1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: Kuwait achieved some progress on human rights in 2021 with the launch of the so-called ‘national dialogue’ and the issuing of an amnesty to political dissidents in exile. However, the amnesty did not include the Kuwaiti bloggers who are currently in jail or in exile for expressing their views on social media. The prolonged political crisis, which resulted in two resignations of the government, delayed human rights reforms.
Despite having a relatively open media by regional standards, the scope for expressing dissenting views in Kuwait shrank, with tightening of the state’s control over broadcast, print and online outlets. Several bloggers are either imprisoned or in self-imposed exile for postings which were considered as offensive to the Emir, neighbouring countries or Islam.
Migrant workers, who make up around two-thirds of the population, continued to face difficulties and legal constraints. This was mainly due to the kafala (sponsorship) system, which bound foreign nationals to their employer and opened the doors to abuses. Despite the adoption of new legislation improving the situation of migrant workers, working conditions of domestic workers and undocumented migrants often remain difficult.
The stateless ‘Bidoons’ continued to face difficulty in obtaining identification documents, resulting in problems to access public services such as health, education and employment, or even to travel outside of the country. The temporary committee on ‘Stateless affairs’, which was tasked to complete a draft law on their civil and social rights, has not been formed in the new National Assembly (post October 2021). Bidoons’ children remain mainly excluded from free access to public education. Only Kuwaiti citizens can enjoy freedom of assembly and association, while foreigners are not permitted to take part in public gathering. In August 2021, 19 ‘Bidoon’ activists were interrogated for participating in public gatherings. In 2021, the Kuwaiti authorities deported at least two foreign residents for peaceful assembly. Non-citizens cannot register a trade union or a civil society organisation.
In September 2021, the Minister of Commerce and Industry issued a decision banning discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace in the private sector. In December 2021, Kuwait’s military opened enrolment for women as non-commissioned officers and civilians. However, important restrictions were introduced in implementation. Women continued to face discrimination regarding inheritance, marriage, child custody, and their inability to pass on their citizenship to their children. Lack of women’s political representation remained a challenge, as there are no female MPs and only one female minister in the Kuwaiti representative bodies. Kuwait witnessed a rise in gender-based violence, including femicides.
LGBTI persons continued to face discrimination; according to the Article 193 of Kuwait’s Penal Code "consensual intercourse between men of full age” is punishable with up to seven years in prison. While in October 2021, a transgender woman was sentenced to a prison, Kuwait's constitutional court has in February overturned a law that criminalised "imitation of the opposite sex" and that was used to prosecute transgender people.
Kuwait maintains the death penalty, including for non-violent offenses (e.g. drug-related charges). While no executions have been reported since January 2017, a formal moratorium has not been announced.
2. EU action - key focus areas: The EU engaged regularly with Kuwaiti institutions dealing with human rights, mainly in the context of the EU-Kuwait Informal Human Rights Dialogue. The EU delegation engaged with local civil society as well. The EU delegation continued to engage with EU Member States through the EU Informal Working Group on Human Rights, which met three times during 2021. In parallel, the EU delegation worked closely with likeminded countries and international organisations on women empowerment and migrants’ protection.
The European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Arab Peninsula visited Kuwait in November 2001 for an inter-parliamentary meeting with the National Assembly of Kuwait, a meeting with the National Diwan for Human Rights as well as with civil society organisations and representatives from the academia. It has raised several human rights concerns, including the situation of the stateless ‘Bidoons’ and migrant workers, as well as a lack of women’s political representation.
As a follow up to the EU-Kuwait informal Human Rights Dialogue, the EU delegation co[1]organised with local and international partners a high-level event on Women Economic Empowerment, where 15 Kuwaiti private companies signed the ‘Women Empowerment Principles’, raising the total number of signatories in Kuwait to 46. On the International Human Rights Day on 10 December, the Head of EU Delegation to Kuwait published a video and gave an interview to the Kuwaiti highly popular newspaper Al-Rai.
3. EU bilateral political engagement: The EU expanded its engagement with Kuwait on human rights. In March 2021, the EEAS and Kuwaiti MFA conducted the second Informal Human Rights Dialogue in a virtual format. Both sides discussed developments in the area of human rights and cooperation in multilateral fora.
4. EU financial engagement: In the course of 2021, the EU continued to support the protection of human rights in partnership with local CSOs. The EU delegation supported financially the LOYAC Academy of Performing Arts to engage youth in creative expression through art and dance, under the umbrella of an annual Festival of Art and Dance. Furthermore, the EU delegation supported financially the project of the Kuwaiti Society of Human Rights, which provides legal aid to migrant workers concerning their rights and raise public awareness about the situation of migrant workers.
5. Multilateral context: The second informal Human Rights Dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange views on the activities of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee. In preparation for the UNGA Third Committee sessions, the EU delegation has delivered demarches on EU priorities to the Kuwaiti MFA.
Full report https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/2021-human-rights-and-democracy-world-country-reports_en
