Kuwait Times

Published Date: November 24, 2009
By Abdullah Al-Qattan, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Important issues related to the status and welfare of Kuwait's bedoon population were discussed at a seminar held yesterday by the Kuwait Bedoon Committee. Among the subjects discussed were how to ensure better coexistence between Kuwaiti citizens and the bedoon community and the difficulties faced by bedoons, whether or not they are married to Kuwaitis.

Dr. Thiqal Al-Azmi, an expert in international law and human rights, said that the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls for the most basic of each person's rights to be respected, without any reference to their nationality. He also pointed out that Kuwait's constitution follows these precepts in regard to Kuwaiti citizens, while neglecting the rights of the country's bedoon population. He asserted that all people in Kuwait should have the full benefit of the constitutional laws without facing d
iscrimination on the basis of their nationality and should be able to claim legal status in compliance with the international human rights legislation which Kuwait is signatory to.

Kuwait agreed and signed two international treaties on human rights in 1966; these are the treaty regarding civil and political rights, and the one on social and economic rights. This means that Kuwait is bound to honor these treaties and ensure that they are part of the constitution," he said.

Dr. Al-Azmi also asserted that Kuwait's citizenship legislation is in the hands of the leadership rather than the country's Constitutional Court, meaning that it should be administered by a supreme legal jurisdiction in order to ensure justice in such a critically important issue.

Former Chief Prosecutor Mohammed Al-Mutairi said that Kuwait's bedoons face two types of exile if they commit a crime in this country, with both having a harmful effect on their family, especially if the individual is married to a Kuwaiti.

Al-Mutairi said that the situation for bedoons had deteriorated, pointing out that in the past they could be granted driving licenses, health care and a full free education at every level, although these basic rights are now far harder to secure. These changes have taken place only recently in historical terms and for unknown reasons, he said.

Article 29 of the Kuwaiti constitution clearly states that all people in this country, without regard to their nationality or origin, should be granted equal human rights," Al-Mutairi emphasized, asserting that this means that any law forbidding any person here from living their life with the same dignity they are entitled to by birth is illegal domestically and internationally.

The final speaker, Nawaf Al-Fzaia, said that Kuwaitis should confront the real problem facing the bedoon community, which is political dominance, adding that the answer to this problem lies in ensuring that the constitutional laws governing the issue are properly observed.

He said that Kuwait's citizenship law was drawn up to ensure patriotism, rather than to accord privileges, adding that it is not concerned with simple issues such as driving licenses or the right to get married, but deals with loyalty and belonging to this country.

Al-Fzaia mentioned some examples where people who should have been granted citizenship were exiled from the country on the basis of a simple error, meaning that the fact that there is a possibility of errors in such vitally important matters should not be tolerated.

In conclusion, Al-Fzaia said that such problems have lead to international lawsuits against this country, adding that such actions project an incorrect image of the country to the rest of the world, and should not happen in Kuwait anyway since it is renowned for its justice.