Human rights in Kuwait

Kuwait
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Kuwait

Human rights in Kuwait derive from the 1961 Constitution of Kuwait as well as a series of international treaties.[1]

Treaties

Kuwait is a party to several international human rights treaties, including[2]

Freedom of Expression

According to Human Rights Watch annual report 2016, Kuwaiti authorities have invoked several laws to prosecute over a dozen people during the last few years. The detainees were arrested after criticizing the emir, government on social media. They convicted of insulting the emir and harming the honor of another person. The report documented that from January to October 2015, courts have sentenced five people up to six years in prison and fines.[3]

Migrant workers

In June 2007, Kuwait was found to be one of the worst offenders in human trafficking according to a report issued by the United States Department of State. The finding was due to the Kuwait government's repeated failure to tackle the problem.

Some migrant workers are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by employers in Kuwait. The workers were subject to physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, threats, confinement to the home, and withholding of passports to restrict their freedom of movement.[4][5]

Bedoon

Main article: Bedoon

There are 100,000 Bedoon in Kuwait. The Bedoon are reportedly stateless people. The Kuwaiti government believes most Bidoon are foreign nationals from neighboring countries. Kuwait considers the Bedoon illegal immigrants.[6]

Women's rights

Main article: Women in Kuwait

Kuwaiti women are considered to be among the most emancipated women in the Middle East region. In 2013, 46.7% of Kuwaiti women participated in the labor force.[7]

Muslim women in Kuwait are discriminated under the family law. Children born to a Kuwaiti mother and non-Kuwaiti father do not get Kuwaiti citizenship, unless the father is dead, a POW or divorced with the Kuwaiti mother.[8]

Media freedom

According to a 2009 report from the Reporters without Borders, Kuwait is engaged in pervasive Internet filtering and selective filtering in security areas. The primary target of Internet filtering is pornography. The Kuwait Ministry of Communication regulates ISPs, making them block pornography and anti-security websites.[9]

Voice over Internet Protocol is legal in Kuwait.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Freedom in the World: Kuwait". Freedom House. 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties - Kuwait". University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kuwait". 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  4. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2007". U.S. Department of State. 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "2007: Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights". International Trade Union Confederation. 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "BBC Talk Show about Bedoon (29:07)" (in Arabic).
  7. ↑ "Kuwait on path to fulfill all MDGs by 2015 deadline" (PDF). United Nations. p. 3.
  8. ↑ ?, ? (10 March 2014). Human rights watch. Kuwait City: ?. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "Kuwait: State of the media", Menassat
  10. ↑ "Nokia Networks' Zain Make Kuwait's First High-definition Voice Call in Live LTE Network". Retrieved 2014-07-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.