US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT5069

UNCLAS KUWAIT 005069 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/P, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, SOCI, SCUL, KIRF, KDEM, KPAO, PINR, KU 
SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA:  USING INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS 
DAY TO ENCOURAGE ACTIVISM AMONG KUWAIT'S YOUTH 
 
REF:  STATE 222349 AND 219905 
 
1.  PolChief participated December 10 in a program organized 
by the American Universal School in celebration of 
International Human Rights Day.  Addressing an audience of 
approximately 100 students aged 15-16, and drawing from 
reftel, she emphasized the U.S. commitment to promoting and 
safeguarding human rights, and congratulated the Government 
of Kuwait for demonstrating respect for Kuwaiti women by the 
May 16, 2005 decision to grant them full political rights. 
During a brief question and answer period, the high school 
students asked about detainees at Guantanamo Bay and 
torture, trafficking in persons, and human rights advances 
in Iraq since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. 
 
2.  Other speakers included Dr. Ghanim Al-Najar from Kuwait 
University (KU), who commented that he was straying from his 
prepared remarks because he had to address what he 
considered to be a total misunderstanding of human rights 
issues by the U.S.  He proceeded to critique U.S. policy and 
alleged that the detention of enemy combatants at Guantanamo 
was a blatant violation of human rights, a topic he 
addressed in a December 10 column in Arabic-language daily 
Al Qabas.  After the event, several speakers apologized to 
PolChief and the Cultural Affairs Assistant for Al-Najar's 
politicization of day's theme.  (Note:  Ironically, EmbOffs 
have been invited to a December 11 event in honor of Al- 
Najar's appointment as an independent expert to the UN Human 
Rights Commission.  End Note.) 
 
3.  KU professors Dr. Muhammed Al-Feeli and Yacoub Al-Hayati 
spoke of the philosophical and theological origins of the 
human rights movement and implored the students to become 
more involved, stressing that individuals do have the power 
to force change.  Student speaker Khalid Ibrahim challenged 
his generation to do what their parents could not:  respect 
individual freedoms and dignity, end hunger, and encourage 
universal education.  He also questioned how he and his 
colleagues could claim to support human rights and at the 
same time oppose the trial of Saddam Hussein. 
 
4.  The day's events, covered by the media, also included a 
student-produced video on the use of sanctions to force 
improvements of governments' human rights records; a skit on 
the importance of speaking out when witnessing the abuse of 
individual rights; and board games, posters, and papers, 
from students on human rights themes. 
 
5.  The Universal American School has a student body of 
approximately 800 students, ranging in age from three to 19. 
The director and owner, Nora Al-Ghanim, is a prominent 
Kuwaiti businesswoman and a close contact of the Cultural 
Affairs Section. 
 
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Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
 
You can also access the site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website 
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LEBARON