On Friday, October 3, 2008, President Bush signed into law The Child Soldiers Accountability Act, a law which makes it a federal crime prosecutable in the US for anyone to recruit and use sldiers under the age of fifteen regardless of where in the world it happens.
Here's the disturbing news:
Children are currently used in armed conflicts in at least 17 countries. Countries and territories in which children are known to have been used in hostilities between 2004 and 2007 include: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and Uganda. Between 2001 and 2004, child soldiers were also used in Angola, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Iran, and Yemen.
The bill was passed unanimously by both houses last month. That's certainly heartening news. Perhaps now that there is bipartisan recognition of the value of universal jurisdiction, they can put aside the baseless criticism and the next president can sign and the senate can ratify the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court and rescind the American Service-Members' Protection Act.
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