The authorities continued to unduly restrict the rights to freedom of expression and association. Members of the stateless Bidun minority remained unable to access a range of public services. With the spread of COVID-19, residence permit violators were granted a month’s amnesty, allowing them to...

Kuwait has a large native-born stateless population, the Bidun, who face discrimination in access to the free government educational system. Many Bidun families must rely on the private market and their own income ensure their children’s education, from primary school to university. Some Bidun...

This submission reflects Amnesty International’s concerns about violations of the rights to nationality, education and healthcare affecting children born into the local stateless population in Kuwait, known as the Bidun. It is based on review of Kuwait’s laws, the information it submitted to the...

Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), specifically Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to continue pre-existing patterns of suppressing the right to freedom of expression in 2020. Starting in March 2020, as...

The UN Human Rights Council adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of Kuwait on 16 July 2020 during its 44th session. The above text is a footnoted and slightly expanded version of Amnesty International’s statement on the outcome prior to the adoption of the final report.

Health and essential workers have played an extraordinary role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across countries, they have put their health and wellbeing at risk, often in very difficult circumstances and with very little support, to ensure that people are able to access the...

Amnesty International and a coalition of non-governmental organizations and trade unions recently sent letters to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman raising their concerns and suggesting recommendations that aim to protect the rights of migrant workers during...

A joint letter from a coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions, urging the Government of Kuwait to ensure that migrant workers receive adequate protection from COVID-19.

New proposed legislation to address the issue of the stateless Bidun community in Kuwait risks entrenching and perpetuating the state’s decades-long pattern of discrimination and marginalization, Amnesty International said today. If passed, the new law would in effect compel the Bidun to abandon...

This report documents the state of human rights in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa during 2018. It is composed of a regional overview and 19 country entries, subdivided by key human rights themes.

This public statement documents the state of human rights in Kuwait during 2018, subdivided by key human rights themes. It is part of a regional review of the state of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, which includes 18 other country entries.

On 8 July 2018, Kuwait’s highest judicial authority, the Court of Cassation, upheld the convictions of 16 opposition politicians, rights activists, and other demonstrators, including eight past or present members of parliament, on charges relating to their participation in a 2011 protest. Though...

Amnesty International acknowledges and welcomes Kuwait’s consistent and committed engagement with international human rights mechanisms and non-governmental human rights organizations. However, progress in implementing its obligations under CAT has been challenging and much remains to be done.