NEW YORK, June 28 (UPI) -- Washington should withhold financial assistance from countries that continue to use child soldiers rather than simply chide them, Human Rights Watch said.
Six governments were identified Monday by the U.S. State Department as using child soldiers in violation of U.S. laws adopted in 2008. Of the six -- Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- only Myanmar doesn't get any U.S. military assistance.
A U.S. measure adopted in 2008 prevents governments using child soldiers from getting any foreign military assistance from the U.S. government.
Washington in 2010, however, issued waivers for some of those countries despite their continued use of child soldiers.
"The U.S. strategy of just telling countries to stop using child soldiers is not working," Jo Becker, children's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "So long as they keep getting U.S. military assistance, these countries have little incentive to stop recruiting children."
Washington defended the practice by saying aid was targeting training programs meant to encourage foreign militaries to get in line with international norms.
