During the reporting period, there continued to be reports of torture and mistreatment by police and security forces against detained members of minority groups and non-citizens.48 The CAT expressed concern in 2016 about “reports of torture and ill-treatment, in particular during prolonged detention of persons by the police and security forces, in response to terrorist activities, as well as in relation to peaceful protests by human rights defenders”.49 This is aggravated by the fact that detained persons do not enjoy, in practice, all the fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty.50 Furthermore, during its last UPR, Kuwait supported a number of recommendations related to the prohibition of slavery and trafficking.51 Despite this, there have been consistent reports of the exploitation, ill-treatment and torture of foreign workers, in particular female domestic workers, who work under the sponsorship system. This was noted by the CAT, when it expressed concern about the low number of prosecutions of abusive employers as well as the lack of redress and compensation provided to workers who have suffered abuse.52 Finally, Kuwait has extradited individuals to countries in which they ran the risk of being tortured in violation of its obligations in regard to non-refoulement under article 3 of the UNCAT. On 2 November 2015, Omar Abdulrahman Ahmed Youssef Mabrouk was extradited to Egypt despite well-founded risks of torture.53 Furthermore, on 12 July 2019, the Ministry of Interior declared having arrested alleged members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood political party, which is listed as a terrorist entity in Egypt but not in Kuwait. The eight men were sentenced in absentia to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years, and were later extradited to Egypt.54 The defendants were not allowed to challenge the legality of their extradition, nor were they presented with any recourse to an independent judiciary in order to raise the risks of torture and claim their rights under the non-refoulement principle. Recommendations: • Ensure that the definition of torture is in full compliance with the UNCAT and provide for adequate sanctions against perpetrators; 48 US department of State, 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kuwait, 13 March 2019, https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/kuwait/ (accessed 10 July 2019). 49 CAT, Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Kuwait, 5 September 2016, CAT/C/KWT/CO/3, para. 13. 50 Ibid, para. 10. 51 Supported: 157.153 (Djibouti); 157.155 (Iraq); 157.151 (South Sudan); 157.152 (Turkey); 157.154 (Iran); 157.156 (Russian Federation). 52 CAT, Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Kuwait, 5 September 2016, CAT/C/KWT/CO/3, para. 30. 53 See Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Opinion No. 60/2016 concerning Omar Abdulrahman Ahmed Youssef Mabrouk (Egypt and Kuwait), 25 November 2016, A/HRC/WGAD/2016/60. 54 This is despite the CAT’s findings in 2017, following the conclusion of its investigation under article 20 of the convention, that the practice of torture in Egypt is “widespread and habitual” particularly against political opponents. 13 UPR KUWAIT