Information whether bidoons are issued passports and are permitted to keep them in their possession in order to travel abroad freely; on whether they can obtain a foreign visa and can return to Kuwait without restriction; and on the current treatment of bidoons who defended Kuwait during the Gulf War and whether they have been granted citizenship [KWT18837.E]

In Arabic, "bidoon" means "without" and refers to the stateless residents of Kuwait who are denied Kuwaiti citizenship (Calgary Herald 29 July 1991; AFP 5 Nov. 1994; ibid. 7 June 1991; CNN 17 Oct. 1994; Reuters 17 July 1991). Many bidoon families have lived and worked in Kuwait for generations, but have been unable to become Kuwaiti citizens due to the strict 1959 nationality law (ibid.; Calgary Herald 29 July 1991; Reuters 17 July 1991; AFP 5 July 1991; ibid. 7 June 1991; The Christian Science Monitor 20 Aug. 1991). According to Information Pack, The Gulf Newsletter and Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law, "bidoon" is also used to refer to those foreign nationals who came to Kuwait during the 1960s and 1970s oil boom without passports, whose passports had expired, or who concealed their nationality in order to remain in Kuwait (Gulf Information Project Jan. 1994b, n.p.; ibid. May/June 1992, 5; LCHR 1992, 38).

In the mid-1980s the bidoon were stripped of their civil identification cards, which permitted the holder to exit and enter Kuwait and access various social services (Country Reports 1992 1993, 1041; Country Reports 1993, 1994, 1232; HRW 1993, 321; The Gulf Newsletter May/June 1992, 5).

According to the associate director of Human Rights Watch, Middle East Division in New York, currently the bidoon are unable to travel abroad or leave Kuwait without a laissez-passer travel document (8 Dec. 1994). There are two types of laissez-passers issued to bidoon, one issued to those in the armed forces, the other to all other bidoon. The few thousand bidoon who still work in the armed/security forces can travel abroad with a laissez-passer that is good either for one trip or one year, whichever comes first. With this particular laissez-passer, the holder will have no difficulty re-entering Kuwait (ibid.). The associate director also stated that the bidoon in the military get special treatment and can be issued a Kuwaiti passport under article 17 of the Passport Law. This passport does not state that the bearer is a Kuwaiti citizen. Article 17 mentions that the Minister of the Interior may grant a passport to non-Kuwaitis working for the Kuwaiti government, for the duration of their mission abroad (ibid.). The laissez-passer which is issued to bidoon outside of the armed forces is different. The Kuwaiti authorities have allowed many bidoon to get no-return visas on their laissez-passers. These visas permit the holder to leave the country but clearly state that the holder cannot re-enter Kuwait (ibid.). According to the source, the laissez-passer is issued to bidoon who do not work for the Kuwaiti armed forces.

According to the Middle East coordinator for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York, a bidoon could be eligible for and receive residency status if he could prove his participation in the Kuwaiti resistance and could get a first-class Kuwaiti male citizen of good reputation to vouch for him (7 Dec. 1994). Since the occupation, several thousand bidoon have been granted residency status and rights by the Kuwaiti residency committee and have been granted the laissez-passer that permits the bearer to leave and re-enter Kuwait (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB. The Middle East coordinator stated that regardless of whether or not the bidoon are in the Kuwaiti armed forces, they are issued a laisser-passer, not a passport (7 Dec. 1994).

However, various written sources from 1991 to 1994 contradict both oral sources, stating that bidoon are not permitted to travel abroad (The New York Times 11 June 1991; Libération 27 Feb. 1992; ibid. 11 Apr. 1992, 2; Reuters 17 July 1991; The Gulf Newsletter May/June 1992, 5; Freedom in the World 1992-1993, 316; Country Reports 1993 1994, 1232). The 27 February 1992 attachment from Libération describes the laissez-passer briefly, but does not provide further details. For information on the laissez-passer, please consult Responses to Information Requests KWT15257.E of 14 October 1993 and KWT14213.E of 25 May 1993. Responses to Information Requests KWT15257.E of 14 October 1993, KWT14213 of 25 May 1993 and KWT15260.E, KWT15259.E, KWT15258.E and KWT15256.E of 12 October 1993 provide information on the bidoon and passports.

According to a 5 July 1991 AFP release, Kuwaiti defense minister Ali Sabah al-Salem stated that Kuwaiti citizenship would be extended to bidoon who fought with the Kuwaitis against Iraq. However, a 23 October 1993 Al-Hayah report stated that the "current trend is to not permit citizenship to [the 120,000 bidoon] except in the most extraordinary of cases," and that citizenship would be extended to approximately 3 per cent only. None of the attachments, Country Reports 1993, HRW 1993 or Freedom in the World 1992-1993 indicate a change in the citizenship status of bidoon. According to the associate director of Human Rights Watch, however, those male bidoon who died resisting the occupation were posthumously granted second-class citizenship (8 Dec. 1994). This is important because second-class citizenship is passed on automatically to a man's children, whether male or female. However, if a female bidoon died resisting the occupation, her children would not get second-class citizenship as women in Kuwait do not pass on citizenship (ibid.).

According to the associate director of Human Rights Watch, some bidoon were rewarded for their participation in the Kuwaiti resistance, but only if they could prove their role in the resistance (ibid.). The source stated that the procedure to prove bidoon participation is very cumbersome and requires witnesses and personal connections (ibid.). The associate director did not provide further information. The source stated that the majority of bidoon who defended Kuwait have found themselves in the same situation as the bidoon in general (ibid.).

The attachments from Information Pack (The Gulf Information Project Jan. 1994), Laying the Foundations: Human Rights in Kuwait: Obstacles and Opportunities (LCHR April 1993) and Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law (LCHR 1992) provide information on the current treatment of the bidoon by the Kuwaiti authorities.

For information on the treatment immediately following the occupation of bidoon who fought in the Kuwaiti resistance, please consult the attachments from Reuters, Libération (27 Feb. 1992) and The Christian Science Monitor. Please consult the 1992 Critique, Human Rights Watch World Report 1992-1994 and Country Reports 1992 and 1993 for general information on the overall immediate treatment of the bidoon after the occupation. These sources are available at your Regional Documentation Centre.

For information on the rights denied the bidoon because of their statelessness, please consult the attachments, in particular The New York Times, Libération (11 Apr. 1992), AFP (7 June 1991), The Gulf Newsletter and Reuters (17 July 1991).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris]. 5 November 1994. "Bidoon Gets 15 Years in Jail for Collaborating with Iraq." (NEXIS)

. 5 July 1991. "Minister Says 'Bidoon' Collaborators Could Face Execution." (NEXIS)

. 7 June 1991. Michael Adler. "Stateless Kuwaitis Stranded in No Man's Land." (NEXIS)

The Baltimore Sun. 11 October 1994. Doug Struck. "Saddam Again Uses a Crisis to Make His Regime Look Good." (NEXIS)

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 21 October 1993. "Defence Minister Comments on 'Kuwaitization' of the Army." (NEXIS)

Calgary Herald. 29 July 1991. Final Edition. Peter Bakogeorge. "Stateless Refugees Caught in Kuwait-Iraq Limbo." (NEXIS)

Cable News Network (CNN). 17 October 1994. Peter Arnett. "Iraq's Republican Guard Units Continue to Head North." (NEXIS)

The Christian Science Monitor. 20 August 1991. William Gasperini. "Stateless Bedoons Are Shut Out of Kuwait." (NEXIS)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties 1992-1993. 1993. New York: Freedom House, p. 316.

Gulf Information Project. January 1994a. "Aftermath of the Gulf Crisis," Information Pack. London: British Refugee Council.

. January 1994b. "The Bidouns in Kuwait," Information Pack. London: British Refugee Council.

The Gulf Newsletter [London]. May/June 1992. No. 3. "Kuwait after Liberation: The Victims of Conflict."

Al-Hayah [London, in Arabic]. 23 October 1993. "Sources: Few 'Biduns' to Attain Citizenship." (FBIS-NES-93-208 29 Oct. 1993, 23)

Human Rights Watch, Middle East Division, New York. 8 December 1994. Telephone interview with associate director.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1993. Human Rights Watch World Report 1993. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR), New York. 7 December 1994. Telephone interview with Middle East coordinator.

. 1992. Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law: Human Rights in Kuwait After the Occupation. New York: LCHR, pp. 37-40.

Libération [Paris]. 27 February 1992. Christophe Boltanski. "Koweit: Les 'Bidoun', parias du Koweït libéré." (DIRB country file)

. 11 April 1991. "Golfe: Le Koweït se voit sans ses immigrés." (DIRB country file)

The Middle East [London]. November 1992. Chris Kutschera. "Kuwait: Called to Account."

Middle East International London]. 14 June 1991. Nadim Jaber. "Kuwait: Reformers Dismayed."

The New York Times. 6 May 1992. Late Edition Final. Youssef M. Ibrahim. "Kuwait Journal: A Peace that Still Can't Recover from the War." (NEXIS)

. 11 June 1991. Late Edition. John H. Cushman, Jr. "Kuwait Accused of Illegal Expulsions." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 17 July 1991. BC Cycle. Andrew Gumbel. "Kuwait's Bedoun are Outcasts in Liberated Homeland." (NEXIS)

Sunday Telegraph [London]. 11 October 1992. Anton La Guardia. "The Battle Goes on for Kuwait's Unwanted Foreigners." (NEXIS)

The United Press International (UPI). 13 October 1994. BC Cycle. "Marines Fly into Kuwait Desert." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris]. 5 July 1991. "Minister Says 'Bidoon' Collaborators Could Face Execution." (NEXIS)

. 7 June 1991. Michael Adler. "Stateless Kuwaitis Stranded in No Man's Land." (NEXIS)

Calgary Herald. 29 July 1991. Final Edition. Peter Bakogeorge. "Stateless Refugees Caught in Kuwait-Iraq Limbo." (NEXIS)

The Christian Science Monitor. 20 August 1991. William Gasperini. "Stateless Bedoons Are Shut Out of Kuwait." (NEXIS)

Gulf Information Project. January 1994a. "Aftermath of the Gulf Crisis," Information Pack. London: British Refugee Council, pp. 1-4.

. January 1994b. "The Bidouns in Kuwait," Information Pack. London: British Refugee Council, n.p.

The Gulf Newsletter [London]. May/June 1992. No. 3. "Kuwait after Liberation: The Victims of Conflict," pp. 4-5.

Al-Hayah [London, in Arabic]. 23 October 1993. "Sources: Few 'Biduns' to Attain Citizenship." (FBIS-NES-93-208 29 Oct. 1993, 23)

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR). April 1993. Laying the Foundations: Human Rights in Kuwait: Obstacles and Opportunities. New York: LCHR, pp. 38-42.

. 1992. Kuwait: Building the Rule of Law: Human Rights in Kuwait After the Occupation. New York: LCHR, pp. 37-40.

Libération [Paris]. 27 February 1992. Christophe Boltanski. "Koweit: Les 'Bidoun', parias du Koweït libéré." (DIRB country file)

. 11 April 1991. "Golfe: Le Koweït se voit sans ses immigrés." (DIRB country file)

The New York Times. 6 May 1992. Late Edition Final. Youssef M. Ibrahim. "Kuwait Journal: A Peace that Still Can't Recover from the War." (NEXIS)

. 11 June 1991. Late Edition Final. John H. Cushman, Jr. "Kuwait Accused of Illegal Expulsions." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 17 July 1991. BC Cycle. Andrew Gumbel. "Kuwait's Bedoun are Outcasts in Liberated Homeland." (NEXIS)

Sunday Telegraph [London]. 11 October 1992. Anton La Guardia. "The Battle Goes on for Kuwait's Unwanted Foreigners." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Reports. Yearly. 1991 to present.

Arab Law Quarterly [London]. Quarterly. 1993 to present.

Arab Studies Quarterly [Normal, Ill.]. Quarterly. 1993 to present.

Arabia Monitor [Washington, DC]. Monthly. Nov. 1992 to Aug. 1993.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1992, 1993.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1991 to 1993.

DIRB "Amnesty International: Kuwait" country file. 1990 to present.

DIRB "Kuwait" country file. 1990 to present.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily. 1992 to present.

Freedom in the World 1992-1993: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. 1993.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1992, 1992, 1994.

The Middle East [London]. Monthly. 1991 to present.

Middle East Focus [Downsview, Ont.]. Bi-monthly. 1990 to present.

Middle East International [London]. Fortnightly. 1991 to present.

Middle East Report [Washington, DC]. Bi-monthly. 1991 to present.

News from Middle East Watch [New York[]. 1992 to present.

World Human Rights Guide. 1992.

On-line search of media sources.

Oral sources.