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Kuwait: 1. Is there a prohibition on Kurdish Iraqis acquiring Kuwaiti citizenship? 2. Treatment of Shi'as; 3. General human rights situation in Kuwait for Kurds

1.        No specific information on the treatment of Kurdish Iraqis or the possibility of their acquisition of Kuwaiti citizenship was found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. Only 40 percent of the Kuwaiti population are citizens, the rest are expatriates. [ John Kifner, "6 Kuwait Shiite Terrorists Condemned", The New York Times, 7 June 1987.] Non-Kuwaitis (over the age of 21) must have the sponsorship of a Kuwaiti employer to remain in Kuwait. [ George Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third World, Volume II, 1987, p. 1115; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989), states that the sponsorship must be by a Kuwaiti citizen (without stipulating that they be an employer) p. 1402.] Expatriate workers are not given permanent residency, and unemployment can lead to the expulsion of aliens from Kuwait. [ Owen, R. Migrant Workers in the Gulf, (London: Minority Rights Group Report No. 68, 1985), p. 11.] A recent exception to this rule is that of Palestinians in possession of Jordanian passports, or Lebanese or Arab laissez-passers, who can remain without sponsors. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989), p. 1402.]

A wife and any children under the age of 21 are covered under the visa of an employed expatriate worker. [ External Affairs Canada, 24 October 1989.] If the employee leaves the country for a short period of time, as in the case of a vacation, the family is permitted to stay, but if the employee leaves permanently (the job terminates or the visa expires), then the family must also leave. Dependents of an employee can apply for their own visas. [ External Affairs Canada.]

The employment situation for all foreigners has undergone changes since 1986, when the government decided to lay off 30,000 expatriate workers. [ "Kuwait to Drop 30,000 Workers", The Globe and Mail, 30 May 1986.] During 1987, the government tightened up regulations on entry, residence and naturalization of foreigners. [ "Kuwait Tightens Entry Regulations for Foreigners", Reuters, 5 August 1987.]

2.             The Shi'ite population residing in Kuwait has experienced increasing difficulties with the government in recent years because of Shi'ite terrorist activities in the country. In 1987, the government began to move Shi'as out of key military posts and other sectors in response to security concerns arising from the discovery of a buried arsenal (of guns and bombs) linked to Shi'ites. [ John Kifner, "6 Kuwaiti Shiite Terrorists Condemned", The New York Times, 7 June 1987.] In January 1987, sabotage of oilfields and docks was claimed by a Beirut-based group calling themselves "Forces of the Prophet Mohammed in Kuwait". [ John Kifner, "Kuwait's Rich, Stable Society is Torn by Iraq-Iran Conflict", The New York Times, 19 June 1987.] Hezbollah, a Shi'ite fundamentalist group active in Lebanon and Iran, has also been implicated in the distribution of pamphlets calling the Kuwait government "evil". [ Ibid. ] Of the approximately 1.6 million people in Kuwait, one third are Shi'as, including expatriates from Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan. [ John Kifner, "Kuwait's Rich, Stable Society is Torn by Iraq-Iran Conflict", The New York Times, 19 June 1987.]

 In the World Refugee Report, (September 1988) the Bureau for Refugee Programs, Department of State maintains that "Kuwait does not recognize or grant refugee status and returns potential asylum seekers to their country of origin or to other nations which will accept them." Please refer to the attached page from this report.

Restrictions on education have been imposed on non-Kuwaiti residents. Although education is free and compulsory for Kuwaiti citizens, according to the U.S. Department of State Country Report 1988, public schooling is only offered to children of expatriates who arrived in Kuwait before 1957. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989), p. 1405.] It further states that foreign residents do not share in the rights and benefits that Kuwaitis enjoy. Another source maintains that "resident expatriates are entitled to some medical benefits and to elementary and secondary schooling (but not kindergarten) for their children in the public schools". [ George Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third World, Volume II, 1987, p. 1115.] The Middle East and North Africa asserts that (Kuwaiti) Government scholarships are provided to students from Arab, Asian and African countries, but does not indicate whether students who are non-Kuwaiti residents are eligible for these scholarships.

3.             No information specific to the treatment of Kurds living in Kuwait was found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. Please refer to the following attachments:

-               The Middle East and North Africa, 1989, London: Europa Publications Limited, 1989

-               George E. Delury, ed., World Encyclopedia of Political Systems & Parties, New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987;

-               U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1989.

-               Henry Degenhardt, ed. Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1988.

-               Kevin Boyle, ed. Article 19: World Report 1988, Information, Freedom and Censorship, New York: Time Books, 1988.

-               "Kuwait Emir orders new government", The Globe and Mail, 5 July 1986.

-               John Kifner, "Kuwait's Rich, Stable Society is Torn by Iraq-Iran Conflict", The New York Times, 19 June 1987.

-               "Moslem Group Threatens Kuwait", The Globe and Mail, 8 June 1987.

-               John Kifner, "Gulf War Threatening the Good Life", The New York Times, 21 March 1987.

-               John Kifner, "6 Kuwaiti Shiite Terrorists Condemned", The New York Times, 7 June 1987.

-               "Kuwait Tightens Entry Regulations for Foreigners", The Globe and Mail, 5 August 1987.

Topics: Shiite, Kurd, Human rights,