Possible Solutions to the Stateless Citizens Issue in Kuwait
A Background Paper
By Sarah Zaidan, Chair of Human Rights Commission
1. Abstract
Throughout Kuwait’s history there has been a consistent internal conflict between the
Kuwaiti government and the stateless citizens living in the country. This conflict has been taking
its toll on the country for over thirty years with no solution. No other country or the United
Nations has stepped in to help out with this situation, leaving these stateless citizens with no
citizenship and banned from countless rights than any other citizen has. A solution must be
carried out in order to abolish the conflicts occurring as a result of the bedouns revolting and to
maintain stability in the country.
2. Description and Definition of the Issue
The stateless citizens, also known as “bedouns,” are people that have live in Kuwait for
over thirty years with no citizenship. They are banned from many privileges a normal citizen of
the country would have. For example, the stateless citizens aren’t allowed to travel or have
medical insurance. In addition, they are ostracized in society creating cultural tension. As a result
of not having a secure life that allows them to sustain all their needs and live in peace, the
stateless citizens are creating problems because they feel as if they have nothing to work for.
They are committing crimes such as murder or taking drugs, making them a threat to society.
Their situation in society is unstable, therefore, a rule encouraging them to work for something, a
citizenship, should be implemented in order to benefit both sides, the country of Kuwait and the
stateless citizens.
3. Glossary of the Issue
Bedouns: the Arabic name for stateless citizens living in the state of Kuwait.
4. History of the Issue
The situation of stateless citizens in Kuwait has mainly evolved since the Iraqi invasion
in 1990, when many citizens lost their citizenship and never got it replaced or gave birth to
children and then passed away, leaving them with no family members or any source of
citizenship. The stateless citizens grew up not knowing where they were from and were unable to
attain a citizenship for any country. In previous years, the stateless citizens have gathered and
protested in order to attain a Kuwaiti citizenship but where silenced the government because they
were portrayed and seen as threatening to society.
5. Current Status
Last year, in 2012, around 100,000 stateless citizens protested in Al-Jahra, asking for a
Kuwaiti citizenship and equal rights; however, the protest got out of hand, causing a riot. The
bedouns began to throw harmful objects such as glass, on the Kuwaiti police, and as a result the
police retaliated and arrested some of them. In the end, 150 stateless citizens were facing trials
at court.
In the month of December of 2012, four men murdered a man in The Avenues mall of
Kuwait but the main one was a stateless citizen, over a parking lot conflict. The stateless citizen
purchased an axe and practically cut the man apart, leaving him lying dead in the middle of the
mall. The stateless citizen had nothing to work for or nothing to lose; therefore, he didn’t find it a
problem to murder a man over the most pathetic reason, a parking slot. This illustrates how
essential it is to develop a solution for the stateless citizens in the country of Kuwait.
6. Conclusion
All in all, a solution must be created and carried out. A possible solution is to award the
highly educated and committed citizens a citizenship. In addition, they should have lived in
Kuwait for a certain number of years or married to a Kuwaiti citizenship. Moreover, they should
have no problematic or criminal history in their record and should’ve served for the Kuwaiti
government for a definite number of years. Some of the “bedouns” should be awarded a
citizenship, only if they meet a certain high criteria and the rest should be reported to the United
Nations, in order to take certain measures and help allow them live a normal life.
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