US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT257

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