KUWAIT'S 2004 SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000257

SIPDIS

FOR DRL AND NEA/ARPI-BERNS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM ELAB PGOV PREL ECON KU HURI
SUBJECT: KUWAIT'S 2004 SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND
DEMOCRACY REPORT

REF: 04 STATE 267453


1. Per reftel, following is Kuwait's submission for the 2004
report on supporting human rights and democracy. The Embassy
point of contact is Richard Michaels.


2. Begin text: Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary
emirate. The Constitution provides for an elected National
Assembly; however, it permits the Amir to suspend its
provisions by decree. Elections are generally considered free
and fair despite some credible reports of government and
opposition vote buying. Although the Government,s respect
for human rights has improved during the last decade,
noteworthy problems remain. Citizens do not have the right to
change their government. Women, who comprise slightly more
than half the citizen population, do not have the right to
vote or seek election to the National Assembly. In late 2003,
however, the Government reintroduced legislation that would
extend voting rights to women. The National Assembly is still
considering the matter. Judicial authorities remain subject
to government influence and discriminate against
non-citizens, especially foreign laborers. The Government
places some limits on freedoms of speech, assembly,
association, religion and movement. Some police and members
of the security forces reportedly have abused detainees
during interrogation. Violence and discrimination against
women, especially non-citizens, persist.


3. As the State Department reported in the 2004 Trafficking
in Persons Report, the Government did not fully comply with
the report,s minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking although it was making significant efforts to do
so. Some underage foreign boys were used as jockeys in camel
races. The Government restricted worker rights to organize
and bargain collectively and form unions. Some domestic
servants and unskilled foreign laborers faced abuse and
worked under conditions that constituted indentured
servitude. Unskilled foreign workers suffered from the lack
of a minimum wage in the private sector and weak government
enforcement of some Labor Law provisions. As of January 2005,
a new draft Labor Law remained under parliamentary review.


4. The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy for Kuwait
targets a wide range of critical issues including:
strengthening Kuwait,s democratic and civil society
institutions specifically supporting the formation of
full-fledged political parties, empowering women by
advocating their efforts to secure the right to vote and hold
public office, combating trafficking in persons, and
improving the working conditions of domestic servants and
foreign laborers. The Embassy employs various programming
tools available to the Public Affairs Section and funding
through the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to
strengthen democracy and respect for human rights in Kuwait.
U.S. diplomatic, programming and advocacy efforts resulted in
some positive changes to Kuwait,s overall human rights
situation during the year. The Embassy actively engaged
government officials, parliamentarians, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs),and other civil society groups at all
levels to advance dialogue and debate on key human rights
concerns, particularly female suffrage and equal protection
under the law for foreign laborers. The high number of
Congressional and cabinet-level delegations transiting Kuwait
en route to Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and occasional bilateral
meetings also strengthened the ability to sustain this
dialogue. In addition to the regular bilateral dialogue the
Embassy maintained with government officials, Embassy
officials frequently attended the influential evening
meetings (diwaniyas) that private Kuwaitis host in their
homes to discuss current events and promote awareness and
understanding of U.S. human rights and democratic values.


5. Parliamentary institutional and capacity building is a key
component of the Embassy,s strategy to strengthen democracy
and the rule of law in Kuwait. The Embassy is working with
the Parliament to encourage broader understanding of U.S.
human rights and democratic values. To further the promotion
of the rule of law, a Kuwaiti participated in the
&Administration of Courts8 seminar in the U.S. in September
2004, which introduced him to the functioning of the U.S.
judicial system. The Ambassador reinforced the importance of
democratic values during an election day speech in November
2004 that received wide media coverage in which he said that
America,s history with the electoral process showed that
American democracy was strengthened through greater
inclusion. Kuwait is also being considered as the host of a
MEPI-funded program to provide technical assistance to
parliamentarians and their staff.


6. The Embassy continues its longstanding efforts to
strengthen Kuwait,s media and to promote more responsible
journalism. The Public Affairs Section sent a Kuwaiti
representative on an International Visitor program in March
2004 to attend the &Role of the Media8 conference in the
U.S. to bolster his understanding of the media,s
responsibilities in covering politics. Public Affairs also
worked with Kuwait University to establish a permanent
American Corner in January 2005 to serve as the University's
American Studies Unit, providing access to books, the
internet, and journals on America to Kuwaitis.


7. The Embassy actively encourages positive debate about the
role and status of women in Kuwaiti society and the impact of
women,s disenfranchisement on their basic rights and
protections. The Embassy also assists women,s rights
activists to develop effective advocacy and political action
strategies. As a part of these efforts, the Embassy hosted
former Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, Carole Hillard,
to speak to a group of female journalists and activists in
July 2004 regarding the role of women in Kuwait and their
political and social rights. Through another International
Visitor program, the Embassy sent a Kuwaiti, a female defense
attorney, to attend a conference promoting the rule of law
and judicial reform in the U.S. in January 2005.


8. Women,s rights activists believe apathy and disinterest
among many Kuwaiti women are key factors inhibiting a more
vibrant suffrage movement. Activists hope to highlight ways
in which women are economically and legally disadvantaged as
a result of their disenfranchisement in order to galvanize
broader societal support for political reform. The Embassy
supported these grassroots civil society efforts through
various programs and exchanges during the year. The Kuwait
Economic Society, led by a female Kuwaiti PhD, received a
MEPI small grant to fund a study on gender budgeting, which
will examine patterns of government spending aimed at
female-led businesses or earmarked for hiring female
employees. Another MEPI-funded program began in January 2005,
which will allow the National Democratic Institute to explore
the possibility of working with politically active Kuwaiti
women to teach them how to campaign within the political
system once they gain the right to pursue elected office.


9. The United States raises religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy of promoting human
rights. The Embassy actively encourages the Government to
address the concerns of non-Muslim religious leaders, such as
overcrowding, lack of worship space and inadequate staffing.
Embassy officials meet regularly with recognized Sunni,
Shi,a, and Christian groups and representatives of various
unrecognized faiths to hear their concerns and monitor
progress on religious freedom issues.


10. The Embassy also focuses on labor rights and working
conditions for foreign workers and encourages the Government
to reform its outdated Labor Law to conform more closely to
internationally recognized labor standards. The Embassy meets
regularly with government officials at all levels to promote
awareness of labor problems and urge improvements in the
status and treatment of foreign workers, particularly
domestic servants. In January 2004, embassy officials
attended the first-ever public seminar held in Kuwait hosted
by a local NGO to address the treatment of foreign workers,
particularly domestic servants. The seminar brought together
for the first time members of the Government, parliament,
labor unions and NGOs to discuss these labor concerns. In the
same month, the Embassy organized a roundtable discussion on
domestic worker rights with embassy labor officials from
major source countries. The event encouraged source country
embassy labor officials to meet more regularly, share
experiences and present their labor concerns to the
Government. The Embassy maintained a close working
relationship with NGOs and domestic and international labor
groups, especially the International Labor Organization, to
monitor labor conditions and investigate incidents of abuse.


11. The Embassy and senior State Department officials urge
the Government to strengthen legal and regulatory measures to
combat human trafficking. Part of the strategy included
sending three Kuwaiti officials on International Visitor
programs related to combating international crimes, including
human trafficking, in May and June 2004, and January 2005.


12. End draft.

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LEBARON