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Human rights in Kuwait
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Human rights in Kuwait
Human rights in Kuwait are a topic of significant concern. Most recently, Kuwait has been facing significant criticism for its citizenship revocation policy. Additionally, Kuwait's treatment of stateless people has come under substantial criticism from international human rights organisations and the United Nations. Kuwait has the largest stateless population in the entire region. Kuwait also faces criticism for its human rights violations against foreign nationals, women, and LGBT people. Although Kuwaiti law (including the Constitution of Kuwait) theoretically pledges to protect all human rights; the enforcement mechanisms designed to help protect human rights are very limited in Kuwait.
Kuwait is a party to several international human rights treaties, including
Citizenship revocation is a contentious human rights issue in Kuwait. According to Carnegie Endowment, Kuwait has weaponized citizenship revocation as a tool for political control. The government has the authority to revoke Kuwaiti citizenship without a criminal conviction and Kuwait's courts are not allowed to handle appeals. The lack of judicial oversight means that citizenship revocation occurs without a court ruling.
Since March 2024, Kuwait has been revoking the citizenship of many citizens (by decree). In early December 2024, the Emir issued a decree to revoke the Kuwaiti citizenship of several high-profile individuals: singer Nawal Al-Kuwaitia, social media influencer Noha Nabil, and actor Dawood Hussein including his children who were automatically granted Kuwaiti citizenship through paternal affiliation.
By March 2025, Kuwait had revoked the citizenship of 42,000 people in just six months.
The lack of transparency and recourse in the citizenship revocation policy is a violation of international law. The majority of revoked citizenships were legally granted to the wives of Kuwaiti men under Article 8 of the nationality law. Their citizenships are being retroactively revoked after Article 8 was recently repealed by decree, violating international law which prohibits the retroactive application of nationality law. Many individuals with revoked citizenship are taken to the "Central Agency for Illegal Residents," which handles stateless individuals in Kuwait, further deepening the country's stateless population.
Kuwait’s citizenship revocation policy contradicts international treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "everyone has the right to a nationality" and "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality." Human rights organizations have raised concerns over the potential for statelessness, lack of due process in citizenship revocations, and the discriminatory impact on vulnerable groups, including women, elderly people, and children. For example, the citizenship revocation policy impacts many children, further deepening the number of stateless children in the country.
Neveen Ma'arafi (Arabic: نيفين معرفي, lit. 'Neveen Ma'arafi') defended the citizenship revocation policy, claiming that it is being carried out to tackle corruption. Many activists disputed her claims.
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Human rights in Kuwait
Human rights in Kuwait are a topic of significant concern. Most recently, Kuwait has been facing significant criticism for its citizenship revocation policy. Additionally, Kuwait's treatment of stateless people has come under substantial criticism from international human rights organisations and the United Nations. Kuwait has the largest stateless population in the entire region. Kuwait also faces criticism for its human rights violations against foreign nationals, women, and LGBT people. Although Kuwaiti law (including the Constitution of Kuwait) theoretically pledges to protect all human rights; the enforcement mechanisms designed to help protect human rights are very limited in Kuwait.
Kuwait is a party to several international human rights treaties, including
Citizenship revocation is a contentious human rights issue in Kuwait. According to Carnegie Endowment, Kuwait has weaponized citizenship revocation as a tool for political control. The government has the authority to revoke Kuwaiti citizenship without a criminal conviction and Kuwait's courts are not allowed to handle appeals. The lack of judicial oversight means that citizenship revocation occurs without a court ruling.
Since March 2024, Kuwait has been revoking the citizenship of many citizens (by decree). In early December 2024, the Emir issued a decree to revoke the Kuwaiti citizenship of several high-profile individuals: singer Nawal Al-Kuwaitia, social media influencer Noha Nabil, and actor Dawood Hussein including his children who were automatically granted Kuwaiti citizenship through paternal affiliation.
By March 2025, Kuwait had revoked the citizenship of 42,000 people in just six months.
The lack of transparency and recourse in the citizenship revocation policy is a violation of international law. The majority of revoked citizenships were legally granted to the wives of Kuwaiti men under Article 8 of the nationality law. Their citizenships are being retroactively revoked after Article 8 was recently repealed by decree, violating international law which prohibits the retroactive application of nationality law. Many individuals with revoked citizenship are taken to the "Central Agency for Illegal Residents," which handles stateless individuals in Kuwait, further deepening the country's stateless population.
Kuwait’s citizenship revocation policy contradicts international treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "everyone has the right to a nationality" and "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality." Human rights organizations have raised concerns over the potential for statelessness, lack of due process in citizenship revocations, and the discriminatory impact on vulnerable groups, including women, elderly people, and children. For example, the citizenship revocation policy impacts many children, further deepening the number of stateless children in the country.
Neveen Ma'arafi (Arabic: نيفين معرفي, lit. 'Neveen Ma'arafi') defended the citizenship revocation policy, claiming that it is being carried out to tackle corruption. Many activists disputed her claims.