Rubio Waives Child-Soldier Aid Ban for Nigeria, Yemen and Ethiopia, and in Part for Venezuela
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has certified that the governments of Nigeria, Venezuela, Yemen, Ethiopia and three other countries on the State Department's own child-soldier list "are taking effective and continuing steps to address the problem of child soldiers," clearing the way for U.S. military aid that federal law would otherwise block, according to a determination made public Monday.
The determination, signed by Rubio on Sept. 30, 2026, was filed for public inspection at the Federal Register at 8:45 a.m. Monday and is scheduled to be formally published Tuesday, Oct. 20. TDFP found no news report of the waivers before publication.
What Rubio Signed
The determination, State Department Public Notice 13150, is titled "Determination and Certification with Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act." Rubio signed it under section 404 of the law and a presidential delegation of authority dated Aug. 4, 2025.
In it, Rubio states that he determines "that it is in the national interest of the United States" to waive, in full or in part, the law's ban on certain military assistance for seven countries, plus a narrow exception for Russia.
The determination then certifies: "I certify that the governments of the above countries are taking effective and continuing steps to address the problem of child soldiers. Accordingly, I hereby waive such applications of section 404(a) of the CSPA."
The notice says the determination will be sent to Congress "along with the accompanying Memorandum of Justification." That memorandum, which would explain the reasons for each waiver, was not published with the notice.
Country by Country
Here is every country the determination names and what it covers, in the document's own terms:
Nigeria: full waiver of the ban.
Ethiopia: full waiver of the ban.
Yemen: full waiver of the ban.
Venezuela: partial waiver, "to allow for the provision of IMET assistance," meaning International Military Education and Training.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: partial waiver for IMET and peacekeeping operations (PKO) assistance, and for direct commercial sales (DCS) licenses.
Central African Republic: partial waiver for IMET assistance and excess defense articles (EDA), and for DCS licenses.
Somalia: partial waiver for PKO assistance and for "support provided pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 331 and 10 U.S.C. 333," two Pentagon authorities for working with and training foreign forces.
Russia: a waiver "solely for the issuance of DCS licenses in connection with the International Space Station."
The determination also waives the ban "to allow for the issuance of DCS licenses related to other U.S. government assistance" for the listed countries.
What the Child Soldiers Prevention Act Requires
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 bars several kinds of U.S. security assistance, including military education and training, foreign military financing, excess defense articles and some peacekeeping aid, to any government the State Department identifies as having armed forces, police or government-supported groups that "recruit or use child soldiers." It also bars licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment to those governments, according to the statute, 22 U.S.C. 2370c-1.
The State Department publishes that list each year in its Trafficking in Persons Report. According to the 2026 report, the restrictions apply to listed countries beginning Oct. 1, "absent a presidential waiver, applicable exception, or reinstatement of assistance."
The law lets the president waive the ban for a country if he "determines that such waiver is in the national interest of the United States" and certifies to Congress that the country's government "is taking effective and continuing steps to address the problem of child soldiers." The president must notify Congress of each waiver and its justification within 45 days. The president delegated that power to the secretary of state in August 2025, according to the notice.
Who Is on the 2026 List, and Who Was Left Out
The 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report lists the governments of 14 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen. The report says the findings cover April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026.
Seven of the 14 received a full or partial waiver, and Russia received the space station exception. The determination does not name Afghanistan, Burma, Iran, Rwanda, South Sudan or Sudan.
How This Year Compares
Rubio signed last year's version on Feb. 17, 2026, and it was published in the Federal Register on March 6, 2026. That determination waived the ban in full for Ethiopia and Libya; in part for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Yemen and Syria; and for Russia only for space station-related licenses.
Nigeria, Venezuela and the Central African Republic did not appear in that determination. Yemen, which received a partial waiver last time, received a full waiver this time. Libya and Syria, which received waivers last time, are not on the 2026 list.
TDFP has asked the State Department for comment and will update this story.
Sources: State Department, Public Notice 13150, "Determination and Certification with Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CPSA) [sic] of 2008," FR Doc. 2026-21394 (public inspection Oct. 19, 2026; publishes Oct. 20, 2026): https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-21394.pdf (permanent: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-21394) ; 22 U.S.C. 2370c-1: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/2370c-1 ; State Department, 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report (Child Soldiers Prevention Act List): https://www.state.gov/reports/2026-trafficking-in-persons-report ; State Department, Public Notice 12950, FR Doc. 2026-04481 (March 6, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/06/2026-04481/determination-and-certification-with-respect-to-the-child-soldiers-prevention-act-of-2008
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