Article: France24 - 'Stateless overnight'

 

Link:  'Stateless overnight': Authoritarian crackdown strips 42,000 Kuwaitis of nationality

Kuwait has taken a distinctly more authoritarian direction since the accession of the new monarch, 84-year-old Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in December 2023.  

Asserting that he would not allow democracy “to be exploited to destroy the state”, the emir suspended parliament on May 10 of last year and announced a revision of the constitution with the aim of ending political gridlock, which he claims has paralysed Kuwait for decades.

Several people who criticised this initiative were arrested, and members of parliament were prosecuted in a wave of repression denounced by Amnesty International.  

Nearly 42,000 Kuwaiti nationals have been stripped of their nationality since September, a radical policy shift for the Gulf country. Revocation of citizenship had previously been used in Kuwait, as in other Gulf monarchies, only sporadically and following court rulings, sometimes against political opponents or those accused of terrorism like the detainees held at the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba. 

The enactment in December of a legislative amendment authorising forfeiture of citizenship for “‘moral turpitude or dishonesty, or for actions aimed at threatening state security, including criticism of the emir or religious figures”, has broadened the scope for the revocation of citizenship. 

A Supreme Committee chaired by the minister of the interior examines cases to establish who has a legal claim to Kuwaiti citizenship. And every week, the names of those stripped of nationality are made public – with anxious Kuwaitis poring over the lists looking for their names or the names of relatives, the Financial Times reported.

Kuwaiti wives

No fewer than 464 citizens were stripped of their nationality in a single day on March 6, including 12 people accused of “illegally” holding dual nationality and 451 said to be guilty  of “forgery and fraud”, the Middle East news site Al-Monitor reported.

Kuwait does not allow dual nationality, so those who acquire Kuwaiti citizenship must give up their original nationality.

And these naturalised Kuwaitis have been particularly targeted, notably women who were naturalised after marrying a Kuwaiti. Stripped of their Kuwaiti citizenship, they find themselves stateless and without basic rights – for example, they no longer have access to state health care nor can they renew their children's enrolment in state schools. 

Non-Kuwaitis cannot access the generous social welfare benefits offered by this wealthy petro-monarchy, nor can they own land or hold a majority stake in a company. Some who have lost their nationality have reported having their driving licenses invalidated, or found their access to their bank accounts restricted. 

“The speed of these measures and the scale of the number of people affected is unprecedented in Kuwait. The government is proceeding in a haphazard manner,” says Claire Beaugrand, a researcher for the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), at Paris Dauphine University-PSL. 

Faced with public alarm over the denaturalisation campaign, the government in December tried to moderate its position concerning spouses naturalised after marriage, promising to restore their pensions and social benefits. 

‘Stateless overnight’

All levels of society are affected by the new rules on nationality, according to a report in the Financial Times. The British daily describes the story of Faisal, a Kuwaiti businessman, who has been in despair since having his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to travel. No reason was given, he says. But his father, a naturalised Kuwaiti, was also stripped of his nationality. “They made me stateless overnight,” Faisal said. “Today, all I can think about is leaving and settling in Dubai.”

Another potential victim of these revocations is the political opposition. “Rumour has it in Kuwait that the threat of administrative proceedings against ‘fraudulent’ naturalisations is aimed at intimidating people from tribal backgrounds who formed the breeding ground of the parliamentary opposition, considered by the authorities to be ‘disloyal’,” says Beaugrand.

The revocations are a reminder that there is another category of stateless Kuwaitis, the Bidoon, many of whom are descendants of nomadic tribes. Bidoon, literally “without nationality”, have never been able to prove they are Kuwati nationals and have remained in legal limbo for several generations.  

Their applications for citizenship are processed by a specific institution that considers them neither citizens nor legal foreign residents. Because of this unsettled status, they are deprived of the social, political and economic rights accorded to the rest of the population. There are an estimated 100,000 Bidoon in Kuwait. 

Xenophobic rhetoric 

To justify its campaign against foreign nationals, the government at times uses xenophobic rhetoric mirroring that used by the far right in the US and Europe – notably, warning that foreign criminals are taking advantage of the generous welfare benefits meant for Kuwaitis and should be punished.   

Kuwait has been “hijacked” by other nationalities, Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad al-Yousef said on Kuwait’s Alrai TV in March. “I will not mention these nationalities. There are nationalities that are foreign to Kuwaiti society – its social life, language, character and social relations.” Yousef, a member of the royal family, cited the danger of undermining the “authentic nature” of Kuwaiti society and generating “lineage confusion”. 

The government has even opened a “hotline” to encourage Kuwaitis to report dual nationals and to denounce those they suspect of procuring false documents in order to obtain nationality. 

Kuwait's lagging economy 

The government also makes an economic argument to justify its campaign that is sometimes echoed in the media.

“The government and the press describe these measures as a way of reducing state expenditure by reducing the number of citizens benefiting from the generous advantages offered by the Kuwaiti welfare state,” says Beaugrand. 

Faced with economic stagnation, the Kuwaiti authorities are worried that they are lagging behind their Gulf neighbours, who are successfully diversifying their economies away from dependence on oil. 

“When he came to power, the emir promised to launch economic reforms to boost growth,” notes Beaugrand. But ever since he dissolved parliament, despite promising reforms “we've mostly seen denaturalisations”. 

Article: Foreign Affairs Observer - Kuwait Revokes Citizenship of Women En Masse

 

Link:  Kuwait Revokes Citizenships of Women En Masse in Latest Pattern of Repression | Foreign Affairs Observer

by Anonymous Author

Once lauded as a pioneer of social democracy and progressive ideals, Kuwait has embarked on a sweeping program of citizenship revocations. Alarming not only for its scale but also its discriminatory execution, as this program has disproportionately affected Kuwaiti women. Most notably, the wives of Kuwaiti men who were lawfully naturalised as citizens.

In December 2024, amendments to Kuwait’s Nationality Law meant women married to Kuwaiti men are no longer eligible for naturalisation, regardless of whether their husbands were born Kuwaiti or were naturalised themselves. Through retrospective application of this amendment over 47,000 people, predominantly Kuwaiti women, have had their citizenship revoked.

As these women were required to renounce their original citizenship at the time of naturalisation, many of have now become stateless, unable to reclaim the original citizenship they once surrendered in good faith. But under the false guise of anti-corruption reform, Kuwait’s sweeping de-nationalisation campaign reveals far more about Kuwait’s uncertain future. Raising urgent questions about human rights, statelessness, and gender-based discrimination.

Kuwait’s Nationality Law

In 1959 Kuwait’s Nationality Law provided the legal framework for citizenship, beyond those eligible since its enactment or being born to Kuwaiti fathers. Through this law, non-Kuwaitis could acquire citizenship through legitimate channels which included marriage.

Previously, under Article 8 of Kuwait’s Nationality Law, wives of Kuwaitis could apply for citizenship by notifying the Ministry of Interior, which would issue a nationality certificate if the marriage lasted five years from the date of notice. Since Kuwait’s liberation from Iraqi occupation in 1991, women married to Kuwaiti men grew to account for the single largest group of naturalised citizens.

Article 9 contains a safeguard so that a woman will not lose Kuwaiti nationality if her marriage comes to an end, unless she regains her original nationality or she obtains another nationality. No such safeguard exists where nationality is revoked in other circumstances.

Article 13 of Kuwait's Nationality Law outlines the preconditions for revoking citizenship which largely focuses on cases of fraud, criminal convictions, and perceived threats to national security.

Not only has retroactive application violated Constitutional protections under Article 32, but this has also consigned tens of thousands of naturalised wives, divorcees, and widows to either interim or permanent statelessness.

Widespread Revocation Campaign

What initially began as efforts to tackle forgery, corruption and fraud quickly devolved into a widespread campaign that systematically targets naturalised Kuwaiti women. Between 2011 and August 2024, the number of revocations issued averaged at roughly 788 per year. However, over the past 7 months alone authorities have issued revocations at a staggering rate approximately 15 times higher than the past 13 years.

The revocation programme is led by the Supreme Committee to Investigate Kuwaiti Citizenship. Chaired by the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah, the Supreme Committee also includes high-ranking government figures such as the Minister of State for Council of Ministers’ Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the General-Secretary of the Council of Ministers.

The Supreme Committee has not publicly disclosed any criteria for identifying individuals subject to the revocation process. There appears to be no semblance of due process involved, as no notice is given to inform individuals their nationality is under review. There is no opportunity to make representations to the Supreme Committee or its representatives at any stage in the process. Worst of all, affected individuals are only made aware when the Kuwait Gazette publishes a decree, issued by Kuwait’s Amir, that includes their names in the latest nationality revocations list.

Any path for judicial recourse has also been suspended. As of December 2024, the Minister of Justice issued a new directive under Administrative Circular no.23 of 2024, that requires proof of citizenship to file a lawsuit in any Kuwaiti court. This appears to be designed specifically to prevent affected Kuwaitis, mostly women, from seeking access to the Kuwaiti judicial system or challenge the legality of their revocation.

Although in February 2025, the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a grievance committee to ‘oversee cases of nationality withdrawal and revocation’. But beyond its announcement, no additional information has been provided on the committee's mandate, eligibility criteria, or instructions on how to access it.

Consequences of Revocations

Once revocations are issued, documents like passports and national identification cards are immediately invalidated. It has been reported that immigration officials are seizing the passports of affected individuals if they seek to leave the country or upon their return. As a consequence, women are trapped, either within or outside Kuwait depending upon their location at the time of revocation. There have been plenty of instances where women were left stranded outside of Kuwait, separated from their families.

Although the Minister of Interior issued a statement in November 2024, reassuring women who have had their nationality rescinded that they would not lose their jobs or benefits. It has been reported that the Ministry of Social Affairs stopped issuing salaries to female employees who have been subject to the revocation process.

Meanwhile, the Public Institution for Social Security stated on 9 December 2024 that pension payments due to be made the following day would not be issued to retirees whose nationality had been revoked, as there is no legislation permitting this.

Bank accounts of disenfranchised women are frozen while all social insurance payments are also stopped. For women who own businesses, their files in the Public Authority for Manpower are suspended.

According to recent reports, Kuwait Credit Bank has been asked by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy to prevent any property disposals by individuals whose nationality has been revoked until they have settled outstanding utilities charges .

Worryingly, restrictions also extend to essential services including healthcare. As hospitals and medical staff are now required to verify national identification cards prior to admitting patients to any public healthcare facility. A Kuwaiti woman recently appealed to leaders via social media to permit her cancer-diagnosed mother to travel abroad for chemotherapy, after being stripped of her nationality.

A Pattern of Repression

Kuwait’s democratic regression began when the newly sworn Amir, Shaikh Mishaal Al Ahmad Al-Sabah, dissolved Parliament and suspended crucial Constitutional articles under the guise of national security, in May 2024. Supporters praised the move, arguing in favour of a parliamentary pause to address systemic issues ranging from corruption and administrative issues to infrastructure reform. This was viewed as a means to accelerate economic growth, particularly as Kuwait continues to lag behind GCC counterparts like the UAE and Qatar, despite comparable oil resources and wealth.

Critics, however, suspected a more nefarious context. The Emir, with his background in Kuwait’s national security apparatus, had little patience for democracy and the distribution of power beyond the ruling Al-Sabah clan. Over a decade before Shaikh Mishaal ascended to power, a leading Kuwaiti journalist captured his disdain for Kuwait’s constitutional democracy in what many now consider a prescient article.

Shortly after, the Minister of Interior launched a campaign of arrests targeting political opponents and government critics. Despite Constitutional protections for free speech, those detained include critics of the Amir such as Anwar Hayati, Mohammad al-Bargash and Abdullah Fairouz. This also extends to former members of parliament such as Waleed al Tabtabaei and Musaed al Quraifa.

Through its indiscriminate scope, the denationalisation campaign has forged a rare moment of national solidarity among Kuwaitis who would otherwise coalesce around ethnic and tribal affiliations.

Former Kuwaiti MP, Saleh Al-Mulla, has been among the vocal critics who recently denounced the revocation campaign via social media in January, where he said: “Naturalised women include the wives and mothers of Kuwaitis. What is happening to them every week is shameful. Women are anxiously waiting for their names to appear in the official gazette as if they are criminals. We will not accept this.”

The backlash took Kuwait’s leadership by surprise. But the scale of criticism has seemingly emboldened the Supreme Committee’s resolve to carry out its agenda.

In November 2024, popular Kuwaiti social media personality, Lulwa Al Husainan, posted a video that criticised the Minister of Interior, Shaikh Fahad Al Yousuf, for publicly mocking disenfranchised women. She was then summoned by Kuwait’s National Security Agency (NSA) where, she alleged, the Minister himself had assaulted her at a detention centre where she was held in custody.

Popular Kuwaiti journalists, such as Hassan Al Essa and Mohammed Al Saqer, have also been warned against publishing critical articles around the cancellation of citizenships.

While former member of parliament, Muhannad Al Sayer, was detained by Kuwait’s NSA in January after posting a video on social media in which he demanded the government cease its revocation of citizenships. Reports have also surfaced that the government’s most vocal critic, Saleh Al Mulla, was also summoned to the NSA.

Despite the wave of repression, even the government's inner circle of advisors has begun to voice deepening concerns.

In December, Ambassador Abdulla Bishara, the former Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and one of Kuwait’s leading foreign policy advisors, wrote an article warning that Kuwait’s revocation policy could undermine its moral standing. In which he emphasised: “I register these concerns because I am a participant and witness to Kuwait's history in international organizations and I defended Kuwait’s lofty values and its inherent faith in the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.”

Similar sentiments have emerged from within the Al Sabah family itself, with Shaikh Ali Jabir Al Ali Al Sabah being the most vocal critic of the government’s program.

An Uncertain Future

Few Kuwaitis are hopeful that the Amir, now 84 years old, will change course, or that he places any value on how history records his legacy. As leaders run out of opportunities to scapegoat Parliament, it is important to remember the social contract that all Kuwaitis are bound to.

In October 1991, just two months into Iraq's occupation, the exiled Kuwaiti government held a conference in Jeddah where 1,200 Kuwaitis came together in moment of national unity. Opposition leaders argued that reform and liberation must go hand in hand. They called for the restoration of the 1962 Constitution and the 1986 National Assembly, the same institutions now under threat.

The conference issued a final communiqué that affirmed the political leadership of the Al-Sabah family, with a vital caveat: Kuwaiti society post-liberation should be based on " national unity and legitimate systems that we have chosen and accepted, strengthened by consultation, democracy and popular participation and guided by our 1962 Constitution."

Regardless of whether the government alters its course, time is running out on efforts to shield these transgressions from the unforgiving gaze of global criticism. But when the veil inevitably drops, this will be seen as a historic betrayal to Kuwait’s hard-won freedom and the profound sacrifices upon which its democratic vision was built.