12 2 STA T .508 8 PUBLIC LA W 110 –4 5 7—DE C.2 3, 2008 SEC.402 . D E FIN I T I O NS. Inthis tit le:(1)AP P RO PR IATEC O NG RE S SIONA L CO M MITTEES .—T he te rm‘ ‘ ap pr o priate c on g ressional committees ’ ’ means— (A) the C ommittee on F oreign R elations o f the S enate
( B ) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the H o u se of Representati v es; an d ( D ) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. ( 2 )C H IL D SOLDIER.—Consistent w ith the provisions of the O ptional P rotocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child , the term ‘‘child soldier’’— (A) means— (i) an y person under 1 8 years of age who ta k es a direct part in hostilities as a mem b er of governmental armed forces; (ii) any person under 18 years of age who has been compulsorily recruited into governmental armed forces; (iii) any person under 1 5 years of age who has been voluntarily recruited into governmental armed forces; or (iv) any person under 18 years of age who has been recruited or used in hostilities by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of a state; and (B) includes any person described in clauses (ii), (iii), or (iv) of subparagraph (A) who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role such as a cook, porter, mes - senger, medic, guard, or se x slave. SEC. 40 3 . SENSE OF CON GR ESS. It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the U nited States G overnment should condemn the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by govern- ments, paramilitaries, or other organi z ations; (2) the United States Government should support and, to the extent practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end the abuse of human rights described in paragraph (1); ( 3 ) the United States Government should expand ongoing services to rehabilitate recovered child soldiers and to re- integrate such children back into their respective communities by— (A) offering ongoing psychological services to help such children— (i) to recover from the trauma suffered during their forced military involvement; (ii) to relearn how to interact with others in non- violent ways so that such children are no longer a danger to their respective communities; and (iii) by taking into consideration the needs of girl soldiers, who may be at risk of exclusion from disar- mament, demobilization, and reintegration programs; (B) facilitating reconciliation with such communities through negotiations with traditional leaders and elders 2 2 USC 2 370c.
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