The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is following with deep concern the massive human rights violations in Kuwait after the dissolution of the Assembly Council (Parliament) and the active persecution of former Members of Parliament (MPs) and online activists.

In addition to all these violations, we are witnessing an ongoing active campaign of stripping the nationality from mass number of citizens, mostly women, and a seriously dangerous revision of the nationality law.  

The new revised law allows for stripping of nationality from many categories of citizens who obtained their nationality legally through the previous Kuwaiti administrations, without legal oversight or transparency. Foreign wives of Kuwaiti citizens and those who contributed significantly to the country, and their whole families and descendants, were among the most affected categories. 

Authorities led by the Emir himself and his Minister of Interior are turning thousands of lawfully naturalised citizens into a stateless population with no access to documentation or basic rights of health, education, jobs or government support. Reports also cite sudden deaths of people who found themselves and their families stateless after hearing the news.

Though no transparency was followed on the actual number of citizens, it is estimated that there are now more than 69,000 persons directly affected. Some local sources estimate all those who were directly and indirectly impacted to be approximately 16% of the total population, since March 2024. Foreign wives, representing most of the cases affected, raised the most concerns from Kuwait’s civil society. 

The state has responded to the concerns of the foreign wives who became stateless after their nationality was revoked by creating a non-independent committee to receive requests of grievances from those affected. However, authorities created many obstacles against foreign wives. The revised Law states in Article 37 that foreign wives who stayed out of Kuwait for more than six months without acquiring the nationality of their countries of origin are treated like foreign nationals and that they can’t go back to Kuwait. Many foreign wives live outside Kuwait for pressing needs like caring for their children or having medical conditions or other needs. In addition, the time granted by the state to restore their nationality may not be conducive to process bureaucratic requests at many countries of origin. Divorced or widowed foreign wives who live abroad to care for their children with support of their families of origin, customary in many traditional countries, may not be able to return with their Kuwaiti children to the country.

They regained the nationality of their countries of origin.

Several civil society associations in Kuwait have published statements to warn against the arbitrary nature of such practices, without any guarantees of fairness, due process, or policy reflections on the massive impact of stripping nationalities from thousands of people at once. However, authorities harass critical voices by invoking trumped up charges of national security claims. 

Academic and media consultant Dr. Jassem Al-Jazzaa and academic and blogger Anas Al-Otaibi were summoned by the Public Prosecution and detained for allegedly publishing fake news. Courts in Kuwait have exonerated both from the charges before releasing them. Both enjoyed a huge following and public engagement online for their rich content. 

Recommendations

We call on the authorities in Kuwait to:

1. Restore the Parliament and allow elected members to resume their legislative and oversight rights in policies and practices that harm thousands of people;
2. Adopt due process and a transparent path for reviewing nationality decisions according to international laws and standards; and
3. Ensure freedom of expression and safety from retaliation according to Kuwait’s constitution, laws and international obligations.