Child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2014).
The following is a letter to Congress from President Barack Obama declaring the situation of ongoing violence in the Republic of Congo a National Security threat to the United States.
To the Congress of the United States:
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the “order”) taking additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13413 of October 27, 2006 (E.O. 13413).
In E.O. 13413, it was determined that the situation in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been marked by widespread violence and atrocities that continue to threaten regional stability and was addressed by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1596 of April 18, 2005, Resolution 1649 of December 21, 2005, and Resolution 1698 of July 31, 2006, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States. To address that threat, E.O. 13413 blocks the property and interests in property of persons listed in the Annex to E.O. 13413 or determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to meet criteria specified in E.O. 13413.
In view of multiple additional United Nations Security Council Resolutions including, most recently, Resolution 2136 of January 30, 2014, I am issuing the order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13413, and to address the continuation of activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the surrounding region, including operations by armed groups, widespread violence and atrocities, human rights abuses, recruitment and use of child soldiers, attacks on peacekeepers, obstruction of humanitarian operations, and exploitation of natural resources to finance persons engaged in these activities.
The order amends the designation criteria specified in E.O. 13413. As amended by the order, E.O. 13413 provides for the designation of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
To be a political or military leader of a foreign armed group operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that impedes the disarmament, demobilization, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, or reintegration of combatants;
To be a political or military leader of a Congolese armed group that impedes the disarmament, demobilization, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, or reintegration of combatants;
To be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following in or in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
Actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
The targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law;
the use or recruitment of children by armed groups or armed forces in the context of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
the obstruction of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance;
attacks against United Nations missions, international security presences, or other peacekeeping operations; or
support to persons, including armed groups, involved in activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through the illicit trade in natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
Except where intended for the authorized support of humanitarian activities or the authorized use by or support of peacekeeping, international, or government forces, to have directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or been the recipient in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of, arms and related materiel, including military aircraft and equipment, or advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to military activities;
To be a leader of (i) an entity, including any armed group, that has, or whose members have, engaged in any of the activities described above or (ii) an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13413;
To have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of (i) any of the activities described above or (ii) any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13413; or
To be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13413.
I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the United Nations Participation Act as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
Barack Obama.
The White House, July 8, 2014.
NOTE:
The letter is very strange since for the fourth straight year prior to 2013, President Barack Obama has granted waivers from the Child Soldiers Prevention Act to a handful of African and Arab nations allowing them to continue receiving US military aid despite the fact that they use child soldiers?
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008, bans US military aid to nations in which children under the age of 18 are employed in the armed forces. The CSPA contains a ‘national interest waiver’ clause which permits the president to ignore the aforementioned prohibition if it is determined that granting military assistance to nations which violate the law is in the US national interest.
When Obama first waived the CSPA in order to continue aid to Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Yemen in 2010, he promised that such action was a one-off. But in 2011, the president shocked much of the world when he once again granted waivers to the same nations. He did so yet again in 2012, when South Sudan, Libya and Yemen were waived, and the Democratic Republic of Congo was granted a partial waiver.
This year, Chad, South Sudan and Yemen received full waivers, allowing them to receive unlimited US military aid. The Democratic Republic of Congo was again granted a partial waiver, allowing training and ‘non-lethal’ aid to continue. Somalia was also granted a partial waiver.
The White House refused comment in this matter.