The problem of stateless persons in Kuwait, one of the most prominent problems that weigh on all the considerations of social, political, economic, humanitarian, does not seem so far that there is a practical and realistic solution to deal with all the considerations, and dealt with it logically and humanely.
In spite of that agreement is almost unanimous, that the deepening of this problem is caused by the actions and policies of successive Government since the founding of the modern State of Kuwait and its independence in 1961, it did not prevent stakeholders from sharp criticism of the government slowdown in the solving the problem.
Thus, the atmosphere of political openness in Kuwait, provided a good opportunity to talk about the problem clearly , openly , transparently, and call things by their proper names without hesitation, press is mention of stateless and humanity suffering, as well as the statements parliamentary always calling on the government to solve this humanitarian problem, has contributed to the pressure in the Promulgation of Law 2000, which identified the naturalization of 2000 stateless people annually, has already been started but that the number of naturalization prescribed by law has not been completed as required, although the preparation of lists for this command is set up permanently.
On the other hand, the Committee for the defence of Human Rights in the National Assembly to follow up many cases of stateless, and solve a lot of their problems, as the Kuwaiti Association for Human Rights, Non-governmental organization by continuous pressure on the government to find a way out of the dilemma, I have made a lot of NGO's proposals to resolve the Problem, most notably memoranda filed by the Human Rights Association, and the Kuwaiti Society for Defending Victims of war in 92, calling for the government and the Council to apply international conventions in this regard, and it seems that the government is determined to handle the gradual and slow with the problem, which will worsen the humanitarian situation stateless, and therefore has been Proposal that the government grant is subject to the conditions of the establishment of long-term, and allow him to live a decent life, which can work, treatment, movement, travel and other, and then reviewed and placed after the expiration of the term of residence, and take the appropriate decision thereon.
Stateless in Kuwait
The problem of stateless in Kuwait, a different, largely for similar standards in other countries in the world, such as the Baltic republics, or the Kingdom of Bhutan or Nepal, it has been put stateless in Kuwait until shortly before 1985 and the situation model, where it is treated in many cases, citizens and is a preference Residents of other nationalities.
Indeed, progress in this area arrived in the early seventies to the point of granting citizenship to any student of the stateless, complete secondary education have benefited from a number of stateless who contribute to an effective contribution in the Kuwaiti society as citizens now, but that the procedure was stopped shortly after.
This has led a distinguished status for Bedoons, certainly Hide a not insignificant number of other nationalities campaign to neighbouring countries to their nationalities, and register themselves as Bedoon, and has been there for a long time, the foundations of many legal situations as "Bedoon", especially since the majority of those who had engaged in the military, did not appear during this period that the government was alarmed by this situation, but all the formalities were moving towards easing the stateless, and to treat them excellent in all areas.
Have passed the problem of stateless in Kuwait several stages, which can be divided into the following stages:
First - the stage of the issuance of the Nationality Law in 1959 and until 1985, a stage that did not feel it in any violation of their rights with the exception of access to citizenship.
Secondly - since 1985 and until the Iraqi invasion of 1990 and is the starting stage of militancy
III - The third stage is the liberation of Kuwait since 1991 and until now, a stage where militancy and increased suffering for the stateless, the end of the issuance of Law No. 22 of 2000 issued on 3.6.2001, which was published in the official gazette "Kuwait Today" on 06/11/2000 Where the National Assembly approved a law requiring the naturalization of two thousand people for that year by 40 deputies and deputies rejected five, with five others from voting.
Was based on this report in addition to other sources, mainly on a study issued by the Council of the Nation 1996
Nationality Law in Kuwait:
Governing citizenship and naturalization in Kuwait Nationality Act No. 15 of 1959, the private Kuwaiti nationality, and although it had been issued Law No. 2 of 1948, the organization of Kuwaiti nationality at the time it was not put into actual application until the issuance of Law No. 1959/15, had been introduced a lot of Amendments to the Act, as will be detailed later.
Article I of the Law 1959/15 governing the concept of Kuwait (mainly), which states that "Kuwaitis are mainly settled in Kuwait before 1920, and retained their normal residence to the day of publication of this Law " ,also organizes the second article the concept of nationality Bloodstream, where it states that "a Kuwaiti is any person who born for Kuwaiti father in Kuwait or abroad" This applies to the Kuwaiti or naturalization, as we shall see later, I had a legal debate as to whether the baby father Kuwait naturalized is regarded as another naturalized citizen, but that debate May finally resolved in favour of considering that generates the father of Kuwait, whether naturalized or mainly it is considered a Kuwaiti mainly.
Articles third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth governing naturalization cases:
Article 3, regulates the cases of unknown parentage and the foundling, which states that "acquire Kuwaiti nationality both born in Kuwait to unknown parents, and is a bastard born there, unless the contrary is proved, and the person who was born in Kuwait or abroad to a Kuwaiti mother and an unknown father Or did not prove paternity law, and may be the treatment of minors in this case treatment of the Kuwaiti until they reach adulthood, "It is worth mentioning that the text above, is a revised Law No. 40 of 1987, It is worth mentioning is that Kuwait and through the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour Provide special care for foundlings and unknown parents, where they are providing housing and educational and health care by the state, and give them names and to maintain the confidentiality of their lives until they reach adulthood and engage in the community.
The naturalization, is governed by Articles 4 and 5, has been amended several times, first under Royal Decree No. 2 of 1960, and the second under the Law No. 70 of 1966, and the third under the Legislative Decree No. 100 of 1980 and the fourth under Law No. 1 of 1982, which provided May be granted Kuwaiti nationality for each person who has attained the age of majority to the availability of the following conditions: legal residency in Kuwait for 15 consecutive years for the Arabs, and 20 consecutive years who is not, and have a legitimate reason for a living, and Must be good, is not convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude and the Secretariat, and to know the Arabic language, and be insufficient, or that the services needed by the country, should be a Muslim by birth place, or that have been converted to Islam according to the methods and procedures Practice and have since gone at least five years before being granted the Kuwaiti nationality, and is worth mentioning that this was the main add-on in the last amendment.
Article 5 special in naturalization also have taken place by several amendments, the First Amendment under Royal Decree No. 2 of 1962, and the second under the Law No. 70 of 1966, and the third under the law No. 41 of 1972, which was an amendment to an important and radical is indicated by a long-term vision, where Link between citizenship and academic achievement, opening the field text to be granted citizenship to people who completed high school in Kuwait, have benefited from this amendment are quite a few of Bedoons who are Kuwaitis now contribute to the development community so ably, though that trend has been encouraged And support for the problem of stateless much less than it is now, and would have been solved in a logical and progressive, and indicates that the nature of the shifts in government's drive towards the issue of stateless, it is lenient in the granting of citizenship to Bedoons just getting a high school diploma, to militancy, the situation now.
Unfortunately it was another amendment, in the period to dissolve the parliament (1976-1981) under the Legislative Decree No. 100 of 1980, where he was the abolition of this article, and then was another amendment of Article No. 5 under the Act No. 1 of 1982 and is the current text in force now since this article allows the granting of nationality exception to the provisions of the preceding article with the necessity of the conditions set forth in items 2, 3 and 5 of the previous article on the following: It has the country's great services, and born of a Kuwaiti mother, the governor to stay there until the age of majority , If the alien has his father divorced his mother died or divorced her irrevocably, and the Arab belonging to an Arab country if he had lived in Kuwait before 1945 and maintained a residence until the issuance of the decree granting citizenship (before the year 1930 for the non-Arab)
It is worth mentioning that the amendment for determining 1945 and 1930 had been mentioned in the Decree No. 2 of 1960, and does not seem meaningful and realistic to be mentioned in the amendment in 1982
Regulated by Article 6 the rights of election or appointment of bodies representative, a key point that is different from the Kuwaiti mainly from Kuwaiti naturalization, as defined in Article period of ineligibility for naturalized exercise their electoral rights, and noted that the amendments mentioned tended always to prolong that period, it is a period of 10 years in law Original 1959/15 became 20 years under an amendment Law 70 of 1966 and then became 30 years under an amendment of Law No. 1986/130 and the current adjustment, pursuant to Law No. 1987/40, there has been a legal debate which was being considered as sons of naturalized born after their parents get citizenship That they are naturalized, a clear legal error, which was finally amended without the need to modify the law which led to the participation of that category in the last election and therefore their access to political rights.
Regulated by Article 7 subject of wife and the children of naturalized citizens and the present text was amended by Law No. 1980/100 provides that "no result to earn foreign Kuwaiti nationality to become his wife Kuwaiti unless stated desire to do so within one year of earning her husband of the Kuwaiti nationality and is considered his children Kuwaiti palace and they decide to choose their nationality of origin during the year following the age of majority”
Article 8 is the last article of the Organization for the cases of naturalization dealt with the subject of wife Kuwaiti foreign and which was amended several times, moving always towards extending the period to allow foreign spouse which to obtain citizenship, while the law does not require the original one at all, is late under the law 1966/70 To become 5 years and then increased to become 15 years under the law 1987/40, the above-mentioned article was awarded the Minister of Interior the right to exemption from that period which is what usually happens, we have stated that later in the report statistics of the number of cases of naturalization under article VIII, which does not seem to The issue is under little stress, and Article 9 stresses not to lose the foreign wife of the Kuwaiti nationality at the end of the marital unless she regains her original nationality or other nationality earned.
Regulates articles 10, 11(2nd), 12, 13, 14 and 15 subjects: the loss of nationality, waived, the reinstatement of citizenship for Kuwaiti women, withdrawal of nationality, drop, and response which confirms the Article No. 10 by an amendment of Law No. 1980/100 that "Kuwaiti women married to foreigners do not lose Kuwaiti nationality only if entered in the nationality of her husband at their request ".
And address the Article 11(1st) issue of loss of nationality, which occurs as a result of naturalization selected foreign nationality, does not apply to his wife Kuwait only if entered in his or her nationality, and may be re-nationality in such a case if he stayed in Kuwait for a year to establish a legitimate and requested to return to Kuwaiti citizenship and renounced his citizenship Foreign countries and that a decision of the Council of Ministers, Article 11 (2nd) is added and the law 100/1980 and address cases of naturalized under Articles 4, 5, 7 and 8, where had waived naturalized his original nationality if he has another nationality, as well as permit the article 12 as amended by Law 100/1980 of reinstatement of citizenship to Kuwaiti women lost under the provisions of the preceding two articles, if it abandons its nationality previous.
And governing the Article 13 cases in which the withdrawal of nationality, and may have been several amendments to this article under law 1965/21 and 1966/70 and 1980/100 and now Law 1987/40 as it indicated that Article 13 may be withdrawn citizenship by decree of those who earn Kuwaiti nationality under Articles 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 The following cases: If you had been granted citizenship by fraud or on false statement, and if the rule during the 15 years of obtaining citizenship in a crime involving moral turpitude and the Secretariat, or if removed from his job for disciplinary reasons, for reasons related to the honour and the Secretariat during the ten years from the granting of nationality, Or if summoned the interest of the Supreme State or external security, or if there is evidence to the competent authorities for having promoted the principles that would undermine the social order in the country or the adherence to a foreign political and, therefore, Article 13 deals with naturalized Article 14 speaks for the shooting down Nationality and means deprived of Kuwaiti mainly, which remains unchanged and is almost a duplicate copy in the nationality laws in many Arab countries where they are dropped from the citizenship of all they have in the following cases:
1 - If entered the military service of a foreign country and remained there in spite of the command to be issued to him by the Government of Kuwait to leave them.
2 - If work for the benefit of a foreign country and are in a state of war with Kuwait or political relations were severed with it.
3 - If the regular residence abroad and joined the faculty of the purposes of working to undermine the social and economic system of Kuwait, or was convicted of crimes provision states it touches his allegiance to his country.
And the consequent deprivation of citizenship in the cases mentioned above, until Kuwaiti nationality for the owner alone, "
Article 15 asserts it without amendment, as contained in the original passport of nationality in response to any time it is withdrawn or were dropped in accordance with the provisions of the preceding two Articles
According to the latest statistics issued by the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports, as stated in the newspaper public opinion on July 22, 2002 that cases of loss of nationality for the period since February 26, 1991 and until July 21, 2002 amounted to 108 cases and the clouds 4, while cases of projection is one case and Apparently as a state spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith al-Qaeda.
"Bedoons" and the process of changing the terminology
The term "Bedoon" expression of a brief and fashionable among the general public in Kuwait to demonstrate the social group is a specific nationality are divided, in fact, to two first includes those who do not have the nationality of any State, and the second includes those belonging to other countries, but they hid all the legal documents that prove that they Are not stateless.
The term( Bedoon jensyah) "without nationality", a term first appeared to describe and name this category term abstract in itself, does not dispute it, even when compared with the legal term or international law, known as "stateless", but the problem was in the handling of official and public alike of the term "Bedoon "and circulated to all state claims that it does not carry the nationality of a particular State, which led over time to form a mental image in general and semi-specific for all members of this class already divided between the owners of the right and claiming it.
The last term was used by the government to describe them is "residing illegally, "a term that carries with it the mix and they are the law of residence, although not subject to them, and believed that the choice of this name because of the basis to exercise a kind of psychological pressure on members of this class in the hope that Shows some of them have documents to prove his allegiance to the State, but will be subject to harsher measures, including deportation, according to legal frameworks and international support to find alternative country.