Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blocked the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on a U.S. list of countries that recruit child soldiers, dismissing his experts’ findings that a Saudi-led coalition has been using under-age fighters in Yemen’s civil war.
The decision drew immediate criticism from human rights activists who accuse Trump’s administration of prioritizing security and economic interests in relations with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, a major U.S. ally and arms customer.
State Department experts recommended adding Saudi Arabia to the soon-to-be released list based in part on news reports and human rights groups’ assessments that the desert kingdom has hired child fighters from Sudan to fight for the U.S.-backed coalition in Yemen, multiple sources said. The experts’ recommendation faced resistance from some other State Department officials.
A report by an independent group of experts to the U.N. Human Rights Council in August 2018 found that all sides in Yemen “conscripted or enlisted children into armed forces or groups and used them to participate actively in hostilities.”
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 requires the State Department to report annually on countries using child fighters, defined as “any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces.” Foreign militaries on the list cannot receive U.S. aid, training and weapons unless the president issues full or partial waivers of those sanctions based on “national interest.” Trump and his predecessors have done this in the past for countries with close security ties to the United States.
Sarah Margon, director of Human Right Watch’s Washington office, said: “This decision shows clearly that the Trump administration is using political manipulation and dismissing evidence – at the expense of kids – in order to protect Saudi Arabia.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-childsoldiers-exclusive/exclusive-overruling-his-experts-pompeo-keeps-saudis-off-u-s-child-soldiers-list-idUSKCN1TJ25H
The decision drew immediate criticism from human rights activists who accuse Trump’s administration of prioritizing security and economic interests in relations with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, a major U.S. ally and arms customer.
State Department experts recommended adding Saudi Arabia to the soon-to-be released list based in part on news reports and human rights groups’ assessments that the desert kingdom has hired child fighters from Sudan to fight for the U.S.-backed coalition in Yemen, multiple sources said. The experts’ recommendation faced resistance from some other State Department officials.
A report by an independent group of experts to the U.N. Human Rights Council in August 2018 found that all sides in Yemen “conscripted or enlisted children into armed forces or groups and used them to participate actively in hostilities.”
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 requires the State Department to report annually on countries using child fighters, defined as “any person under 18 years of age who takes a direct part in hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces.” Foreign militaries on the list cannot receive U.S. aid, training and weapons unless the president issues full or partial waivers of those sanctions based on “national interest.” Trump and his predecessors have done this in the past for countries with close security ties to the United States.
Sarah Margon, director of Human Right Watch’s Washington office, said: “This decision shows clearly that the Trump administration is using political manipulation and dismissing evidence – at the expense of kids – in order to protect Saudi Arabia.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-childsoldiers-exclusive/exclusive-overruling-his-experts-pompeo-keeps-saudis-off-u-s-child-soldiers-list-idUSKCN1TJ25H
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