COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT KUWAIT 29 JANUARY 2010 UK Border Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN KUWAIT , FROM 25 DECEMBER 2009 TO 29 JANUARY 2010 REPORTS ON KUWAIT PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 25 DECEMBER 2009 AND 29 JANUARY 2010 Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 1.01 Map .............................................................................................. 1.04 2. ECONOMY ........................................................................................... 2.01 3. HISTORY ............................................................................................. 3.01 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (M ARCH -DECEMBER 2009) ............................ 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION .................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM .............................................................................. 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 7.01 8. SECURITY SITUATION ........................................................................... 8.01 9. SECURITY FORCES ............................................................................... 9.01 Police........................................................................................... 9.02 Arbitrary arrest and detention................................................... 9.03 Torture ..................................................................................... 9.05 Extra-judicial killings................................................................. 9.06 Avenues of complaint............................................................... 9.07 Armed forces .............................................................................. 9.08 National Guard............................................................................ 9.10 Kuwait State Security ................................................................. 9.11 10. MILITARY SERVICE ............................................................................. 10.01 11. JUDICIARY ......................................................................................... 11.01 Organisation ............................................................................... 11.02 Independence/fair trial.............................................................. 11.05 Other courts................................................................................ 11.06 Civil procedures and remedies.................................................. 11.07 12. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS ........................................... 12.01 13. PRISON CONDITIONS .......................................................................... 13.01 14. DEATH PENALTY ................................................................................ 14.01 15. POLITICAL AFFILIATION ...................................................................... 15.01 Freedom of association and assembly ..................................... 15.03 16. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA ....................................................... 16.01 17. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS , ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS ........... 17.01 18. CORRUPTION ..................................................................................... 18.01 19. FREEDOM OF RELIGION ...................................................................... 19.01 Muslims ....................................................................................... 19.03 Christians and other non-Muslim groups ................................. 19.04 Inter-faith marriages ................................................................... 19.08 KUWAIT 29 JANUARY 2010 Societal issues............................................................................ 19.09 20. ETHNIC GROUPS ................................................................................ 20.01 Biduns (also Bidoons, Bedouins, Beduins).............................. 20.02 Citizenship and nationality........................................................ 20.17 Status and documentation........................................................ 20.21 Palestinians................................................................................. 20.26 21. LESBIAN , GAY , BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PERSONS ...................... 21.01 22. DISABILITY ........................................................................................ 22.01 23. WOMEN ............................................................................................. 23.01 Legal rights ................................................................................. 23.03 Marriage and divorce ............................................................... 23.10 Political rights............................................................................. 23.13 Social and economic rights ....................................................... 23.17 Contraceptives and abortion .................................................... 23.23 Violence against women ............................................................ 23.24 ‘Honour’ crimes ........................................................................ 23.29 24. CHILDREN ......................................................................................... 24.01 Overview ..................................................................................... 24.01 Basic legal information ............................................................. 24.03 Violence against children........................................................... 24.05 Childcare and protection............................................................ 24.07 Adoption................................................................................... 24.08 Child labour.............................................................................. 24.09 Education .................................................................................... 24.10 Health and welfare...................................................................... 24.12 Documentation............................................................................ 24.13 25. TRAFFICKING ..................................................................................... 25.01 26. MEDICAL ISSUES ............................................................................... 26.01 Overview of availability of medical treatment and drugs......... 26.05 HIV/AIDS – anti-retroviral treatment .......................................... 26.06 Mental health............................................................................... 26.09 27. FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT ................................................................... 27.01 28. FOREIGN REFUGEES .......................................................................... 28.01 29. CITIZENSHIP AND NATIONALITY ........................................................... 29.01 30. EXIT AND RETURN .............................................................................. 30.01 31. EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ........................................................................ 31.01 Non-citizen workers.................................................................... 31.06 Annexes Annex A – Chronology of major events Annex B – Political organisations Annex C – Prominent people Annex D – List of abbreviations Annex E – References to source material ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 24 December 2009. Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 29 January 2010. 29 JANUARY 2010 KUWAIT Preface i This Country of Origin Information Report (COI Report) has been produced by COI Service, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), for use by officials involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The Report provides general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. The main body of the report includes information available up to 24 December 2009. The ‘Latest News’ section contains further brief information on events and reports accessed from 25 December 2009 to 29 January 2010. The report was issued on 29 January 2010 ii The Report is compiled wholly from material produced by a wide range of recognised external information sources and does not contain any UKBA opinion or policy. All information in the Report is attributed, throughout the text, to the original source material, which is made available to those working in the asylum/human rights determination process. iii The Report aims to provide a brief summary of the source material identified, focusing on the main issues raised in asylum and human rights applications. It is not intended to be a detailed or comprehensive survey. For a more detailed account, the relevant source documents should be examined directly. iv The structure and format of the COI Report reflects the way it is used by UKBA decision makers and appeals presenting officers, who require quick electronic access to information on specific issues and use the contents page to go directly to the subject required. Key issues are usually covered in some depth within a dedicated section, but may also be referred to briefly in several other sections. Some repetition is therefore inherent in the structure