Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Kuwait academic year of 2013-2014. From 2014 onwards, a maximum of 100 Bidoon students are now accepted per year, if they satisfy various conditions. However, the vast majority are still excluded. 47 Bidoon girls face intersectional discrimination, marginalised first by the Kuwaiti state for being Bidoon, and second by their own Bidoon community for being female, with the education of Bidoon boys being prioritised over girls when funds are limited within families. 48 Similarly, access to healthcare is still a problem for Bidoon in Kuwait. While Bidoon can be treated in public hospitals through a low-cost insurance plan from the Government, many treatments are not included in this plan and treatment can be refused if someone is unable to produce a reference/security card. The alternative private healthcare is too costly for most Bidoon. 49 Following the Arab Spring in 2011, around 1000 Bidoon demonstrated, demanding their citizenship rights. Even though these protests were forbidden in 2012, the Government announced that certain privileges (such as access to registration, education and healthcare) would be granted to Bidoon. Again, in practice, little has been done to implement these promises. 50 Rather, in reaction to the protests, there has been a rise in harassment, arrests, detention and other extra-legal attempts to curtail public and civil society efforts to advocate for the position of the Bidoon. 51 Palestinians Approximately 80,000 Palestinians currently live in Kuwait, the majority of whom are stateless, though exact numbers are unknown. In the past, there were around 400,000-450,000 Palestinians living in Kuwait. A significant portion of this community were, however, displaced during the 19901991 Gulf War, with many of them ending up in Jordan. 52 There have been some tensions in the past between Palestine and Kuwait. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) supported this because they believed Saddam Hussein would give them their territory back. Since then, the PLO has apologised for this and relations have been restored. In 2017, Kuwait lifted its restrictions on Palestinians’ ability to work in the country and now treat Palestinian passport holders as all other Arab nationalities. 53 Others Stateless Groups In addition to the above groups, other cases of statelessness occur in Kuwait as a result of the country’s nationality law and practices. These may include the following: Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ 49 Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ 50 Minority Rights Group International (2017). Kuwait, Bidoon Profile. Available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bidoon/ 51 UN Human Rights Council (2014). Summary prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21: Kuwait, A/HRC/WG.6/21/KWT/3. Available at: https://www.uprinfo.org/sites/default/files/document/kuwait/session_21_-_january_2015/a_hrc_wg.6_21_kwt_3_e.pdf; US Department of State (2018) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018: Kuwait. Available at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/289460.pdf. 52 Badil Resource Centre (2010). Palestinian Forced Displacement from Kuwait. Available on: http://www.badil.org/en/component/k2/item/1514-art07.html 53 Gulf News (2017, February 06). Kuwait lifts decades-long ban on Palestinian workers. Access at: https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-lifts-decades-long-ban-on-palestinian-workers-1.1973889 47 48 10