It is an ongoing and persistent problem. It is a violation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. which 110 countries. including the U.S.. have ratified. to recruit or use child soldiers under the age of 18. But such actions do not currently violate U.S. criminal or immigration law. We are thus hindered in our ability to prevent those who use or recruit child soldiers from coming to our country. and we are unable to punish those perpetrators who make it here. In contrast. other grave human rights violations. including torture. are punishable under U.S. criminal and immigration law. The Child Soldier Accountability Act of 2008 would correct this disparity by making it a Federal crime and violation of immigration laws to recruit or use child soldiers under the age of 15. This bipartisan legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Senators DICK DURBIN and TOM COBURN. the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. They worked together on this bill to ensure that war criminals who would exploit children cannot find safe haven in our country.
Keywords matched
immigration