Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Kuwait only made available in exceptional circumstances and typically issued only with a validity for a particular trip. 40 According to the US State Department, Kuwait has not issued ‘Article 17 passports’ (temporary travel documents that do not confer nationality) to Bidoon except on humanitarian grounds since 2014, further restricting the ability of the Bidoon to travel abroad. 41 Rights and freedoms Up until the 1980s, the Bidoon had near-equal rights to Kuwaiti citizens, including access to employment, education, registration and healthcare. Around the mid-1980s, influenced by unrest and conflict in neighbouring countries, the Kuwaiti Government began considering the Bidoon as a security threat. For instance, it came to light that some of the incoming refugees from Iraq, wishing to avoid military service and/or persecution, were posing as Bidoon by disposing of their identity documents. Consequently, in 1986, the government introduced residence requirements, changing the status of Bidoon to “illegal residents” and rescinding many of their rights.42 Nowadays, being a Bidoon in Kuwait means facing severe restrictions on access to fundamental rights and services. The human rights situation of the Bidoon has been reported on in an array of UN, civil society and other reports over the past decade.43 Overall, the multitude of restrictions of rights faced by the Bidoon have resulted in most of them living in relative poverty and social segregation. 44 The UK Home Office guidance considers undocumented Bidoon to face discrimination “so severe as to amount to persecution” such that “a grant of asylum would normally be appropriate”, while the treatment of documented Bidoon is “not in general so severe as to amount to persistent and serious ill treatment”. 45 However, both groups are stateless, in limbo and have severe impediments to accessing the most basic of rights. Education of Bidoon children is heavily restricted as a result of their statelessness. Bidoon children do not have the right to attend public schools since they are not considered Kuwaiti citizens. Many Bidoon children, particularly Bidoon girls, were entirely excluded from education in the 1980s and 1990s. Nowadays, most Bidoon children do receive at least a basic primary education through private schools, but no state funding is provided and so this system is reliant on the support of charitable foundations. 46 These private schools are also reportedly often of a lower standard than public schools and, additionally, Bidoon students were excluded from Kuwait University up until the Human Rights Watch (2011). Prisoners of the Past. Kuwaiti Bidun and the Burden of Statelessness, June 2011, https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/13/prisoners-past/kuwaiti-bidun-and-burden-statelessness 41 US Department of State (2018) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018: Kuwait. Available at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/289460.pdf. 42 Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ 43 Including: Human Rights Watch (2014) UPR Submission Kuwait. Available at: https://www.uprinfo.org/sites/default/files/document/kuwait/session_21_-_january_2015/hrw_-_human_rights_watch.pdf; UK Home Office (2016). Country Information and Guidance. Kuwait: Bidoons. Available at: https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1424119/1226_1518424272_cigkuwait-bidoons.pdf; Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2016), Kuwait: Employment rights of registered Bedouns, including legislation; requirements to hold employment; whether there are restrictions on employment in certain professions (2012March 2016), KWT105484.E. Available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5821ea9f4.html; US Department of State (2018) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018: Kuwait. Available at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/289460.pdf; 44 Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ 45 UK Home Office (2016). Country Information and Guidance. Kuwait: Bidoons. Available at: https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1424119/1226_1518424272_cig-kuwait-bidoons.pdf. 46 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013). Concluding Observations: Kuwait, CRC/C/KWT/CO/2, 29 October 2013. Available at: http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsqkKV0xrUf%2bC9C%2f9uTI230ixwWkdJgZEz WINC20%2fCcqb9NrxwgM9B9sS8ZKRwBAZ9RQjtdPpjtvEZApU90hTsRcb5%2bld1vyhXu9W3d9KGR%2b8. 40 9