Articles for Kuwait

Geneva, February 16, 2018 -- On February 12, 2018, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, ahead of the upcoming appeal of 67 opposition activists and members of parliament s

On October 5, 2017, Kuwait’s Constitutional Court repealed Law No. 78/2015 on compulsory DNA collection, declaring that some of its provisions contravened the rights to privacy and personal liberty enshrined in articles 30 and 31 of the Kuwaiti Constitution.

According to the Kuwaiti authorities, the law was introduced in August 2015 as a direct response to the deadly terrorist attack on the Imam Sadiq mosque in Kuwait city on June 26, 2015, in which 27 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

On 30 June 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued Opinion No.

On 23 June 2017, Alkarama submitted its follow-up report to the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) on the implementation of the priority recommendations made to the State of Kuwait following its third periodic

On 21 April 2017, Alkarama received confirmation that prominent Kuwaiti human rights defender and former parliamentarian Musallam Al Barrak, was released from prison after having served his full two- year sentence. Al Barrak is a known opposition parliamentarian, who has marked the political life in Kuwait by actively and courageously speaking up against human rights violations and government corruption. In February 2015, he was convicted for “insulting the Emir”.

On 14 December 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) published Opinion 60/2016 on the case of Egyptian citizen Omar Mabrouk first arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities in October 2015 and held in incommunicado detention before being

On 19 October 2016, the Speaker of Kuwait's National Assembly, Marzouq Al-Ghanim, disclosed information according to which the Emir of Kuwait agreed to put Law No. 78/2015 on compulsory DNA collection, in line with the Kuwaiti Constitution in order to respect the right to privacy. The Emir requested the Parliament to reconsider the scope of the law with the view of imposing compulsory DNA collection to criminal suspects only, instead of all Kuwaiti citizens and residents as it was initially envisioned.

On 12 August 2016, the Committee against Torture (CAT) published its concluding observations on the third periodic review of Kuwait held during its 58thsession from 25 July to 12 August.

After reviewing Kuwait's third periodic report on 21 and 22 June 2016, on 15 July 2016, the Human Rights Committee (HRCtee)published its Concluding Observations on the human rights situation in the country and the State party's implementation of the International Covenan

In view of Kuwait's third periodic review, on 4 July 2016, Alkarama submitted its shadow report to the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) analysing the legal framework for the prohibition of torture and its practice in Kuwait.