US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT3556

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003556 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/PHD 
STATE FOR INR/NESA, INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, KWMN, PINR, PHUM, KU 
SUBJECT: GOK CLAIMS INTENT TO EXPAND SUFFRAGE, WELCOMES 
TRAINING FOR JUDGES 
 
Classified By: ADCM John G. Moran for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  On July 26, the Ambassador met with the new 
government's Minister of Justice, Ahmed Baquer Al-Abdullah, 
who gave him a readout on some of the governments upcoming 
plans.  Among the specific items discussed were the GOK's 
commitment to womens suffrage, the possible lowering of the 
voting age from 21 to 18 and the possibility of USG-provided 
training for Kuwaiti judges.  End Summary. 
 
EXPANDING THE VOTE 
 
2. (C) During their July 26 meeting, the Ambassador and 
Minister of Justice Ahmed Baquer Al-Abdullah discussed the 
expansion of voting rights in Kuwait.  Baquer said that while 
the government was committed to resubmitting a proposal to 
expand suffrage to women (Note: The last proposal was voted 
down by the National Assembly in 1999.  End Note.), he was 
doubtful that the GOK would gain the necessary 32 votes for 
passage from the new National Assembly.  As if to prove the 
point, Baquer then proceeded to read the names of every 
National Assembly Member and their suspected and/or known 
position on the issue, adding that the GOK would only be able 
to secure 27 votes (Comment: Baquer, the only elected MP in 
the new Cabinet, is a Salafi Islamist.  He retains the 
Justice portfolio he held in the last Cabinet, but no longer 
holds the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs portfolio.  End Comment.) 
 
3. (C) Noting that there were other ways to expand the 
electoral base, the Ambassador suggested that the GOK might 
also consider dropping the voting age from 21 to 18 and 
allowing the military and security personnel to vote.  In the 
case of women's suffrage, it should consider challenging the 
election law as unconstitutional (Note: Kuwait's constitution 
guarantees the equality of all citizens, although many of its 
laws make distinctions between men and women.  End note.). 
Baquer replied that lowering the voting age had been 
discussed since the 1970's, and there was a general societal 
consensus that "18 is too young."  With respect to the 
military, he said Kuwait has a tradition of keeping the 
military out of politics, and would likely not find such an 
expansion acceptable.  Finally, Baquer called GOK legal 
action against the law "a big problem," because many of 
Kuwait's laws differentiate between men and women.  "Islamic 
Sharia," which Kuwait's laws are partially based upon, 
"always distinguishes between men and women," he said. 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that the Constitution 
stated Sharia was "a basis," i.e not the only basis, for 
Kuwaiti law.  Elections and other laws not directly adapted 
from Sharia should be changed to comply with the 
Constitution.  Baquer said this was one example of the 
challenge facing the Islamic world.  "The Islamic world needs 
to choose between the East or West," he said.  Completely 
ignoring the issue of constitutionality, he added, "The West 
doesn't distinguish between men and women at all."  Later, 
attempting to explain the fact that Kuwait is the last voting 
country in the world that still has not extended the vote to 
women, Baquer said Islamic scholars had opposed womens 
suffrage in Muslim countries, but "it was imposed on them." 
 
JUDGE TRAINING WELCOMED 
 
5. (C) The Minister was much more open to the Ambassador's 
offer of USG assistance in providing Kuwait's judges with 
training on internationally accepted standards, especially 
for the protection of intellectual prooerty rights.  Baquer 
called such training "a good idea" and said the issue should 
be taken up again after the current 3-month judiciary holiday 
is over. 
 
COMMENT 
 
6. (C) Before the election, Shaykh Sabah, who is now Prime 
Minister, publicly pledged a fresh push on women's rights. 
The clear opposition of his own Justice Minister shows what 
an uphill struggle it will be. 
JONES