  • International News
  • Interviews
  • iPhone
  • Judiciary
  • LATEST NEWS
  • Letter
  • Migration
  • News
  • News In Picture
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Presentation
  • Religion
  • Security
  • Slider
  • Speech
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Transport
  • Travelogue
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • World

You may have missed

United Nigeria Airlines  Aircraft With 50 Passengers Skid Off Lagos Airport Runway
1 min read
  • Airlines

United Nigeria Airlines  Aircraft With 50 Passengers Skid Off Lagos Airport Runway

May 31, 2023
Ahon’s Appointment By Delta Governor A Testimony To Excellence–JIFORM President
1 min read
  • Uncategorized

Ahon’s Appointment By Delta Governor A Testimony To Excellence–JIFORM President

May 31, 2023
NAPTIP Sacks  Deputy Director, 4 Officers For Serious Misconduct
2 min read
  • Crime

NAPTIP Sacks  Deputy Director, 4 Officers For Serious Misconduct

May 31, 2023
Runsewe Mourns Dokpesi, Extols His Virtues
1 min read
  • LATEST NEWS

Runsewe Mourns Dokpesi, Extols His Virtues

May 30, 2023
Copyright © All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.