Losing Kuwaiti Nationality

 

This has been the big talk in Kuwait that no one in Kuwait is talking about in public for fear of repercussions from the powers that be. Kuwait has revoked thousands of Kuwaiti nationalities. Many of the people who have lost nationality are law-abiding wives of Kuwaiti men who were granted nationality - some as far back as 3 decades if not more.

What does this mean? It means that if they own businesses or property - may be confiscated. Employees under those businesses would lose their visas. Many women will become stateless ("bedoon" in Arabic - meaning "without" nationality) - meaning people of NO nationality. (There are already hundreds of thousands of stateless people living in Kuwait - which is in itself a huge security issue. No hope causes a range of issues.) Once a woman renounced her original nationality from some countries (for example, Saudi Arabia, China, etc), there is no way to get it back. Others, like widows, may lose their livings. Mothers, grandmothers, business owners....

A list was published and distributed with the names of all women who were having their nationalities revoked. It was public and women friends would call each other after seeing their names to console each other.

It was all done quickly and without answers. They were promised travel documents and answers, but when? Some of the women were out of the country and afraid to return to Kuwait for fear that they couldn't leave again.

I'm writing this now because publicly, the cat is now out of the bag (however, you haven't seen any of this in international news just yet - again, probably because people who have lost nationality are most likely afraid to tell their stories).

I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't have a personal story to tell (and I never held Kuwaiti nationality), but my friends do. I heard lots of stories when I recently visited Kuwait.  It is heartbreaking. Some of the women who have lost their nationality gave a LOT to Kuwait during the Gulf War and more. They've always been a proud group. I remember them well - serving Kuwait through networking at a time (1990-91) when there was no internet and any news was reproduced on paper and sent out in the mail. (I still have the copies of "Kuwaiting for News" and "Voice of Kuwait." (See my post below)  Others helped from inside Kuwait towards the liberation of Kuwait.

Some of the comments I've read online regarding this story are similar to: "Good! Bunch of gold diggers. They deserve..." etc. The kind of global xenophobia that seems to be rampant these days.

A report has just been published. It is the first published story I have seen on the subject. The link is https://www.gc4hr.org/amendments-to-kuwaiti-nationality-law-pose-serious-threats-to-human-rights/


"Report Highlights:

• Kuwaiti authorities have recently made amendments to the Nationality Law and started a massive revocation of nationalities from previously naturalised persons. The state claims that the move is due to concerns for national unity and national security.

• The massive revocation has affected more than 30,000 people, mainly the foreign wives of Kuwaiti citizens, who obtained their nationality based on the regulations of the Law by previous governments since 1980. All of them had to revoke their former nationality as a prerequisite to obtain the Kuwaiti nationality at the time.

• The state did not offer a comprehensive plan to address the needs of those who were stripped of their nationality. They found themselves without access to documentation for basic travel or services, such as resuming jobs, accessing bank accounts, or the ability to own their property or run their businesses. Some were disabled individuals in need of proper medical care, or patients who needed to travel for care.

• Kuwait has one of the highest numbers of stateless populations in the world, amounting to more than 90,0000 persons, because of its restrictive Nationality Law, that limits naturalisation for those who reside in Kuwait for marriage, work, or lack of other nationality. Amendments to the Law over the years have never addressed these issues, rather, they have exacerbated them.

• Community figures, former parliamentarians, scholars, economists, and activists have been advocating against these amendments, demanding referral to legal experts and a legal recourse to address nationality concerns. All are advocating against amendments to Article 8 of the Law which stripped thousands of naturalized wives of Kuwaiti citizens of their nationality.

• Many of those who advocated against stripping of nationalities, have faced legal intimidation and fabricated charges by the authorities, and some had to leave the country.

• Facing a public backlash, authorities promised to treat the naturalized wives, who were stripped of nationality, as Kuwaiti citizens, therefore raising legitimate concerns of the rationale of stripping of stripping nationality in the first place.

• Kuwait is not party to the Refugee Convention of 1951 or its 1967 Protocol, both are crucial instruments to meaningfully address the growing stateless population rights."