The Bidoon people: a community without rights since 1961

The Bidoon people are a stateless Arab minority in Kuwait without rights, as they were not considered full citizens at the time of the country’s independence in 1961. Around 500,000 Bidoons reside in the Gulf region, with Kuwait being the country with their largest population. Kuwaiti authorities refer to the Bidoons as “illegal residents” and refuse to grant them any form of legal documentation, from birth or death certificate, to driving or marriage certifications. 

According to several human rights organizations, the Bedoon situation is getting worse, as State discriminatory practices against them have increased. In this sense, the state of the Bidoons was the main issue discussed in the session, as it has been one of Kuwaiti’s ongoing human rights violations, already tackled by the Committee in previous reviews.  

The Committee members, regarding the Bidoons, were concerned about their lack of effective equal access to political rights, education, work, justice, and healthcare, as well as their inexistent freedom of assembly. In addition, the use of torture and excessive force against the Bidoon was also discussed.  

Kuwait’s delegation denied any ill-treatment against the Bidoon, and tried to justify their practices arguing that illegal residents cannot enjoy some of the rights of their citizens, as they have no passports. The delegation also stated that there has been an increase in citizenships awarded and suggested that some Bidoon could take advantage of public healthcare and education, which was contested by the Committee. Nevertheless, the structural causes of the problem were not addressed, leaving the Bidoon issue in a state of uncertainty. 

Migrant workers in Kuwait: administratively prone to exploitation

The human rights situation of foreign nationals working in Kuwait was also highly discussed. Migrant workers account for approximately 70% of Kuwait’s population. These workers are characterized by their “3-D jobs”: dirty, dangerous and demeaning, as most of them are employed in the construction and domestic sectors. Civil society has severely criticized the lack of safety of these people, as they usually face very harsh working conditions. The main problem with this situation is the unwillingness to reform the “Kafala system”, the legal framework governing the status of migrant workers, which, in turn, leaves them susceptible to exploitation.

The questions raised by the Committee dealt with the criminalization of foreign nationals, their rights of assembly and access to public services, the increase in hate speech, the situation of administrative deportations, and the abuses against them, especially in the case of domestic violence and human trafficking. In this regard the Committee members were concerned with how hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals are subjected to numerous human rights abuses, facing physical and sexual abuse, enslavement, poor work conditions, and restrictions on their freedom of movement. 

Even if the Committee proposed some future actions that could improve the situation, like education campaigns to raise awareness on domestic workers or the creation of mechanisms to solve worker/employer complaints, the delegation seemed unkeen to apply them. In this regard, Kuwaiti delegates answered citing their legal framework, avoiding a discussion on the intrinsic problems of the “Kafala system”. 

Kuwait’s structural criminalization of women and LGBTQI+ community

The final issue tackled by the Committee was the discrimination against women and LGBTQI+ individuals in Kuwait.

On women’s rights, the Committee members outlined the gap between the law and Kuwaiti’s reality, as de facto barriers were encountered by women to express themselves freely. In this regard, women participation in public and political spheres is not illegal in Kuwait, but the socio-cultural constraints act as systemic barriers for them. In the case of gender rights, the Committee was concerned with the few legal protections of LGBTIQI+ people, the criminalization of same sex relations in domestic law, and the censorship of LGBTIQI+ symbols and slogans.

According to the delegation, women were rightfully respected and no laws prohibited them from occupying public positions. In the case of LGBTIQ rights, the delegation stated that same sex relations were damaging to the values and morals of their society, as these are prohibited in the Islamic Sharia. Thus, Kuwaiti delegates claimed that public order and morals, enshrined in their national legislation, always prevailed.

Conclusions

The fourth review of Kuwait was marked by the gap between the questions posed by the members of the Committee and the answers given by the delegates. Instead of addressing the situation on the ground and the structural causes to some of the issues, the delegation of Kuwait preferred to point out how their legal framework is rightfully applied, indirectly denying most of the issues raised. This fact obstructed the opportunity for a fruitful discussion, which could have been a potential catalyst for change in Kuwait.  

Watch again the dialogue with the Committee here (part one) and here (part two).

Recommendations of the Human Rights Committee

Concluding Observations on Kuwait's fourth periodic report were released on Novermber 3, 2023. The State party is requested to provide, by 3 November 2026, information on the implementation of the following  recommendations:

Discrimination against Bidoon people

The State party should provide full and effective protection against discrimination in all spheres to Bidoon and other stateless people residing in the State party. It should in particular:

• (a) Speed up the process of ensuring that no person becomes or remains stateless, by granting citizenship or by issuing identity documents to Bidoon and other stateless people, where appropriate; guarantee the right of every child to acquire a nationality; and develop effective mechanisms to address the situation of Bidoon and stateless persons in the State party;
• (b) Refrain from requesting Bidoon people to accept another nationality; and ensure a non-discriminatory access to justice, work, health, education and social services;
• (c) Conduct a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the alleged falsification of documents by The Central System for the Remedy of the Situation of Illegal Residents, as well as of the human rights violations to human rights defenders and activists working on the human rights of Bidoon people; prosecute perpetrators and punish them with appropriate sanctions, if they are convicted; and provide victims with effective remedies;
• (d) Ensure that Bidoon people and activists working for their human rights can operate safely and exercise their freedom of expression and assembly without fear of being persecuted, intimidated or detained; and
• (e) Consider acceding to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness; and having the related obligations implemented through the State party’s domestic law after accession.

Gender equality

In line with the recommendations of the Committee on the rights of the child8 , the State party should undertake a comprehensive review of existing laws and practices to repeal or amend, in accordance with the Covenant, all provisions that discriminate on the basis of gender, including the Personal Status Law No. 51 and the Nationality Act. It should also develop strategies to combat patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society at large.

Death penalty

In the light of the Committee’s general comment No. 36 (2018), the State party should take all measures necessary to ensure that the death penalty is imposed only for the most serious crimes, involving intentional killing. The State party should also:

• (a) Give due consideration to establishing a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolishing it and consider acceding to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant;
• (b) Ensure that the death penalty is never imposed in violation of the Covenant or fair trial procedures, including full access to legal assistance and interpretation, and that it is never mandatory;
• (c) Carry out appropriate awareness-raising measures to mobilize public opinion in support of abolition of the death penalty; and
• (d) Collect and make available disaggregated data on the number of death sentences imposed, the number of executions carried out, type of offences for which death sentences are imposed and disaggregated data of the persons sentenced, such as gender, ethnicity and nationality.

Here you can find all the recommendations given by the Committee in the Concluding Observations.

The follow-up report of Kuwait on the implementation of the recommendations is due in 2026. The next list of issues will be adopted in 2029, and the next periodic report is due in 2030.