Nationality and Cases of Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa for the courts. It may therefore be plausible for some Bidoon to bring their situation before the courts, if the assertion is not that they should be entitled to acquire nationality, but that they are being refused documentation recognising the nationality that they obtained under the law, i.e. on the basis of residence in Kuwait from 1920 to 1959 or as the descendant of a man who qualified thus. Even if such cases would be admitted to the courts, there would be a significant challenge to provide satisfactory proof of this residence so long after the fact (i.e. through documentation or witness testimony). Regardless of the extent to which such an avenue may prove successful, it is encouraging to see that access to the courts with regard to nationality complaints is not, perhaps, entirely off limits. Elsewhere in the GCC there have also been some isolated examples of appeals procedures being invoked with respect of nationality decisions, in particular the deprivation of nationality. Seven Emirati nationals stripped of their nationality for speaking out against the authorities in 2011 managed to have their case reviewed by the courts, but to no avail – the ruling confirmed that the state had acted within its powers.185 185 - Gulf Centre for Human Rights, UAE: Revocation of citizenship of seven human rights defenders and deprivation of basic rights, 16 January 2012. 140