The US must do more to end the use of child soldiers — here’s how

The United Nations treaty banning the use of child soldiers entered into force 22 years ago .

The U.S. is uniquely well-positioned to reverse this worrying trend and revitalize global child soldier prevention efforts.

The 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act ( CSPA ) creates a framework for restricting arms sales to countries whose security forces or government-supported armed groups recruited or used child soldiers during the previous year .

Ryan Fletcher is a research associate at the Stimson Center , a nonpartisan research center located in Washington , D.C. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..