Kuwait as the Bidoun's "own country"

During my time in Kuwait this has become the most painful thing for me to see. Yes, I have an issue with the way Indians, Egyptians, and other TCNs are treated, but those people have a home. A country in which they can return to. Granted it wouldn't be the best existence, but at least it's something they can call their own.

Bidouns of Kuwait don't even have that. These are "stateless" people who aren't even granted the most basic of human rights. They're generations of Kuwaitis who, in 1991, were told they weren't even wanted in this country any longer. They have been denied jobs, salaries, and even refused medical care, or the right to travel for this care. Recently they have been given the right to obtain a driver's license, and an Article 17 passport. Below you will see an example. They're a group of people who are being forced out of their own country with violations of their human rights as the weapon to do this with. This is cruel and inhumane treatment. I just have to wonder when/if this will ever change? If these people will ever be granted what is rightfully theirs? And if the State of Kuwait will ever take responsibility and apologize to these people who quite possibly have more right to be here than most Kuwait Citizens? I doubt it.

On a daily basis bedouns are made to feel "less than." Probably not by their friends, and certainly not by their family, and more than likely not even in the neighborhood they're living in. But by their government. Kuwait already refers to them as "stateless," doesn't allow them the right to citizenship, makes travel or legally driving a truly difficult task for them, and then throws this in their face every step of the way. Why?

Below you will see the Kuwaiti Passport and the Kuwaiti Bedoun Passport. There are ridiculous differences in their Civil ID and Driver's License as well, but I was unable to find photos of bedoun identification. What is the purpose of the gray colored passport? Is it to further indicate a meaningless existence...just gray? Is it yet another slap in the face to the bedouns, pointing out to everyone that they're "different"? It's not like the only way to know what a person's citizenship is, is by the color of their passport. Had they been given blue ones, they weren't going to magically become a Kuwaiti citizen. So what would have been the harm?

There are approximately 120,000 Bidoun resident in Kuwait. An estimated 240,000 are living outside the country, many of whom would wish to return to Kuwait but have not been permitted to do so. The term Bidoun is short for the Arabic phrase "without nationality" (bidoun jinsiya), and in Kuwait refers to longtime residents of Kuwait who would be eligible for Kuwaiti nationality by naturalization under the terms of Nationality Law 15/1959 but who have not been granted it. This group includes:

1. Individuals descended from nomadic groups whose ancestral lands are within the borders of present day Kuwait but who were unable to claim automatic citizenship under the Nationality Law because they could not prove continuous settled presence in Kuwait from 1920.

2. Individuals who could have registered as citizens under the Nationality Law and earlier citizenship regulations but neglected to do so.

3. Individuals who attempted to claim citizenship under the Nationality Law and earlier citizenship regulations and whose applications were accepted but never acted upon.

4. Individuals who migrated to Kuwait from nearby countries to work and over time lost effective links to and effective nationality in their country of origin, as well as children of such migrants who failed to establish nationality in their parents' country of origin.

5. Children of Bidun parents, including the children of Kuwaiti mothers and Bidun fathers.

Until the mid-1980s the Kuwaiti government treated Bidun as lawful residents of Kuwait whose claims to citizenship were being considered, a status that distinguished them not only from other foreign residents but also from other groups of stateless residents, such as Palestinians from Gaza. They were issued with documents identifying them as Bidun, and with the exception of voting rights they received all the benefits of full citizens, including subsidized housing, education, and health services. Bidun made up the vast majority of the rank and file of all branches of the police and military, and were eligible for temporary passports under Article 17 of the Passport Law of 1959. Intermarriage among Bidun and Kuwaiti citizens is common, and because of the vagaries of the implementation of the Nationality Law it is not unusual for a single family to have members with different citizenship statuses: automatic citizenship, citizenship by naturalization, and Bidun.

Based on existence of these genuine, effective links to Kuwait, there is a strong presumption that most if not all of the Bidun, inside or outside Kuwait, will meet the test of "special ties to or claims in relation to a given country" that make Kuwait their "own country" with regard to the rights specified in Articles 12(2) and 12(4) of the Covenant.

Arbitrary and Discriminatory Policies

The Kuwaiti government subjects Bidoun to a broad range of arbitrary and discriminatory policies, discussed below. Of particular note are policies regarding travel, entry, and registration of marriage and birth, which improperly restrict rights guaranteed in Articles 12, 23, 24, and 26 of the Covenant.

Arbitrary Withdrawal of Rights and Benefits

In 1985 the government began applying provisions of Alien Residence Law 17/1959 to the Bidoun and issued a series of regulations stripping the Bidoun of almost all their previous rights and benefits. In 1986 the government severely restricted Bidoun's eligibility for travel documents; fired government employees not employed by the army or the police who could not produce passports, and instructed private employers to do the same.

Restrictions increased in the aftermath of the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. . Bidoun who fled to Iraq to escape the air war found themselves stranded there when Kuwait refused to allow the reentry of all but a few. Bidoun government employees were dismissed en masse, and only a small portion were later rehired. Bidoun not employed by the government face tremendous difficulties in registering births, marriages, divorces, and deaths because they lack the required identification and are typically required to go through lengthy security checks before the Ministry of Interior will issue a letter of no objection.

More recently, in October 1999 the Ministry of Interior began a nine month program during which Bidoun who signed affidavits admitting a foreign nationality and renouncing claims to Kuwait nationality could apply for a five year residency permit and other benefits. After the program ended on June 27, 2000 the Ministry announced it would begin turning over files of Bidoun who had not "regularized their situation" to the Prosecution Office and seek deportation of individuals convicted of violations of the Nationality Law or the Alien Residence Law. Prosecutions began on July 8, 2000. Under Article 16 of the Alien Residence Law, non-Kuwaiti nationals can be deported if they have "no recognizable source of livelihood," if a court orders them deported after sentencing, or "if the Minister of Interior believes that the deportation is mandated by public interest, public security, or public morals."

Issues of Particular Concern

Kuwait's arbitrary refusal to allow the re-entry of many Bidoun to Kuwait after 1991, and subsequent deportations of Bidoun who claim Kuwait as their "own country" are incompatible with Article 12(4) of the Covenant. In addition, the Human Rights Committee has stated that "the right to leave a country must include the right to obtain the necessary travel documents."Insofar as the Bidoun lack an effective nationality, the responsibility to issue these documents has fallen on the government of Kuwait. Kuwait's severe and arbitrary restrictions on the circumstances for which it will grant Bidoun travel documents, and the limited periods for which they are valid, are incompatible with Article 12(2) of the Covenant, and Kuwait has not provided any information to show that these restrictions are necessary for and proportional to the purposes specified in Article 12(3).

Kuwait's failure to provide a legal mechanism for Bidoun to register marriages undermines the enjoyment of the right to marry and found a family in Article 23(2) of the Covenant. Kuwait's failure to automatically issue birth certificates for Bidoun children, as required by Article 24 (2) of the Covenant, create similar problems for families.

Under the terms of Nationality Law 15/1959 only male Kuwaiti citizens have a right to pass on nationality to their children, and foreign and Bidoun males are not eligible to apply for nationality based on marriage, in contradiction of the Covenant's requirement in Article 23(4) that states ensure equality of rights and responsibility of spouses. In addition, provisions that discriminate in granting nationality against children born to Bidun parents, and against children born to Bidun fathers and Kuwaiti mothers violate the right to acquire a nationality in Article 24 (3). The Human Rights Committee has said that "States are required, both internally and in cooperation with other States, to ensure that every child has a nationality when he is born. In this connection, no discrimination with regard to the acquisition of nationality should be admissible under internal law as between legitimate children and children born out of wedlock or of stateless parents or based on the nationality status of one or both parents."

V. Recommendations

Human Rights Watch calls on the Human Rights Committee to:

· Urge the government of Kuwait to withdraw its reservations and declarations regarding Articles 2(1), 3, 23, and 25(B) on the grounds that their incompatibility with the object and purpose of the Covenant makes them unacceptable.

· Request Kuwait submit additional information on discriminatory legislation and practices limiting the enjoyment of the rights of the Covenant, with special attention given to discrimination based on sex, religion, national or social origin, and status.

· Urge the government of Kuwait to take immediate steps to amend its domestic legislation to respect and ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant, without distinction of any kind.

· Express its concern regarding Kuwaiti laws and practices which limit women's free enjoyment of the rights guaranteed in the Covenant, and urge the government of Kuwait to immediately amend those provisions of its Election Law, Judiciary Service Code, Nationality Law, and Personal Status Law which discriminate against women.

· Express its concern regarding Kuwaiti laws and practices which unduly restrict legitimate expression, and urge the government of Kuwait to immediately amend its Penal Code and Printing and Publications Law to be consistent with the rights of the Covenant.

· Express its concern regarding Kuwait's treatment of its Bidun population, and urge the government of Kuwait to refrain from discriminating against individuals under their jurisdiction on the basis of their being Bidun; to take immediate steps to ensure the full enjoyment of rights guaranteed in Articles 23, 24, and 26; the ensure to all individuals who can show genuine and effective links to Kuwait the full enjoyment of their rights under Articles 12(2) and 12(4).