Marthe Kirima, the minister for family and gender, said in a statement that children are still being recruited as fighters, spies, messengers, cooks and even used as sex slaves. While 15,000 children have escaped from rebel forces, she said, many are traumatized and find it difficult to return to normal life.

The mineral-rich but impoverished nation has had conflict since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced then-President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias fought back, also targeting civilians.

The United Nations, which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting has killed thousands and displaced over a million people, or one-fifth of the population. In 2019, a peace deal was reached between the government and 14 armed groups, but fighting continues.

The U.N. is trying to prevent children from joining armed groups and make it easier for those released to reintegrate into society. It has created training programs for them to become mechanics, masons, carpenters or take up other professions.

Some former child soldiers told The Associated Press that their harrowing experiences had pushed them to become peace ambassadors.

“I took up arms because Seleka killed by mother and father,” said Arsene, who insisted on only his first name due to the sensitivity of the situation. He said a Christian rebel group recruited him when he was 14. After three years of fighting, he now tells young people not to join rebel groups.

Ousmane, another former child soldier, said that joining the rebels ruined his life and that of those around him. “What we did is indescribable,” he said.

The Dany Ngarasso Foundation, a local civil society group, called on the government to accelerate the peace process to protect child soldiers.

“They may have fought yesterday, but they can still campaign for peace today," foundation head Ngarasso said.

Friday’s sanctions include 13 individuals targeted for their roles in perpetrating or condoning the perpetration of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and South Sudan.

In addition, two Taliban officials in Afghanistan were designated for abuse related to the repression of rights for woman and girls based solely on their gender. In Iran, two intelligence officers were designated for cracking down on opponents of the government and peaceful protests.

Two Chinese government officials in Xinjiang province were also targeted for serious human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim ethnic minority.

In announcing the sanctions, the department noted the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or UDHR, “the landmark document enshrining human rights and fundamental freedoms for all individuals.”

The declaration was drafted by representatives from all regions of the world and proclaimed by the U.N. General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948.

The department also noted U.S. President Joe Biden has made promoting accountability for conflict-related sexual violence a top priority, signing a memorandum last year to strengthen the U.S. government’s efforts to combat it, using financial, diplomatic, and legal tools.

In the statement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. commitment to upholding human rights is sacrosanct.

She said the sanctions announced Friday — and over the course of the past year — “underscore the seriousness of our commitment to promoting accountability for human rights abuse and safeguarding the U.S. financial system from those who commit these egregious acts.”

This article originates from VOA News. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

Prosecutor Karim Khan said his office had concluded there were "no longer any reasonable prospects of conviction at trial even if the charges were confirmed."

Mokom had faced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged atrocities committed against Muslim civilians in the CAR, a former French colony, by his self-proclaimed self-defence militias in 2013 and 2014.

One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR was plunged into bloody sectarian conflict after Seleka rebels, a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims, ousted president Francois Bozize in early 2013.

Mokom's militias, which called themselves "anti-Balaka" —meaning "anti-machete" — were formed in reaction to the takeover of the capital, Bangui, by the Seleka.

He had denied involvement in the bloodshed, telling ICC judges in August that he was "dedicated to the search for peace."

Prosecutor Khan said the decision to drop all charges was based after considering all the evidence and "changed circumstances regarding the availability of witnesses."

"I am very conscious that this news may be unwelcome to many survivors and their families," Khan said.

"I hope many will understand my legal and ethical responsibilities to be guided by the law and the evidence," he added

A judgement sent to French media outlet AFP from the Central African Republic's justice ministry said former President Francois Bozize was sentenced on Thursday.

The 76-year-old Bozize seized power in 2003 but was toppled a decade later. He was in exile in Chad until March when he moved to Guinea Bissau.

He leads the Coalition of Patriots for Change, an alliance of rebel groups that was formed in December 2020. The government alleges the group aims to overthrow Bozize's successor, Faustin Archange Touadera.

Two of Bozize's sons and 20 others, including rebel leaders, were handed the same sentence as the ex-president, also in absentia.

The judgement handed by an appeals court in the capital Bangui said the accused also were convicted of compromising the internal security of the state and "murders," but gave no details on the period concerned or the crimes.

Civil conflict has torn CAR, one of world's poorest countries, since 2013 when Muslim-dominated armed groups ousted Bozize. He later set up armed militias known as the anti-Balakas, who were mainly Christian, to try to regain power.

The conflict lost intensity from 2018, but the country still suffers bouts of violence and remains deeply poor.